With the recent revelation of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva's desire to box Roy Jones Jr., it was only a matter of time before ol' "Iron" Mike's name was tossed back into the MMA world. After all, it wasn't too long ago, just a short five years, when Tyson was being tapped for a potential clash with K-1 superstar Bob "The Beast" Sapp. Although, that fight never came to fruition, Tyson did eventually return to the squared circle only to lose his last two fights to the likes of Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.
Fast forward to 2008 and, once again, there have been rumblings of Mike Tyson, now 41 years old (he'll be 42 in June), taking on the newest MMA superstar, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. Of course, who better to put on such a promotion than veteran boxing promoter and MMA newcomer Gary Shaw, president of EliteXC. Despite the recent rumors of Tyson agreeing to fight Slice "later this year or early next", Shaw admitted in a recent conference call that he had no discussions with Mike or anybody involved with him, but was open to the idea and "would make that fight in a heartbeat." The only question I have is why?
Certainly this fight could generate money, but in no way, shape or form would it be made for the benefit of the sport of mixed martial arts. I mean, is Mike Tyson, a 41-year-old who hasn't fought competitively in nearly three years, really the type of step up in competition that fans have been hoping and begging to see Kimbo in with? Obviously not! It should be clear that the only reason to make such a fight "in a heartbeat" is simply to help the rich get richer, the fans $54.95 poorer and to pad a suspect resume in order to build the hype of a fighter who has yet to truly face a respectable opponent.
Considering that Shaw comes from a boxing background, one might not be shocked to hear about the possibility of the potential matchup as it's common practice in boxing to match young, up-and-coming stars with older, faded legends. That being said, it is somewhat surprising that he would be so eager to take advantage of MMA fans considering that, in recent years, he's been instrumental in giving boxing fans competitive matchups like Corrales-Castillo, Vazquez-Marquez and Donaire-Darchinyan. If he's been so successful in the boxing world, why would he be so anxious to put together a mismatch like Tyson vs. Slice in the MMA world?
After watching ESPN's highly touted E:60 program that featured the overweight former undisputed heavyweight champion, one thing was very clear to me: Tyson's fighting days are long behind him. Apparently, Shaw missed the program entirely. Either he thinks the 41-year-old, inactive Tyson is the formidable opponent that Slice needs to prove to the world that he's a force to be reckoned with or he's just looking to squeeze the last remnants of blood from a turnip by cashing in one more time on the name Mike Tyson. Either way you slice it, it doesn't look good for the sport of mixed martial arts when a promoter is eager to make a fight like this.
Why anyone would be excited about or want to see such a circus act is beyond me. If you are one of those fans who's eager to see this fight, inquiring minds want to know
.why?
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]