WAR RANDLEMAN!
06-12-2009, 09:26 PM
http://mmajunkie.com/news/15167/ray-mercer-vs-tim-sylvia-boxing-bout-briefly-canceled-fight-back-on-as-mma-contest.mma
The long, strange saga that is Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia has taken another unpredicted turn just two days prior to its scheduled date.
Sylvia announced today on his MySpace that the boxing bout was first canceled, then back on as an MMA contest.
Sylvia and Mercer are scheduled to headline Saturday's "Adrenaline MMA III: Bragging Rights" at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Ala.
While original plans for the Mercer vs. Sylvia bout called for it to be contested under MMA rules on May 30 in New Jersey, Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte Cox decided a boxing match would be more interesting.
"I was doing Tim Sylvia against Ray Mercer as a headliner," Cox told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in February. "First I was doing it in MMA. We changed and thought it would be a lot more interesting in boxing.
"In boxing, who knows who is going to win."
Difficulty with obtaining sanctioning forced Cox to seek out an alternative venue for Saturday night in Alabama – a state without a sanctioning body.
Late Wednesday, the Association of Boxing Commissions stepped in to nix the bout, citing improper supervision, a move that prompted Cox to again revert to mixed martial arts rules and eliminate the involvement of the ABC.
"It's given us quite a surprise," Cox today told MMAjunkie.com. "This thing's been advertised for over two months and everyone pretty much knew what was going on.
"It came as quite a shock when [the ABC] called and basically said this was done incorrectly and you're running an illegal show – and they threatened to have us arrested."
While Mercer's limited involvement in MMA would certainly seem to turn the bout in Sylvia's favor, Cox told The Birmingham News that it was the former boxing champion who insisted the show carry on.
"It was going to be Tim fighting in Ray's world, now it's Ray fighting in Tim's world," Cox said. "Tim has already said if he wins then he'll give Ray the boxing match we were trying to get when the Alabama commission is in place. Then we don't have to worry about any of this garbage."
While Cox and Adrenaline MMA still have one event remaining on a broadcast deal with HDNet, the all-high-definition cable network declined to broadcast the card. While Cox said in February he was anticipating a deal that would allow the event to be viewed in up to 70 million homes, Adrenaline MMA III will not be available for live viewing by anyone outside of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
"We had it where GoFightLive.com was broadcasting it, but we had so many problems that it was just going to be too expensive to stream it," Cox said. "In the end, it's being filmed by HDNet for 'Inside MMA,' and that's it."
This is going to be one for the ages
The long, strange saga that is Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia has taken another unpredicted turn just two days prior to its scheduled date.
Sylvia announced today on his MySpace that the boxing bout was first canceled, then back on as an MMA contest.
Sylvia and Mercer are scheduled to headline Saturday's "Adrenaline MMA III: Bragging Rights" at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Ala.
While original plans for the Mercer vs. Sylvia bout called for it to be contested under MMA rules on May 30 in New Jersey, Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte Cox decided a boxing match would be more interesting.
"I was doing Tim Sylvia against Ray Mercer as a headliner," Cox told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in February. "First I was doing it in MMA. We changed and thought it would be a lot more interesting in boxing.
"In boxing, who knows who is going to win."
Difficulty with obtaining sanctioning forced Cox to seek out an alternative venue for Saturday night in Alabama – a state without a sanctioning body.
Late Wednesday, the Association of Boxing Commissions stepped in to nix the bout, citing improper supervision, a move that prompted Cox to again revert to mixed martial arts rules and eliminate the involvement of the ABC.
"It's given us quite a surprise," Cox today told MMAjunkie.com. "This thing's been advertised for over two months and everyone pretty much knew what was going on.
"It came as quite a shock when [the ABC] called and basically said this was done incorrectly and you're running an illegal show – and they threatened to have us arrested."
While Mercer's limited involvement in MMA would certainly seem to turn the bout in Sylvia's favor, Cox told The Birmingham News that it was the former boxing champion who insisted the show carry on.
"It was going to be Tim fighting in Ray's world, now it's Ray fighting in Tim's world," Cox said. "Tim has already said if he wins then he'll give Ray the boxing match we were trying to get when the Alabama commission is in place. Then we don't have to worry about any of this garbage."
While Cox and Adrenaline MMA still have one event remaining on a broadcast deal with HDNet, the all-high-definition cable network declined to broadcast the card. While Cox said in February he was anticipating a deal that would allow the event to be viewed in up to 70 million homes, Adrenaline MMA III will not be available for live viewing by anyone outside of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
"We had it where GoFightLive.com was broadcasting it, but we had so many problems that it was just going to be too expensive to stream it," Cox said. "In the end, it's being filmed by HDNet for 'Inside MMA,' and that's it."
This is going to be one for the ages