Kimbo still waiting to earn his ‘slice’ of greatness

Kevin Ferguson is a beast. Not only because he literally looks like one, but because he is a 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound hard-punching, body-slamming, guillotine-choking knockout artist. The man, better known as Kimbo Slice, is a true brawler. A man “born to kick ass,” Kimbo first came to fame by knocking out fighter after fighter in numerous street fights that made their way to YouTube. There, he became “The King of Web Brawlers,” as he was named by Rolling Stone Magazine.\nKimbo was driven by not only the urge to test his own manhood, but also by the power of the mighty dollar bill. He began to draw big crowds and bets, putting up thousands of dollars each fight for any taker who could match the amount and beat him. He has one known defeat in more than 20 fights.\nKimbo Slice has since graduated from street fighting in the dark alleys of his hometown of Miami, Fla., to the shining lights and growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts. It was the next logical move for someone who had been known for beating “tough guys” into submission. Despite scoring three very impressive knockouts in his first three MMA fights, many skeptics, including myself, have failed to accept Slice as a true force to be reckoned with in the MMA arena. Though I have witnessed brief signs of greatness while watching each of Kimbo’s first three fights, in each of them he knocked his opponents into next week. He has yet to be taken past the first round. His longest fight only lasted 1 minute, 12 seconds. He’s the sport’s most marketable fighter right now. He has the look, the attitude, the killer instinct and the “badass” appeal that die-hard MMA fans love.\nI can’t help but wonder if Kimbo is indeed ready for prime time. Here’s my problem with Kimbo: His first three fights were against former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion boxer Ray Mercer, Tank Abbott – who knocked out a 400-pound man in 18 seconds – and Bo “Redrum” Cantrell. These fighters sound intimidating, right?\nWrong! Each one of Kimbo’s opponents was over the age of 40 and not only do they all have losing records, but his first three opponents have lost nearly 50 percent of their matches (about 48 percent to be exact) by way of knockout or submission. Now, I’ve heard of starting a career slowly and gradually working your way up to tougher competition – but his competition to this point has just been ridiculous. On top of all that, Kimbo is 34 years old, which is ancient when it comes to some sports. How many good years can he possibly have in him? How will he do when he steps up in competition?\nI have more questions than answers right now when it comes to Kimbo Slice, and I’m not sure any of them will be answered any time soon. Kimbo faces off against James “The Colossus” Thompson this Saturday on CBS. Thompson comes in with an unimpressive 14-8 record and displays a questionable jaw. He’s lost his last two fights by way of embarrassing knockouts. The event Saturday is supposed to be the most watched MMA event of all time, and I’m sure it will be. The ratings are sure to be great, but it’s too bad that the fighting probably won’t be up to par. Kimbo must step up his competition to truly earn his slice of greatness.