Outside of the boxing ring both fighters carry a more than reputable standing on the bare knuckle circuit, and in 2010 both parties nearly came to an agreement to wage war without gloves as Gunn’s team offered Team Slice $400,000 for a fight. Slice and his team rejected the offer.
Gunn has established himself as the top dog in bare knuckle boxing, winning the first sanctioned even in 123 years.
“Kimbo and his team can pretend to deny that they were ever contacted about our fight,” said Gunn. “But the writer who broke the original story was Lorne Scoggins, and he was in contact with both camps. It’s simple. On the street, in a vacant warehouse or in the ring, fighters fight. And it doesn’t make a difference to me; every fight is important to me. To be the man, you have to beat the man. And Kimbo Slice, you will never be the man.”
Now nearly three years later, Slice has since moved on from dominating less than formidable street opponents, having done his time as a MMA fighter inside the octagon, and now is focusing his career on professional prize fighting.
Since turning pro in 2011 Slice has won the first seven fights of his career, with his opponent’s total combined records of 13-19. One of the baddest backyard fighters of recent times, Slice has fallen short in showing his dominance inside the ring. Now promoted by Gary Shaw, Slice is slowly working his way to bigger and better fights in the heavyweight division.
“Kimbo has never proved himself against any reputable opponents,” said Gunn. “He avoided us in the bare knuckle circuit, and since turning pro as a boxer he has struggled to walk through the tomato cans Gary Shaw has put in front of him. I’ve reached out to Shaw countless times to show my interest in going to battle with Slice. We are both bare knuckle legends, and it would be a hell of a show if we met in the ring. Kimbo needs to show he is the real deal and fight a real fighter, and I am more than willing to give him the chance.”
Gunn’s last outing between the ropes was a hard-nosed battle fought against future Hall-of-Famer James Toney, where Gunn suffered a broken hand in the 4th round and was unable to fight past the 5th.
“A fight with Kimbo makes sense,” Gunn continued. “He wants recognition as a boxer, and he needs to stop fighting these jokers they put in front of him. He wasn’t ready to man up three years ago when we presented him the chance to fight without the gloves. Now we can see if his bite is as bad as his bite by him stepping up and agreeing to fight me. It’s not complicated. It’s time to step up to the plate Kimbo.”
At 39-years-old, Kimbo needs to take on a statement fight in order to establish his legitimacy as a gloved contender.
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