Props: MMAWeekly.com
Quoteworthy:
“I’d of beat the (expletive) out of him. It would have been done. No Kimbo. I would have rubbed him out and saved everyone the headaches.”
Former heavyweight, light heavyweight and welterweight mixed martial artist, Joe Riggs (now settled at middleweight), tells the interesting tale of his near miss fight against street fighting legend, Kimbo Slice, back in 2003. His manager at the time answered Kimbo’s call to take on all comers in unsanctioned fisticuffs for $10,000 a pop. Riggs’ camp raised the stakes to $50,000, which perhaps raised a few red flags on the Slice end. Riggs was actually training to fight Kimbo before the the door was “promptly closed” likely after a little homework. “Diesel” now competes under the Strikeforce banner and Slice has an upcoming fight against Ken Shamrock during the CBS “Saturday Night Fights” Elite XC main event on October 4.
51 Comments »
Further evidence that Kimbo is not as tough as he is made out to be.
Hell man…we all knew that since the day he took ouy rob mercer and tank abott…i take that back! we all knew that sinc ehe had fought sean gannon instead and they tries to do everything they could to help kimbo win! i bet they declined joe riggs to take on sean fatsh*t gannon
fighters, promoters (dana), and posters alike all like to bash kimbo, yet if hes such a waste if time then why does everyone waste their breath talking about him so often?? you would think if he was so unimportant or bad then fighters would not even bring him into any type of conversation since all they would be doing is embarrasing themselves…
oh yeah, joe riggs??? really? how bout u worry about beating the other smaller guys in ur division before flappin ur mouth about what could have been if u ever fought kimbo. One thing i know, and KIMBO has cast a spell on everyone, escpecially the people that hate on him cuz they cant seem to stop talkin about him.
All the fighters talk about him because it’s like when the first crop of Ultimate Fighter guys showed up on the scene and you had guys like Nick Diaz saying how they weren’t real fighters. They’re upset about the extra publicity he gets and the fact that he gets a bigger paycheque.
Its like when theres a bad smell in the room. People still talk about it even though it stinks.
haha, pretty nice analogy there! hehe!
Dana has been pretty clear in his belief that any top 10 UFC fighter in any weight class would destroy Fergie. I guess that goes for guys who used to be top 10 UFC guys as well.
why do people insist on calling out Kimbo, it will end up putting them on the wash up list for being in there with Slice.
Fighting Kimbo is good for your carreer if your on your way out. I have zero respect for Kimbo and lose alot for the guy’s who wan’t him in a cage.
Riggs is on his way out.
he wasnt in 2003
People insist on calling him out for the same reason they hate him, instant fame. The first guy to knock the crap out of Kimbo will get a ton of attention, and since Kimbo has shown that he is not that great a fighter, everyone knows that it will not be long before someone does beat him, and they want to be that guy.
Anybody could beat Kimbo, including me. I’ll just give him a low-blow, and he’s gonna look and sound like Sakara when he was struck in the family jewels, hehe!
He isnt and wasnt calling Kimbo out Ro-J, if anything, Joe answered the call. Pretty sly if you ask me, but a good way to make some quick money.
Everyone wants to be the first to expose him for the fraud he is.
He isn’t yet?
He was exposed a while ago if you ask me. I don’t think it’s some huge secret.
Slow news day?
LMAO! Mania, u r out of your mind!
Hahahahaha!!!!
This is funny on so many levels.
Dana said Uriah Faber would take Kimbo.
I only reason I would tune into a Kimbo fight is because I want to see him lose. Even then, it better be on free TV.
ok, that would never happen.. whatever techniques Urijah might have, it’s just simple physics..
Riggs still has a career? everybody is coming out of the wood works I could of should of would of but they didn’t they are all just jealous of his success!
ken should just stay retired robert berry just beat and kens on a 5 fight losing streak
jared +gary shaw are assholes for giving kim chumps all the time
didnt elite realize its 55 million in debt they just need to quit and stfu
By the way Kimbo allows himself to be protected and matched up against mediocre fighters, there is no doubt in my mind that this story is true. How many 40 something year olds does Kimbo plan on fighting professionaly?
Absolutely right Mexi.
Yeah thats right go STRAIGHT to top ranked fighters no build up of experience kinda like pro boxing huh..you know every Ali fight wasnt aginst Liston or Norton,or Foreman and he fought 61 fights, Every Sugar Ray fight wasnt against Hearns and Halger and Duran he fought 40 times, Every Dela Hoya fight wasnt against Mayweather or Mosley he fought 44 times. This is one area where MMA could learn from boxing if it want to have longevity.
I’m sure if Kimbo has his way he will never fight any top ranked fighters, simply because he knows he would lose to any B or C class fighters. Way to keep up that street cred’ by choosing to have the majority of your fights against guys in their 40’s. I’m sure he can make appearances at the Swap Shop after Elite XC goes under.
Dolemite, I agree that those boxers did fight a lot of cans on their way to the top. But they weren’t in their 30’s when they started fighting either. Kimbo doesn’t have enough time in his career to be working his way up through a bunch of cans.
does anyone know wht Diesel weighed at the time he wanted this fight to happen?I’m guessing that he probably was still a Hwt fighter.
Well he’s never truly been under 200 pounds in a long time.
Yeah totally. He was 300+ for a while too.
does anyone know what he weighed when he fought Herb Dean? the fight happened in January 2003.
ha joe riggs is a beast!
Joe Riggs is the MAN ! This story has to be true.
kimbo vs. riggs would be a pretty sick matchup. both are heavy hitters. i could just imagine them trading until 1 of them gasses and tips over.
Riggs would get knocked out or submitted like he always does.
Hmmmmm, couple of red flags in this story why would Riggs camp raise the purse to 50,000 and risk the fight getting called off,if it would be such an easy win, why not take the easy 10,000, and if the a$$ whuppin would have been so easy why the need for “training” in a barenuckles unsanctioned fight? Was he training BJJ for the Taco Bell parking lot? Sounds fishy to me
Haha crazy that Josh Thomson is at -1200… might be worth putting some cheap money on Ashe Bowman just incase Josh gets injured or DQ’d
LOL! its a TRAP! thats what they want you to think.
Riggs “I would have destroyed Kimbo…after a full training camp at Big Bear, and a UFC like purse” Get the fvck out or here this was some bare nuckles sh1t.
kimbo would destroy joe riggs. theres nothing more dangerous than a man fighting for his kids
Yeah like Houston Alexander he has looked real dangerous his last couple of fights. The reason for fighting doesn’t make someone tougher.
Riggs is the man! he wasn’t calling out kimbo, it was probably an excerpt from an interview when he was asked about it… haters… can’t wait to see the band wagon pull into town when riggs gets back on top
He wont get back on top plain and simple, he is a bum. There is a reason why he does not fight in the UFC anymore……….HE COULDNT WIN A FIGHT!!!!!!! back on top phhhhh what a laugh!!!
Hey Spyder, you know where he trains, show up for one of his classes and show him what a bum he is. Talk is cheap.
PS: SPYDER YOUR A CHICKENSH$!
Joe Riggs is a bum, punching bag, submission dummy whatever, Kimbo would absolutely destroy Riggs and after Riggs has spouted off I would love to see it happen.
PS: RIGGS YOUR A BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it could go either way if they fought, but I have a feeling Riggs is just looking for a payday.
Riggs has got to be better than shamrock or thompson ,i’d pick riggs to beat Bitchbo
I would put Brock Lesner against Kimbo just to see what happens.. I am not a Kimbo fan and can’t wait to see him lose..
That so called answer to Kimbo’s call, by raising the stakes to 50 grand – and it not being accepted, does not mean that Kimbo chickened out. First of all, Kimbo’s group would have needed to come up with an extra 40 grand over the ten g’s they had scraped up in the first place. Secondly, there was no mention if they would have required a change in venue. Thirdly, there was no mention that they would have required the rights to film the fight.
If those last to unspoken scenarios did exist, Kimbo’s camp was smart not to accept. Why? Because,(1)With a change of venue the rules could also change, i.e. they could change to favor the challenger and (2)because win or lose, the other guy would have the rights to make money off the film…
Now, if the challenger really wanted to just kick Kimbo’s ass and was so sure of himself, then instead of insisting that Kimbo’s camp raise at least 40 grand more, why couldn’t he offer to take Kimbo’s 10 g’s if he won the fight, and award Kimbo the 50 g’s if Kimbo won?