The Boxing Knockouts of Kimbo Slice
Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Between September 2011 and June 2013, the late boxer and Mixed Martial Artist Kevin Ferguson, better known by his fighting name of Kimbo Slice (1974-2011) scored six knockouts in seven ring appearances against opponents with a combined record of 16 wins and nineteen losses in the United States and Australia. Five of these bouts ended by knockout in the first or second round. The other two Kimbo bouts ended in a fourth round knockout and a four round decision win. There are no TKOs on Kimbo’s record, a testament and tribute to the one man identified solely for his size and street punching power with brute force.
Kimbo went into Mixed Martial Arts thereafter. The boxing verdict on Kimbo Slice was never resolved. The question regarding how far the popular Kimbo could go as a boxer was never answered. At 6’2” and 227 to 245 pounds, Kimbo’s major asset was his menacing appearance and YouTube reputation, versus a boxer who has to establish himself. Kimbo Slice was world famous, but that in and of itself does not guarantee success. It would have been highly interested to have seen Kimbo fight a world class opponent, or at least somebody with a name in an eight or ten rounder.
Kimbo Slice was sort of like a living Ripley’s Believe It or Not in the boxing ring and MMA Arena. Come watch the freak show, see how the menacing looking Kimbo does. It appears Kimbo was as equally curious as the general public as to what would happen, even though the quality of the opponents was at the bottom rung.
Kimbo Slice reminded this reporter of a clone of the later emotional version of Shannon Briggs. Though not as tall as Briggs, he brought the same emotional game into his athleticism. Sort of like a pugilistic version of a chess playing Bobby Fischer into the quintessential head games, Kimbo was a grand master of sports psychological warfare. With Kimbo, the outcome was decided in many cases before the match even took place. To be scared of him was to be doomed. Not everyone fell into this trap, but some did. In reality, Kimbo Slice was a gentle and soft spoken married family man.
It was sad to find out Kimbo was using steroids and died of heart failure at the tender age of 42. Kimbo was the type to have a great career stretching into the 50s and 60s. He was an ageless giant who will be sorely missed. Although the YouTube highlight footage given at the end of this story (click on below) shows only the brief period of Kimbo’s boxing success, it does give rise to thought of how Kimbo would have fared-if he had stayed with boxing.
This reporter could see Kimbo going the distance against Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Lucas Browne, Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Povetkin, Bermane Stiverne, Luis Ortiz, Erkan Teper, Anthony Joshua, Gerald Washington, Dominic Breazeale or any of the major heavyweights, who would have outboxed him technically and cautiously and not have taken any chances. What a big draw and privilege it would have been if Kimbo had realized a heavyweight title shot, which could have easy been sold to the public. It the larger sense, Kimbo Slice was an odd oddity, a circus like boxing and MMA attraction who never realized his full athletic and financial potential in the sports game.
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