On October 4, CBS will be playing host to a clash of the MMA titans as heavyweight phenom Kimbo Slice will be squaring off against the legendary Ken Shamrock in the third installment of "CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights", which will be broadcast live from the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. In what's sure to be an explosive battle, fight fans will see one of the most pivotal dream matches in the sport's history.
With the fight less than one month away, The Deadbolt sat it on the media conference call while both fighters took questions from the press and went toe-to-toe over the phone. Here's a look at what both Kimbo and Shamrock had to say while tensions ran high.
What is your strategy for defeating Kimbo Slice?
KEN SHAMROCK: I can sit here and explain to you all day long what I’m going to do differently and how I’m going to do this and how I’m going to do that, but it’s irrelevant. What matters to me is that I get into the ring and I get it done. And that’s going to be the difference. In any of the other fights I’ve gone into, the attitude I have, no matter what happens from here on out, I’m going to go in there and get it done!
What do you say to some of the critics out there that are saying you’re being served up as a stepping stone for Kimbo?
SHAMROCK: I am. This is absolutely what this is and I am absolutely taking this as an insult to me and I am going to smash it back in their faces.
Let’s say you are successful, what happens to Ken Shamrock from there?
SHAMROCK: Well, I guess there is no tomorrow, because I haven’t really thought about it.
Do you see Ken Shamrock being served up as a stepping stone to you?
KIMBO SLICE: I mean in a way it’s an insult to me, too, you know, considering his accomplishments and everything like that. I just hope Ken trains his ass off because I’m coming to fight, man, and I’m coming on to win and he’s old. The way I train, and me and my camp, losing is not an option and he’s really gonna have to be Superman if he wants to beat me.
How much did the exposure of your last fight, and also the fact that you won it, how much did that change your life and what have you been up to since we last saw you?
KIMBO: A fight is a fight. I didn’t go into that fight with the intention of knocking this guy out in the first round. I went into this fight with the intention of trying my best to win the fight in the third round, that was the game plan. I’m training harder, more harder than before.
You said you’re going to put Kimbo’s lights out, does that mean you’re going for the knockout rather than the submission?
SHAMROCK: I’m gonna go for everything, because in my opinion from everything that I saw of Kimbo - The only time he’s ever knocked anybody out is when they started to get tired, okay! So I don’t respect his power, I don’t respect his grappling ability, I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna whip his ass. That’s what I’m gonna do. Whether it’s a punch or whether it’s a throw or lock or submission, it don’t matter to me, because whatever is there I’m gonna take.
KIMBO: Hey, was Bo Cantrell tired after 19 seconds? Was Tank tired after 42 seconds? [laughs]
SHAMROCK: You know what? Keep counting your record.
KIMBO: Keep counting your losses, buddy.
SHAMROCK: Yeah, that’s your problem, dude. Better look to the future.
KIMBO: I am whupping your ass.
SHAMROCK: Because it’s going to end October 4th.
KIMBO: Alright, Ken.
Ken is known as somebody who is a master of the submission from his early submission days in King of Pancrease and all of that. What have you done to your training to improve your ground game if it ends up on the ground and Ken decides to go for a submission?
KIMBO: You will see on October 4th. I learn a lot every time I come to training camp. You know, I’m still a rookie at it. I have the heart of a giant and the will-power of ten men - with that in mind, and the training I have and the trainers I have, Ken is going to be like my birthday cake. I’m going to eat him, eat him up.
The grappling area is one in which you’re going to have an obvious advantage in both the technique and experience and all of that. What is the likelihood you’re going to want to get this fight to the ground given your background?
SHAMROCK: Well, kind of the way I see it is I’m going to go out there [and] I’m going to be too fast for him. I hit hard and he can feel my punches, some leg kicks. He’s going to get tired and I don’t even have to take the guy down, he’s going to fall down.
KIMBO: I’m going to give you a shot. I’m going to give you a chin shot.
SHAMROCK: You guys heard that. Everybody heard that.
KIMBO: I’m giving you that, buddy.
SHAMROCK: See, and that’s why I’m the veteran and you’re the rookie, because you’re an idiot!
Do you think that this is going to be the fight that will make him a complete fighter?
KIMBO: Every fight makes you a complete fighter, so every dog has his day. Everything that’s up must come down, you know what I’m saying? I’m prepared for a lot of shit, but losing is not an option. And if it happens ,I’ll learn from it and come back from it. So I’m ready for a fight. I’m actually ready for a fight.
Do you feel that fighting someone like Ken Shamrock is a thrill or a step up for you or just another fight?
KIMBO: Man, I’m honored to fight Ken Shamrock. I’m telling you. I’m bragging about it. I’m excited about it. Like I said first, of the respect I got for a legendary fighter like Ken Shamrock, there’s a lot of respect coming. To lose to Ken Shamrock, to me is not a bad thing. But to kick his ass is an even better thing. Either way I look at it positive. I look at it in a good way.
Do you respect Kimbo Slice’s climb from being a street fighter to a big popular MMA fighter?
SHAMROCK: No. At this particular time I have no respect for him at all.
KIMBO: And that’s why you’re an idiot.
SHAMROCK: Well, I guess we’ll find that out won’t we Jabrony.
Does it piss you off, all of the attention that Kimbo gets?
SHAMROCK: No. I think that anybody who comes from where he’s come from and going to where he’s at, to grab that and do everything he’s done up to this point, more power to him, man. Don’t hate the hater - appreciate. He’s getting all of this. What man in his right mind would turn it away? Hey, he’s getting the opportunities and he’s seizing them, more power to him. The only thing I don’t like is he’s in the ring against me, that’s why I want to beat him down.
Are you fired up about getting the opportunity to beat him down on CBS?
SHAMROCK: Absolutely. I think it’s a great opportunity to get on TV and be able to fight. And all of these people get to turn the TV on and it doesn’t cost them a dime. I think that’s great, give back to the fans.
Would it have benefitted your career to get a few more fights before taking on someone of Ken’s pedigree?
KIMBO: You know, I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me, dude. I have not turned down one name. I have not said, ‘No, I don’t want to fight this guy, I’ll fight that guy.’ My job is they line them up and I knock them down. That’s what it’s all about, man. If you don’t want to take on one name, if you don’t want to take on that name, then that says about you as a fighter that you’re not ready for what you’re doing. You don’t have the love for what you’re doing. I’ll fight anybody.
Ken, what do you have left to prove after such an accomplished career?
SHAMROCK: How about, just because I love to fight? I love to beat people up and Kimbo has grown very, very fast, came off of the internet and is billed as the world’s dangerous guy. That’s where I came from. This guy’s coming from the same spot that I came from and he’s trying to take my territory. And I’m getting the time to go in there and beat him down and take back what’s mine. You gotta know I’m going to take this fight. It is all about pride.
What’s it like fighting the student of a guy that you fought so memorably so many years ago?
SHAMROCK: Obviously, I don’t like it. For one, he knows everything I do. He knows me inside and out. And so if there was something that is going to able to give him an edge, I guess you’d say it would be Bas Rutten. We’ve been friends for a very long time, he’s knows everything I do. He knows how to escape me. But I’ve got a few surprises for Bas and Kimbo.
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