Monday, June 25, 2007

Kimbo Slice Breaks All the Rules

On Saturday night, when bare-knuckle pugilist Kimbo Slice defeated former world heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer by guillotine choke in just over a minute in an exhibition MMA bout, he broke all the rules. Not for giving the 7,300 in attendance at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall their first glimpse of the Internet-created legend. Not for making Cage Fury Fighting Championship’s first pay-per-view venture a memorable (and successful) one. No, Slice broke all the rules pertaining to debut fighters: he headlined the event and made 75,000 bucks. Aside from main eventers Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson, that’s far more than any of the veterans were paid at UFC 71.



Did the ex-backyard boxing star – whose record lists wins over the likes of Big Mac, “The Bouncer” and Afro Puff – deserve it? Hell yes. Regardless of where he may rank amongst the world’s MMA heavyweights, Kimbo brings a ton of charisma and hype, and that kind of love only helps the sport. Thousands of fans showed up or tuned in and droves of media cast a watchful eye, and everyone got to see not just him, but CFFC’s brand of quality MMA, as well as a roster of outstanding undercard fighters. And for that, Kimbo deserved every penny.