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May 4, 2010 – Former boxing welterweight and junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga of Nicaragua is making his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut on May 15.
Mayorga (28-7-1, 22 KO in boxing) will get inside the octagon with MMA veteran Din Thomas (25-8 MMA, 7 TKO/KO, 14 SUB).
Other notable athletes have made recent ventures into the widely popular attraction that is MMA, which most say have trumped boxing in the United States and around the world. They include former baseball star Jose Canseco, former football star Herschel Walker, and former boxing champion James Toney. Mayorga said:
I conquered the world in the boxing ring all the while I was puffing cigarettes and drinking beer. I won three world title belts and I stood toe to toe with so many legends, beating some of them. Vernon Forrest, God rest his soul, was a great boxer yet I beat him back twice. I cannot be denied as I am a force of nature.
Now I will shock the MMA fans and I know so many of my fans from boxing will follow me as I expand my repertoire. They can’t deny me in MMA and I will destroy Din Thomas. I am going to smash him the way I smashed all the big superstars of boxing. To me, a fight is a fight — in a ring, in a cage or on the street.
Fighting is my middle name.
The fight will take place in Fayetteville, North Carolina, at the Crown Coliseum.
Said Thomas: We think Mayorga?s fans are just that, his fans and they will follow him to MMA. Many boxing fans are out there who can become fans of both sports and that’s our target here. Mayorga inspires passion and that’s what we’re looking for.
Ricardo Mayorga has not fought since Shane Mosley knocked him out in the 12th round in 2008.
Mayorga has a brawler boxing style and Thomas should hold most if not all MMA tactical advantages.
Said Devin Price, the CEO of Shine Fights:
In my opinion, boxing and MMA are not in some knockdown, dragout war. It’s not all one and none of the other. The sports have so much in common, especially when it comes to the courage and fighting heart of the athletes. There is room in the marketplace for both boxing and MMA and seeing a big boxing name like Mayorga cross over without abandoning boxing is proof of this. It’s all about an open mind because fans of one sport can learn to love the other. I really feel this. All that boxing versus MMA nonsense is ancient history.
