MERCER VS. KIMBO
From Full contact fight gear
Former Heavyweight Boxing Champ to Take on Kimbo Slice
By Jim Genia
Kimbo Slice - Photo courtesy of Joe Cavallaro
Kimbo
(March 30th, New York City ) “Merciless” Ray Mercer, a former WBO heavyweight boxing champ and gold medalist in the 1988 Olympics, will take on bare-knuckle boxing and Internet legend Kimbo Slice in a three-round exhibition bout utilizing professional MMA rules at the Ca ge Fury Fighting Championship 5 show, said matchmaker Gary Marino today. Dubbed “Brawl at the Hall”, CFFC 5 will take place on June 16th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey .
“I’m very, very excited,” said Marino. “I’ve been working on trying to get Kimbo a fight for the last year. He’s a great draw, and he’s got a huge following for his fights.” Marino added: “Ray Mercer was at the Ca ge Fury Fighting Championship 3 show and speculated that he’d like to try [MMA], and he called me a couple weeks ago asking me to get him a fight. It’s perfect for both guys, for their style and who they are. Kimbo’s a big banger and so is Mercer.”
Known for their heavy-hands and raw power, this will be the first time either man has fought under full MMA rules – though Slice purportedly has been training in the sport for some time now at Miami ’s Freestyle Fighting Academy . However, the former boxing champ, who lost his WBO belt to Wladimir Klitschko in 2002 before stepping into the ring for Japan’s K-1 promotion in 2004 and 2005, will likely enter the cage ready to defend the takedown should the need arise. Said Marino: “Ray Mercer told me he has a bit of a wrestling background, and he’s aware Kimbo has been training down in Florida . He’s been talking about MMA for a while now… so he’ll be prepared.”
With this bout, Mercer will become the highest-profile boxer to have taken the MMA plunge. “It’s very, very intriguing. I think it’s a fantastic fight,” said Marino. “Ray Mercer is definitely going to be the hardest hitter Kimbo has ever faced… I think if they both stand in front of each other, someone is definitely going to get knocked out.”
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
New fighter takes out Kimbo Slice's protege!
Jorge Masvidal: Miami Vice or Mamma's Boy?
Jorge Masvidal has it all figured out. A world mixed martial arts champion by the time he turns 24 and the biggest name in sports by age 26.
"This sport is going to blow up and when it blows up, I'm going to be at the front. I am going to be the world's most recognizable sports figure," Masvidal says. "At least I'll have it made by 25, definitely by 28."
Lofty goals for a guy who has only been in the game four years? Maybe so. But then Masvidal believes he's only doing what he was born to do; he's even got a tattoo on his neck to prove he means business. "Gamebred" it reads; a term used to describe pitbulls who were born of champion parentage and bred for fighting.
"Fighting is the only gift God gave me," Masvidal says. Jorge Masvidal of BodogFightIf you see Jorge Masvidal running for the ice cream truck, get out of his way. (Bodog Nation photo)
In his fight against Wisniewski, Masvidal knows he's got his work cut out for him. Wisniewski's got a score to settle. Masvidal beat Wisniewski's younger brother, Justin, in 2004 at Absolute Fighting Championships (AFC) 8 and won by decision. No matter. Masvidal's confident he's got this one in the bag.
"I'm going to run in there and BANG – take the whole family down," Masvidal says.
The brash 22-year-old trains with Marco and David Avellan at the Freestyle Fighting Academy in Miami and his mother, Maria, a realtor, often stops by the gym to see how her little pitbull is doing. To see the two together you'd think she was his training partner.
"I love my mom to death, but she's the only one who's ever really beat my ass," Masvidal says. "I can't hit her back, which is why I'm getting my ass beat by my mom. She beat my ass bad."
Masvidal currently holds the AFC lightweight belt. Fast hands, fast feet and a quick wit are his weapons of choice in and out of the ring, and since turning pro at 18 he's only had two losses to his record, a record that's top-heavy with TKOs.
