The long rumored Kimbo Slice boxing debut looks like it’s finally coming together:
Streetfighter Kimbo Slice of Coral Springs is stepping out of the cage and into the ring, according to promoter Gary Shaw, who gave the YouTube streetfighting sensation his 15 minutes of fame on CBS in the now-defunct EliteXC league. Slice is training in a private Fort Lauderdale gym and could return to the same venue where Seth Petrozelli ended Slice’s rapid rise in mixed martial arts in 14 seconds. Shaw and Don King have a pro card scheduled for July 11 at the BankAtlantic Center. The date is tentative because it conflicts with the July 8-11 Women’s National Golden Gloves Tournament at the Fort Lauderdale Airport Hilton, and King said he doesn’t like to conflict with local boxing shows.
Gary Shaw being involved is no surprise. He was the one who carefully crafted the myth of Kimbo Slice as a force in MMA, and I bet if he had still been with EliteXC on the fateful night some dope thought it was a good idea to put Slice in the cage with a real opponent, perhaps the MMA landscape might be amusingly different today.
What I’m looking forward to now is seeing how all the sports networks and sites react to Kimbo’s ‘return’ … if they ignore it, mock it, or start supporting it after Kimbo puts together a nice can collection of a record.
