Kimbo TKO'd in 1st
October 11th, 2008
The seemingly impossible has occurred. The internets poster boy brawler turned mixed martial artist, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, was knocked out by Seth Petruzelliat EliteXC: Heat.
The upset took only 14 seconds of the first round leaving an arena, promotion executives and a world of millions of fans deflated. After a less than gingerly rules face off in the center of the ring that had Petrzelli extend his gloved hand and be denied by Slice, Petruzelli released an onslaught.
"I kind of have a different style than most stand-up fighters," Petruzelli said in the post-fight press conference. "I'm a stand-up fighter myself, but my traditional karate background kind of throws people's boxing styles off. I knew [Slice's] style was real straight-forward boxing, and I do well against boxers that I train with."
After being backed into the cage by Slice, karate-trained Petruzelli extended his foot and kicked Slice setting up a punch that quickly turned into flurries. Soon after Slice fell to the canvas only for the barrage to continue until referee Terry Waugh was forced to stop the match due to Kimbo's lack of defense.
Petruzelli's shot arrived when 44-year-old MMA legend Ken Shamrock was forced to bow out of the main event hours before it was scheduled to commence. An accidental head butt suffered during a warm-up session opened up a previously sutured gash above Shamrock's left eye, and the "World's Most Dangerous Man" was declared unfit for competition.
Originally, Petruzelli was scheduled to fight in an un-televised preliminary bout sanctioned at 205 pounds (light heavyweight). Instead, Petruzelli was offered by EliteXC officials a chance to fill in against the feared striker and undefeated heavyweight.
Albeit disappointing given the huge hype surrounding Kimbo and his obvious position as EliteXC's biggest star, the executives seem hopeful of their newest star.
"[Petruzelli] is now the modern-day 'Rocky Balboa,'" Shaw said. "Movies are real. When opportunity knocks, you answer it. And when you open the door, there may just be a pot of gold on the other side."