But his best fight to date happened in middle school with a couple of guys in front of the ice cream truck. And to hear the guy talk about it you'd think he beat the crap out of Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture over the last popsicle on the planet. See for yourself:
"I was like 15 and they were like 18 or 19. So they get out of their car and they're trying to intimidate me, trying to get me to walk over to them but I don't feel like walking that much. So we go to their neighborhood, but this is like after 15 minutes of talking back and forth, 'cause they were just making a big show. I promise half the school went to go see the thing. Everybody who was at the ice cream stop went to go see the thing. It was full of girls and full of guys, whatever. I'm like scared man, 'cause dudes were bigger than me but I was like, fuck it, too many people are already here that I'm just not going to back down. So I put my hands up and start going at it. Bang, bang, bang. I hit him with two, three shots. Then I hit him with another shot. He goes to clinch them, but this is before I was a pro or anything, I just used to throw my hands real fast back then. He throws a punch, I duck under him, get him into a choke, start choking him out and his friend jumps in and starts kicking me in the back of the head or whatever, so I let him go. I start fighting another kid, he's at me... bang, bang, bang and we kept fighting and I beat his ass before the whole school. That was my coolest fight ever."
Jorge Masvidal has it all figured out. A world mixed martial arts champion by the time he turns 24 and the biggest name in sports by age 26.
"This sport is going to blow up and when it blows up, I'm going to be at the front. I am going to be the world's most recognizable sports figure," Masvidal says. "At least I'll have it made by 25, definitely by 28."
Lofty goals for a guy who has only been in the game four years? Maybe so. But then Masvidal believes he's only doing what he was born to do; he's even got a tattoo on his neck to prove he means business. "Gamebred" it reads; a term used to describe pitbulls who were born of champion parentage and bred for fighting.
"Fighting is the only gift God gave me," Masvidal says. Jorge Masvidal of BodogFightIf you see Jorge Masvidal running for the ice cream truck, get out of his way. (Bodog Nation photo)
In his fight against Wisniewski, Masvidal knows he's got his work cut out for him. Wisniewski's got a score to settle. Masvidal beat Wisniewski's younger brother, Justin, in 2004 at Absolute Fighting Championships (AFC) 8 and won by decision. No matter. Masvidal's confident he's got this one in the bag.
"I'm going to run in there and BANG – take the whole family down," Masvidal says.
The brash 22-year-old trains with Marco and David Avellan at the Freestyle Fighting Academy in Miami and his mother, Maria, a realtor, often stops by the gym to see how her little pitbull is doing. To see the two together you'd think she was his training partner.
"I love my mom to death, but she's the only one who's ever really beat my ass," Masvidal says. "I can't hit her back, which is why I'm getting my ass beat by my mom. She beat my ass bad."
Masvidal currently holds the AFC lightweight belt. Fast hands, fast feet and a quick wit are his weapons of choice in and out of the ring, and since turning pro at 18 he's only had two losses to his record, a record that's top-heavy with TKOs.
But his best fight to date happened in middle school with a couple of guys in front of the ice cream truck. And to hear the guy talk about it you'd think he beat the crap out of Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture over the last popsicle on the planet. See for yourself:
"I was like 15 and they were like 18 or 19. So they get out of their car and they're trying to intimidate me, trying to get me to walk over to them but I don't feel like walking that much. So we go to their neighborhood, but this is like after 15 minutes of talking back and forth, 'cause they were just making a big show. I promise half the school went to go see the thing. Everybody who was at the ice cream stop went to go see the thing. It was full of girls and full of guys, whatever. I'm like scared man, 'cause dudes were bigger than me but I was like, fuck it, too many people are already here that I'm just not going to back down. So I put my hands up and start going at it. Bang, bang, bang. I hit him with two, three shots. Then I hit him with another shot. He goes to clinch them, but this is before I was a pro or anything, I just used to throw my hands real fast back then. He throws a punch, I duck under him, get him into a choke, start choking him out and his friend jumps in and starts kicking me in the back of the head or whatever, so I let him go. I start fighting another kid, he's at me... bang, bang, bang and we kept fighting and I beat his ass before the whole school. That was my coolest fight ever."
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