The subject of heated is discussion is whether or not Brian Green 'took a dive' or 'threw the fight' or lost on purpose for money. All I can say is that I was right there witnessing history in the making. An eye witness to the unexpected that was 3.4 seconds away from happening. Brian Green was beating Kimbo Slice. Fair and square, no questions asked. Brian Green was faster, threw more punches, landed more punches, had better defense, weaved better, bobbed better and was the overall better boxer that night. As chance would have it, Kimbo Slice pulled off a knockout in the last few seconds of the fight that saved his butt from an embarrassing decision loss to an 0-0 last minute opponent, MMA fighter turned last minute pro boxer Brian Green.
If you know anything about the fight game you know that fighters are sometimes paid to lose. It's the ugly truth in the sport of boxing especially. Like any other business arrangement however, it has to make sense. So, let's analyze why Brian Green taking a dive didn't make sense.
First of all no one would have considered it necessary to pay Brian Green to take a dive. No one thought he would win any way. Brian Green was around 50lbs. lighter than Kimbo Slice and had no prior boxing experience. Those of us in the fight game just assumed Brian Green was going to come in and get knocked out by Kimbo Slice just so he could wear a T-Shirt that says "I Fought Kimbo".
In the locker room before the fight Brain said to me "I've got nothing to lose". I thought "yes, you do. Your head and your career." None of us expected Brian Green to throw Kimbo Slice a beating for 98% of the fight which brings to light the second issue.
Brian Green was putting way too much heat on Kimbo for a guy 'taking a dive'. I was right there. I saw and heard every single punch. Brian Green's punches were landing on target with force. He was trying to get famous at Kimbo's expense, something we all began to believe was going to happen by the third round.
All four rounds of the fight were everything that makes the fight game so amazing. The underdog coming out with heat seeking missile type punches, the crowd off there seats, everyone chanting "GREEN, GREEN, GREEN" cheering for the underdog, the David that faced Goliath. The fight was four rounds of everything that is pure and good about fighting. You NEVER know what can happen.
So let's consider that Kimbo did take a beating for four rounds of a four round fight and let Brian Green humiliate him in front of everyone present. That still leaves the one thing no one has really considered. If Brian Green did take a dive that means that the referee, Kimbo Slice and Brian Green all managed to time it right down to the last 3 seconds of the final round? Impossible. Imagine if they had been off by just a couple seconds? It wouldn't be hard to make a little mistake like that when you just fought a four round fight and both fighters were clearly tired. Do you really think Kimbo Slice would let someone toy with his career down to a three second window?
Lastly we need to consider the financial aspect of this issue. This fight happened on a small pro show in Springfield, Missouri. It wasn't televised. There was no pay-per-view. The kind of money it would take to set up a 'dive' of this magnitude simply wouldn't exist with a small budget show. Lets assume they could afford $10,000 to pay Brian Green to 'take a dive'. Do all the non-fighter people in the world not understand how much more money would have been there for Brian Green to win the fight?
Brian Green has a professional MMA record of 27 wins with 17 losses and is only 26 years old. A win over Kimbo Slice would have guaranteed him some great opportunities with much bigger paydays and sponsorship dollars than a measly $10,000.
Rest assured, Brian Green fought Kimbo Slice and was beating him and beating him in fine fashion. With less than four seconds left in the fight Kimbo Slice caught Brian Green with a text book boxing three punch combination that ultimately cost Brian the opportunity of a lifetime. Had I been Brian Green's corner-man between the third and fourth round I would have said "You did your job, you won the crowd, they all love you now. You beat this man for the last three rounds. The decision is yours. Now stop showing off, tighten up your defense and let's win this fight."
As fate would have it with only 3.4 seconds left in the fight Brian Green's legs folded in a way that can't be faked. He hit the canvas and was out cold. Kimbo Slice was victorious with a literally last second knockout. Perhaps that's what makes guys like Kimbo Slice a 'sensation'. Perhaps guys like Kimbo weren't meant to be beat by a simple young kid from the midwest.
Either way, I was there. I saw it. It was amazing. It was real. The fight gave new breath to my own personal love for the sport. To the fans I say be careful who you listen to. There a lot of people talking that weren't there and didn't even watch the fight on video saying things they shouldn't be saying.
Brian Green doesn't deserve to have his reputation tarnished or his efforts in the ring downplayed. Brian Green stood toe to toe with a dangerous fighter that drastically outweighed him and delivered a hair raising beat down for nearly the entire fight. Give the fighter his due. Good job Brian Green.
More about Brian Green on Sherdog:
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Brian-Green-4164
My page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TeamFusionMMA
Well said. I was also there and frankly getting sick of all the comments from people who watched the fight on a 2"x3" ipod screen. It was completely different sitting feet from the ring.
ReplyDeleteGreat read
ReplyDeleteThis is right on the money, Great Fight Brian!
ReplyDeleteI was sitting with my left arm at Green's corner with my hands on the canvas. I completely agree - Punches were real, knock-out was real. I made a similar comparison on ESPN.com for their story. Brian did his job and I put money on it that he will never get the chance to fight Slice again... Slice knows he would lose a rematch.
ReplyDelete