Will Kimbo Slice Be The First Ever Boxing & MMA Heavyweight Champ?

November 1, 2007

Elite XC held a press conference yesterday to hype their next 11/10 show “Renegade.” Gary Shaw and his team deserve some credit for this one because the card is pretty stacked. Some of the main fights to look out for are Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons for the new 160 lbs Lighweight belt, Jake Shields vs. Mike Pyle, Seth Kleinbeck vs. Kyle Noke and Kimbo Slice vs. Bo Cantrell (who is replacing the injured Mike Bourke). Antonio Silva and Yves Edwards are also likely to appear on the card however their opponents have yet to be announced.

Obviously, the main attraction on the card will be the Elite XC debut of Kimbo Slice. Slice, a street-fighting Internet legend whose only official MMA victory came against former boxer Ray Mercer in June, was by far the star of this press conference. He surely brings something different to the table but whether or not he is best suited for the backyard or an MMA cage is yet to be seen. That said, I am not sure if we will find that answer in the form of Bo Cantrell. Nevertheless, his debut in Elite XC will definitely garner a lot of attention within the MMA world and in this day and age that really is half the battle.

Other notes discussed on the call were:

Due to Gary Shaw’s concern for the dangers involved with extreme weight-cutting before fights he announced new weight classes for Elite XC. They will look to crown a new champion within each of these new divisions fairly soon. The new weight classes are: 140 lbs, 150, 160, 170, 185, 205, 265+.
This will be last for Mike Pyle in Elite XC. His opponent, Jake Shields, appears to be happy again despite reports to the contrary.
Gary Shaw seems interested in signing former Pride star Josh Barnett. He is still negotiating a Frank Shamrock vs. Ken Shamrock fight.
Shaw’s goal is for Kimbo Slice and KJ Noons to become the first ever dual champions in Boxing and MMA.
Shaw claimed that when Nick Diaz fought Takanori Gomi at Pride33 that he was under contract with Elite XC. Wha? Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s the first I ever heard of that.

For more check out the audio below. We make several appearances throughout the call.

Elite XC: Renegade Press Conference