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Ken Shamrock Writes An Apology Letter To EliteXC, CBS And Kimbo Slice (EliteXC: ‘Heat’)

In a warm-up session that took place hours before Ken Shamrock’s fight against Kimbo Slice, Ken accidentally head-butted one of his training partners and was taken off the EliteXC: "Heat" fight card.  The cut above his left eye required six stitches, putting Kimbo Slice and the entire promotion at jeapordy. 

The Florida State Athletic Commission and its doctors could not clear Ken for the fight, which forced EliteXC representatives to look for a last-minute replacement.  Seth "The Silverback" Petruzelli took the fight in a heartbeat, but his win over Kimbo Slice brought about even further issues because both fighters were not given enough time to study and prepare for each other.  After all, mixed martial arts isn’t another backyard street fight as Kimbo was most famous for.

Here’s a letter from Ken Shamrock to EliteXC, CBS, Kimbo Slice, Seth Petruzelli and the entire promotion:

Open Letter From Ken Shamrock on CBS Fight:

On October 4th, I was set to fight Kimbo Slice on the EliteXC/CBS Saturday Night Fights in a highly anticipated event. Unfortunately, because of a training accident and the intervention of the Florida State Boxing Commission, our fight did not happen. I suffered a cut above my left eye that required six stitches, and the cut was significant enough to cause the Florida State Boxing Commission to refuse to allow me to fight.

The scheduled bout with Kimbo on the EliteXC/CBS Saturday Night Fight card was a great opportunity, and it is unfortunate that I was unable to face Kimbo as planned. I want to apologize to all of my fans, and to the EliteXC and CBS executives who worked so hard to put this fight together. I also want to apologize to Kimbo, Bas Rutten and their entire camp for what happened. I recognize that I put them in a very bad situation, particularly Kimbo. It’s difficult to walk into the ring after training for one opponent only to find out hours before the fight that you have to face some you don’t know or have never seen fight.

Over the years there have been many great times as well as disappointing times and I know Saturday the fans were as disappointed as I was. I was worked up so I decided to train with my partners in order to stay focused on the fight. I was just doing a light roll to check holds when I got caught by a head butt. It was a freak accident and I didn’t think anything of it until I saw drops of blood. It appeared to be a deep laceration so I had my physician look at it and we immediately went to the emergency room. When they said the cut would require stitches, my heart sank because I knew that the Florida Boxing Commission would not let me fight. I was disappointed because I knew this was an opportunity to give the fans, my friends, and my family something to cheer about. It has been a hard couple of years for me, and for my fans. I have suffered some disappointing losses. I definitely regret my decision to train on the day of the fight.

I promise that I will make this up to all my fans. I know that there is nothing I can do about what occurred, but I plan to get back into the ring soon. I would like it to be against Kimbo Slice. Hopefully EliteXC/CBS will still be able to put a fight together. It’s is the right thing to do. The fans want it and I want it.

I would also like to congratulate Petruzelli on his win. He did a phenomenal job. Seth not accepted the challenge of facing a new opponent; he also had to move up in weight class. He came in, dominated Kimbo and walked away with a great victory.

To the fans, I appreciate all of your support.

Thank you and God Bless.

Ken Shamrock

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