Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV recently spoke with boxing promoter and former MMA promoter Gary Shaw about a couple of crossover topics between the sports. Shaw addressed Nick Diaz's alleged desire to come to boxing, as well as Kimbo Slice giving up on a pro boxing career that Shaw had been hyping.
Shaw on Diaz in boxing: "I love Nick Diaz, first of all. I think he's exciting as can be. ... If he's gonna box, then he's gotta 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's not gonna buy it. So if he wants to really fight, they'll contact me, and we'll do something on Showtime or HBO or ESPN. ... The techniques are different. You can knock guys out in MMA, but you're not knocking out boxers. You're knocking out other MMA fighters. So he might find it a little more difficult than he believes."
Shaw on Kimbo quitting boxing: "[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."
Shaw's viewpoint on Diaz is nothing we haven't said, but it's good to hear someone who would like to promote Diaz -- since there would be at least one fight's worth of money in it, for the right fight -- talk about it that way. Vargas is a blown-up retiree who hasn't been in shape in half a decade. Lacy hasn't looked good since 2005.
As for Kimbo, well, that's about the most predictable thing in the history of predictable things. I don't think anyone who knows boxing expected Kimbo to ever actually fight professionally. I also still chuckle every time Shaw does that "Kimbo is the single biggest attraction in fighting" routine. Like, come on.