According to comments attributed to Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson in a new interview with The Nassau Guardian, Slice could be set to embark on a professional boxing career soon rather than later.
Ferguson expressed to reporter Dahalia Smith that he could be ready to make the transition from MMA to boxing as soon as he has fulfilled the remaining two fights on his existing MMA contract, which is currently property of the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion following a recent acquisition of select assets from ProElite.
“… I have two more MMA fights scheduled before this year is out,” Slice is quoted as saying, without specifying which organization those fights will take place with. “Every fighter and athlete knows that you should not switch camps in the middle of something. Also, I train in Florida. My MMA trainer will also be training me for stand up boxing. Finishing up my contract would allow me to be a free agent.”
It is believed that under the terms of Slice’s old contract with ProElite, that he was precluded from competing in boxing without expressed permission. As such, he would likely need to satisfy his current contractual obligations before transitioning to pro boxing.
As it stands now, Slice is currently not slated to compete for Strikeforce as negotiations between the two sides have reached a stalemate in recent weeks. While Strikeforce cannot legally force Slice to fight for the organization, Slice legally cannot compete for another organization since Strikeforce holds ownership of his promotional rights.
Despite a 3-1 record and becoming one of the most recognizable names in all of MMA, it would appear Slice’s true passion is for the “sweet science” of boxing.
“Boxing is really my first desire,” Slice revealed. “I have a lot of love for it and believe I can do pretty well. [The sport of] MMA is somewhat of a project for me. Boxing is one dimensional while there are a lot of dimensions in MMA. I don’t think it would be a hard transition from MMA to stand-up boxing because of my fighting style.”
In addition to believing that his strengths are better suited for boxing, there are some aspects of MMA that have apparently caused Slice to become disillusioned with the sport.
“… MMA training is extremely hard,” Slice is quoted as telling Smith. “When you consider martial arts training, you have to prepare for kicks to the head and legs, and opponents wanting to grapple and throwing you to the ground, pounding you with their knees and hands, whereas in boxing you just have to be prepared to weave and bob although the training can be just as intense. At this point in my career, I want to take that same drive and focus that I invested in MMA and put that into training for pro-boxing cards.”
It would also appear that Slice’s ill-fated showdown with Ken Shamrock this past October that resulted in Shamrock pulling out the day of the fight due to injury with Slice ending up getting TKO’d by last-minute replacement Seth Petruzelli caused him to sour even further.
“… In some cases, if you are too far advanced in promoting a MMA fight, anything can happen to the fighter. A fighter can get an injury, causing him to pull out of the fight; like Shamrock getting a cut above his eye and backing out at the last minute. That left me having to fight an opponent who I knew nothing about.”
Ferguson expressed to reporter Dahalia Smith that he could be ready to make the transition from MMA to boxing as soon as he has fulfilled the remaining two fights on his existing MMA contract, which is currently property of the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion following a recent acquisition of select assets from ProElite.
“… I have two more MMA fights scheduled before this year is out,” Slice is quoted as saying, without specifying which organization those fights will take place with. “Every fighter and athlete knows that you should not switch camps in the middle of something. Also, I train in Florida. My MMA trainer will also be training me for stand up boxing. Finishing up my contract would allow me to be a free agent.”
It is believed that under the terms of Slice’s old contract with ProElite, that he was precluded from competing in boxing without expressed permission. As such, he would likely need to satisfy his current contractual obligations before transitioning to pro boxing.
As it stands now, Slice is currently not slated to compete for Strikeforce as negotiations between the two sides have reached a stalemate in recent weeks. While Strikeforce cannot legally force Slice to fight for the organization, Slice legally cannot compete for another organization since Strikeforce holds ownership of his promotional rights.
Despite a 3-1 record and becoming one of the most recognizable names in all of MMA, it would appear Slice’s true passion is for the “sweet science” of boxing.
“Boxing is really my first desire,” Slice revealed. “I have a lot of love for it and believe I can do pretty well. [The sport of] MMA is somewhat of a project for me. Boxing is one dimensional while there are a lot of dimensions in MMA. I don’t think it would be a hard transition from MMA to stand-up boxing because of my fighting style.”
In addition to believing that his strengths are better suited for boxing, there are some aspects of MMA that have apparently caused Slice to become disillusioned with the sport.
“… MMA training is extremely hard,” Slice is quoted as telling Smith. “When you consider martial arts training, you have to prepare for kicks to the head and legs, and opponents wanting to grapple and throwing you to the ground, pounding you with their knees and hands, whereas in boxing you just have to be prepared to weave and bob although the training can be just as intense. At this point in my career, I want to take that same drive and focus that I invested in MMA and put that into training for pro-boxing cards.”
It would also appear that Slice’s ill-fated showdown with Ken Shamrock this past October that resulted in Shamrock pulling out the day of the fight due to injury with Slice ending up getting TKO’d by last-minute replacement Seth Petruzelli caused him to sour even further.
“… In some cases, if you are too far advanced in promoting a MMA fight, anything can happen to the fighter. A fighter can get an injury, causing him to pull out of the fight; like Shamrock getting a cut above his eye and backing out at the last minute. That left me having to fight an opponent who I knew nothing about.”
