Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw promotions (and former president of EliteXC) gave a brief interview to Fight Hub TV. In the interview he talked Nick Diaz’s potential boxing career and gave an update on Kimbo Slice. Give the video a watch:
On Nick Diaz wanting to box:
If he wants to box, he knows my number. They know the name of my company. But if he’s going to box then he’s got to box relevant fighters. Fernando Vargas is not a relevant fighter, Jeff Lacy is not a relevant fighter. So what are you proving? That’s just a waste of time. Television isn’t going to buy it. If he wants to really fight, they’ll contact me and we’ll do something on Showtime or HBO or ESPN.
He’s right that Vargas and Lacy aren’t relevant but that doesn’t make a guy like Lacy horrible to face as an early test of his boxing ability. My dismissal of those fights has had much more to do with the fact that they’re not going to bring the kind of money Nick wants. Shaw is right that TV is very unlikely to buy it, but wrong in bringing up ESPN as an option if he is aware of Diaz’s desire to cash in big.
On Kimbo Slice’s status:
“[Kimbo] realized how hard it is to be a boxer. I had him in training camp in California, but he wasn’t committed. … I still love Kimbo, I still think he’s the single biggest attraction in our sports. I’d love to still put him in a boxing ring, but you’ve gotta be really committed.”
Call me crazy, but Kimbo as the biggest attraction in MMA or boxing is a pretty laughable statement. I’d also be willing to bet that what was happening in the gym wasn’t that Kimbo lacked dedication, but rather that he is 37 years old, has bad knees and far too much learning to ever find success at a high level.