"The craziest part is Kimbo didn't even throw the uppercut right. I know it, he knows it, and astute boxing viewers understand it because his feet were out of position. The good news about it is that's how scary this guy's one-punch knockout power is. Kimbo elevated a guy and knocked him out cold with just his arms and no movement from the hip because of the placement of his feet. Obviously that's why Kimbo didn't give himself that good of a rating because he knows it, and that's what makes him a student of the game and that's why everyone should be a fan of Kimbo because he truly wants to become a great fighter...I have a date of October 15th for Kimbo. I'm talking to two different venues and I'm very confident that that will be his date. He's going right back into training and he will stay in training throughout the year, continuing to fight and continuing to get better. He's not a sideshow. He may have the sideshow moniker because people know him from YouTube fame or he has a great character look, but the guy is a true athlete," state Team Kimbo Promotional Advisor Jared Shaw, who talked about the future plans of Kimbo Slice after making a successful pro boxing debut with a devastating 10-second knockout last Saturday. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on Kimbo's 10-second knockout. What was he like before the fight?
JS: Thanks a lot Percy. You know, his mood was really good. He was calm and focused, just like any other fighter. He was stretching out, meditating a little bit, and listening to some music. Once the wraps and gloves got put on, you could see the trigger switched and the light was on and I knew James Wade was in for a very dangerous night.
PC: He had his right leg heavily bandaged up. Was that an injury that he suffered during training camp?
JS: No, actually not. Kimbo has always had some knee issues and it was just a way for him to feel a little more comfortable.
PC: The fight didn't last very long, but talk us through what you were going through during the build-up and then the actual fight?
JS: Obviously there was an excitement in the air. It has been a long time and we have been ready to get Kimbo in a combatant sport, in the ring and boxing. He came out and it happened so quickly. But he came out past the midway of the ring, which is what we had planned, to come out past 50% of the ring. We wanted to corner Wade. Wade took a step to the right and Kimbo moved well. He came around the side and was able to throw a jab there and then had a quick little exchange. Wade started to back up and I believe Kimbo threw a left jab and hit Wade in the stomach, which kinda caused Wade to just bend enough and Kimbo threw an uppercut and that was goodnight. The craziest part is Kimbo didn't even throw the uppercut right. I know it, he knows it, and astute boxing viewers understand it because his feet were out of position. The good news about it is that's how scary this guy's one-punch knockout power is. Kimbo elevated a guy and knocked him out cold with just his arms and no movement from the hip because of the placement of his feet. Obviously that's why Kimbo didn't give himself that good of a rating because he knows it, and that's what makes him a student of the game and that's why everyone should be a fan of Kimbo because he truly wants to become a great fighter.
PC: He has been very humble to his approach to boxing, as well as when he went into mixed martial arts. This is a learning process for him for sure. How did he assess his performance afterwards?
JS: He literally assessed his performance as not good. I disagreed because under the circumstances, with it being his first fight back and his first professional boxing match, he did an amazing job. He is a human highlight film and that's what we've been saying about him in his introduction into the sport. People will take interest in him and notice this. If you ask anyone who was in that arena, they are not going to tell you that Kimbo Slice performed badly. They are going to tell you how amazing it was and about the knockout. It's what's important in this sport. It's important for all sports. They gotta have somebody who is exciting for the fans to watch, keeps their attention, and makes them want to buy pay-per-views. Kimbo gave himself a low rating and I gave him one that was a little bit higher. He said to me that he was going home for a few days and he will be right back in camp and he wants to get busy. He wants to work and he wants to learn.
PC: He was coming off of a lengthy layoff. I'm sure you don't want him to sit long. How soon would you like to get him back in?
JS: I have a date of October 15th for Kimbo. I'm talking to two different venues and I'm very confident that that will be his date. He's going right back into training and he will stay in training throughout the year, continuing to fight and continuing to get better. He's not a sideshow. He may have the sideshow moniker because people know him from YouTube fame or he has a great character look, but the guy is a true athlete. If he wasn't a true athlete, he wouldn't have been able to go to the University of Miami to play football or to get a shot with the Miami Dolphins. He is a born athlete and it runs in his family and it shows with Kevin Ferguson III. The kid is going into his junior year and he's been recruited to get a football scholarship already. My point is the athletic ability is truly there. He truly has one-punch knockout power and that is very hard to find, and the thing that's even harder to find is killer instinct today. When I say that he is no David Haye, people want to run around like I'm comparing him to David Haye. David Haye is head and shoulders above Kimbo right now in boxing. We're not thinking about fighting a guy like that right now, but there is a difference between running around a ring and collecting millions and millions of dollars while leaving the fans at home disappointed wondering why they just wasted their time, and then having a man come in and knocking another man out in 10 seconds with an amazing punch.
PC: Well, the thing that the heavyweight division is missing is knockouts, exciting fights, and charisma. I think Kimbo can bring some of those lost arts to the division, if nothing else.
JS: 100%! That's the one thing that we are looking to capitalize on because there is a void there. We want to improve his skillset and then set our goals on a world championship one day. Kimbo really does want to win a world championship. Will we get there? I can't tell you that. Will we attempt to get there? We will 100% attempt to get there.
PC: What did you tell Kimbo after the fight?
JS: I told him I couldn't have wrote a script better and that I couldn't have asked for a better highlight. All week, we preached for him to go in and attack right away. I have been telling everybody since we got in this thing that he is like Tyson. He reminds me of Tyson. And that is not a comparison of skillset; it's a comparison of charisma, energy and one-punch knockout power. I told him I was ecstatic with the performance and where we are at, but obviously we got a lot of work to do.
PC: Well, people will judge how they see fit, but I guarantee you that that video is one of the most watched videos on the net right now. Congrats again and best of luck to you guys in the future. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
JS: I want to thank FightHype for always following us, and you Percy for being an excellent reporter, and for the boxing and MMA fans out there, loyalist and the haters, whoever you are, keep tuning in. I thank you for following Kimbo's career and hopefully MMA can respect boxing and boxing can respect MMA. Kimbo has been a competitor in both sports and he respects both sports. We are just looking to put combat sports on the map in general and now we want to give boxing what it deserves, which is a little bit of limelight. The next big thing people can look out for is the Jared Ryan Shaw music video for "Mr. All of the Wrong Ones." And it wouldn't be a full interview if I didn't remind Timothy Bradley that he did bump his head hard.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]