Kimbo vs. Ray Mercer

FCFighter.com reveals Kimbo’s MMA debut! For those who don’t know, Kimbo has been training with Charles Chainsaw Mccarthy at Freestyle Fighting Academy in Florida for a while now. Yesterday this article was published.

———————-

Former Heavyweight Boxing Champ to Take on Kimbo Slice
By Jim Genia
 
(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.”