You may know Kimbo Slice as the mixed martial artist who, after being hyped to the hilt, was knocked out on national television. You may know his as a street fighter who punched his way to notoriety on Youtube. Quite possibly, you know him as the bouncer and occasional character actor in pornographic films. (Don't worry; that link is safe for work.) Now, you need to get to know him on a whole new level. He wants to be a practitioner of the sweet science. That's right, Slice wants to be a boxer.
He told the Nassau Guardian, the paper from his native country of the Bahamas, that he wants to switch to boxing when he finishes out his MMA contract. Slice, who is also known as Kevin Ferguson, feels more natural as a boxer.
Let's ignore the international prestige line, as I question what sort of prestige occurs when your country's most famous fighter is knocked out in 14 seconds by an MMA journeyman, and focus on what Slice said about boxing being one-dimensional. True, in MMA, a fighter has to be able to defend against kicks, punches, submissions and takedowns. But the fact that boxers only have to defend against punches hardly makes it easy, which is what Slice seems to be saying.
Should anyone give this man a contract when he is trying to enter a sport at its highest levels because it seems easy? Professional sports should not be easy, considering the insane pay days that professional athletes get. He goes on to talk about the differences in training:
Yes, just weaving and bobbing. That must be simple as pie. Just as his rocketing to fame and fortune in MMA angered every fighter who has putting time in the gym for years, these comments must incense every boxer who has ever stepped foot in a ring.
Here is the thing. No one should ever take a gig because it seems easy. Both boxing and MMA are incredibly difficult sports, and having little respect for them is the kind of thing that will land you face first on the canvas, a position Slice is quite familiar with.
