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Kimbo killer Seth Petruzelli did his first radio interview with The Monsters in Orlando. He dropped a bombshell when he said that EliteXC bumped his pay to six figures but that the increase came with a stipulation -- 'DON'T TAKE KIMBO TO THE GROUND.'
"The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn't want me to take him down. Let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up punch him."
This is terrible news for EliteXC if this is true. Promoters have no business telling a fighter how to fight. If it's true, EliteXC was doing all it could to protect Kimbo against his big weakness, the ground game. In the end, it didn't matter because Kimbo is terrible on his feet as well. But imagine the reaction if Petruzelli loses the fight via KO, never tried to take down Kimbo and then this claim comes out. The last thing the fight game needs is actual proof backing the daily fight-fixing claims that come from uninformed fans and media.
Yahoo! Sports spoke with Jared Shaw this afternoon. The EliteXC VP said he did NOT tell Petruzelli that he had to stand against Kimbo. So does that mean EliteXC Head of Operations Jeremy Lappen did?
This was a good interview aside from the borderline racist references to the "big black guy" Kimbo. You could accept the Kimbo "jokes" on any other show, but with the Monster's history of racially insensitive remarks they were walking a fine line.
Petruzelli said he knew that the fight was won when he saw Kimbo's pre-fight interview with CBS' Karyn Bryant. The former UFC fighter said Kimbo looked nervous. Petruzelli told Kimbo in the ring that he would do a rematch to which Kimbo basically said, no thanks. He also said that he toned down his victory celebration because he thought "he might get shot" moments after the win in the area. Petruzelli mentioned that his manager was getting death threats in the aftermath.
"The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn't want me to take him down. Let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up punch him."
This is terrible news for EliteXC if this is true. Promoters have no business telling a fighter how to fight. If it's true, EliteXC was doing all it could to protect Kimbo against his big weakness, the ground game. In the end, it didn't matter because Kimbo is terrible on his feet as well. But imagine the reaction if Petruzelli loses the fight via KO, never tried to take down Kimbo and then this claim comes out. The last thing the fight game needs is actual proof backing the daily fight-fixing claims that come from uninformed fans and media.
Yahoo! Sports spoke with Jared Shaw this afternoon. The EliteXC VP said he did NOT tell Petruzelli that he had to stand against Kimbo. So does that mean EliteXC Head of Operations Jeremy Lappen did?
This was a good interview aside from the borderline racist references to the "big black guy" Kimbo. You could accept the Kimbo "jokes" on any other show, but with the Monster's history of racially insensitive remarks they were walking a fine line.
Petruzelli said he knew that the fight was won when he saw Kimbo's pre-fight interview with CBS' Karyn Bryant. The former UFC fighter said Kimbo looked nervous. Petruzelli told Kimbo in the ring that he would do a rematch to which Kimbo basically said, no thanks. He also said that he toned down his victory celebration because he thought "he might get shot" moments after the win in the area. Petruzelli mentioned that his manager was getting death threats in the aftermath.
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