From the moment it was announced, I've believed that Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz is not a very good fight, but it is a great promotion.
What I mean is that from a purely competitive standpoint, pitting a guy who's way past his prime (Shamrock) against a guy who's moving way up in weight class (Diaz) isn't particularly good matchmaking. But because of the ability of the two competitors to generate hype, sell tickets and attract TV viewers, their April 11 clash will be a big event for Strikeforce.
Shamrock and Diaz appeared at a press conference in Los Angeles today to sell their fight, and they didn't disappoint.
Dave Doyle of Yahoo Sports provides some of the choice quotes:
UPDATE: Here's a look at the press conference:
What I mean is that from a purely competitive standpoint, pitting a guy who's way past his prime (Shamrock) against a guy who's moving way up in weight class (Diaz) isn't particularly good matchmaking. But because of the ability of the two competitors to generate hype, sell tickets and attract TV viewers, their April 11 clash will be a big event for Strikeforce.
Shamrock and Diaz appeared at a press conference in Los Angeles today to sell their fight, and they didn't disappoint.
Dave Doyle of Yahoo Sports provides some of the choice quotes:
When it comes to talking a good game, there aren't many in the business who are better than Shamrock and Diaz. We'll find out on April 11 whether their fighting can match their talk."My son's five years younger than Nick," said Shamrock (23-9-2). "If he acted like [Diaz] I used to send him to his room, take away his allowance."
"Where's he at?" Diaz (18-7, 1 no-contest) retorted. "I'll fight him."
"He's in college," Shamrock said. "You wouldn't know. ...
"I hope Nick has his friends there," Shamrock said. "So they can catch his head when I knock it into the second row."
UPDATE: Here's a look at the press conference: