Tank Ready For Kimbo
Date: 2008-07-23 00:27:23
Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/7802774/Tank...
Submitted By: Explosive Fight Videos
For years, David "Tank" Abbott has been the MMA equivalent of those D-list Hollywood celebrities that seem to be famous for just being famous. Sure he had talent and was interesting to watch, but what quality work had Tank actually produced?
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Abbott kick started his MMA career in 1995 at UFC 6 and he left quite an impression after violently stopping two opponents with powerful punches in one night and making it to the tournament finals. The great representative of the soft but effective Brazilian Jiu Jitsu technique in the young sport, Royce Gracie, had recently made his exit from the organization after proving what works in real fights and in came Tank flinging verbal invective and throwing bombs like a street fighter.
But since that time, the portly Abbott has simply lost a lot more than he has won, seemingly on account of his own stubborn refusal to get in shape and diversify his arsenal. Opponents soon learned that if Tank didn't catch you in the first few seconds, he'd probably tire out and be relatively easy pickings.
Tank bounced around from fighting organizations to pro wrestling outfits and had no apparent desire for serious training or fighting, but still showed up every so often to bank on his name and collect a pay check. Even his most ardent fans hoped that the aging Abbott would choose to either start trying or just retire.
But far from retiring, Tank will instead headline a fight card on the Showtime network Saturday night in Miami against Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. On its face, the MMA bout as a main event for a proud boxing network borders on offensively silly — Abbot is 9-13 and Slice is 2-0, but Tank insists that he's finally gotten with the program.
"Training has just evolved for this fight more than for any of my other opponents. I have taken it very seriously," he says. "Kimbo is going to get hurt, that's for sure. The way I am and the shape I'm in right now, I can't fathom a human being who can take five minutes of my shots. I am on fire right now."
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During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's show, Abbot revealed that he had lost 50 pounds in training camp, and though no one will mistake him for an underwear model on fight night, that's a considerable improvement and an indication that Abbott is indeed motivated for a return to a big stage.
But if Abbott's training has evolved, his typical trashy pre-fight talk has not.
"I think it's funny that he's got Bas Rutten to train him. This is a real fight, not a slap-fest. He should have gotten a real fighter to train him. Training with Bas is better than nothing. But you either have it or you don't. Technique doesn't make you tough," Abbott says.
Ferguson has been working with former MMA champion and vaunted coach Rutten for a year and most have understood that as evidence of his own seriousness in his new MMA career. Abbott's mention of "slap" fighting is a reference to Rutten's days as a champion of the Japanese Pancrase organization, a forerunner to modern MMA, where closed fist strikes to the head were prohibited.
What Abbott leaves out, of course, is that Rutten also went on to fight in the UFC where he used punches a plenty and also became the heavyweight champion, something Abbott was never able to accomplish. Kimbo has remained mostly subdued in his pre fight talk, but says he takes the insulting of his coach personally.
"Bas is a mentor of mine," Ferguson said. "Anything Tank has to say about Bas, I am going to take it personal. I am going to make him pay for his words.
"Tank has a very big mouth. He needs to be careful about what he says. We take a lot of things personal. I just hope I don't run into him before the fight starts. I want to settle this in the cage."
It's in the cage that Tank thinks the former street boxer Ferguson will struggle.
"Kimbo is tough streetwise, but he is behind the times as far as putting it all together. The only thing he has done that is only remotely close to me is he has been in a few street fights. And I don't even consider those fights.
"There's nothing he can do, barring a lucky punch, to beat me. I've been wrestling, grappling, fighting — you name it — for 20 years. What's he going to do? There's nothing about his game that worries me. This is what I love to do. I like to fight. I like it because I can't go to jail for it," Abbott says.
We've heard the tough talk before, of course, but Tank knows the real question at hand.
"Everybody gives me [expletive] about my shape. I can do 15 minutes on my head holding my breath," he promises.
Fans hope so. An in-shape Tank has been a dream thus far, but it would sure make his fights more fun to watch.