Nov 11, 2008 - Now that Kimbo Slice has been exposed as a fraud and EliteXC has gone out of business, we can all look back and chuckle at the way promoter Gary Shaw tried to build Kimbo up. I just came across this video, which appears to come from around the time of Kimbo's May 31 fight against James Thompson:
"Kimbo Slice is not a star, he's a superstar," Shaw said. "When you get to see him, you touch him, feel him, smell him, know him, you know he's a superstar. He has that certain something that certain athletes have that others don't, that Tiger Woods has, that Michael Jordan has, those are the athletes that Kimbo is. He's a tremendous athlete, he's a complex person, he can fight, he's up for the challenges. He's truly a superstar."
I find it a little weird that Shaw is talking about touching, feeling and smelling Kimbo, but whatever. He's a promoter, and promoters say things that are over the top.
Shaw also dismissed Dana White's claim that B.J. Penn would beat Kimbo, saying, "That was the most idiotic statement I ever heard in my life. First of all, B.J. Penn, I know him well, would never make a statement like that. ... He can't beat Kimbo Slice. Kimbo, one shot would probably knock him out."
That's what Shaw had to say at the time, but really: Does anyone now doubt that B.J. Penn would beat Kimbo?
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