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BENT: 'Crazy in Alabama' Starring - Ray Mercer and Tim Sylvia
Jun 11, 2009 - 1:50:28 PM BENT: 'Crazy in Alabama' Starring - Ray Mercer and Tim Sylvia

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Ever since MMA became recognized as a sport and was no longer perceived as being a glorified bar brawl from inside a cage, many of the sport's detractors have increased the volume of their dissent and continued to claim that this sport is still in fact barbaric, and that boxing is the pure sport. Along with these arguments have been others such as wondering if in fact a Mixed Martial Artist could even last in the ring under the guise of a boxing match or vice versa. Well, my friends, we soon shall know the answer to this question.

Because Tim Sylvia is set to box Ray Mercer in a bout scheduled for six rounds in the main event of the Monte Cox-circus, Adrenaline III.

Now, this boxing match will of course take place in a cage, so this is really less of a traditional boxing match but rather an MMA bout in which the combatants must adhere to the rules and regulations of boxing.

Although one does have to question anything regarding "regulations," since the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board refused to sanction this bout and as such it had to be moved from the bright lights of Atlantic City to Birmingham, Alabama, since this particular state has no such commission.

So, this is theoretically a steel cage boxing match that no one would sanction!

That actually sounds like a way to market this one as having some sort of significance or entertainment value, but truthfully no one would touch this one if given rubber gloves and a gallon bucket of bleach. This carnival attraction was as appealing to the NJSAC as a bachelor being led into the back room of a cheap strip club and being told to live it up and not use a condom for this night of debauchery. Much like this bachelor would begin to question the company he keeps and quietly smile as he walked backwards out of the joint, any athletic commission worth their salt would do the same to this one, just as New Jersey did.

Well, except for Alabama, which does little to refute the claims of those who deem them to be "backwards" by not having a regulatory body in 2009. So, what could have taken place in Atlantic City and complemented one of the cheap buffets will now have to nestle in next to a pecan log roll from Stuckey's.

First and foremost, we do not need MMA fighters to step into a boxing ring and defend the fistic abilities of those who compete in our sport. At the same time, boxing does not need anyone to walk into a cage a la Art Jimmerson and give it the old college try in trying to prove the "sweet science" is somehow better than Mixed Martial Arts.

These sports are different and should be treated as such by the media, fans and the athletes alike. Just because both sports are combat sports does this immediately make them one and the same, or create a situation in which only one can survive let alone thrive? Not a chance. Theoretically you could make the claim that baseball and basketball are the same because both are non-combat sports which both use a round ball, keep score and feature teams. Sure, they have their similarities if you want to cut everything down to its most basic values, but at that rate you may as well lump anything together which consists of human competition and call them one and the same.

Although, I would still not allow you to tell me that poker is a sport.

So, here we are in 2009, and boxing should be allowed to eke out its existence while MMA overtakes it in just about every single category, and this should be perfectly fine so long as one does not try to impede the other from doing that which they do. So in the world of boxing means that no one should try to figure out how in the world they determine their top ten rankings and just why in the hell we need a WBO, WBC, WBA, IBA, IBF or NABF champion.

With all of the various complaints or praise of either sport being laid aside, what we have taking place on Saturday is former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia slapping on boxing gloves to take on former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO Heavyweight Champion Ray Mercer in a six round bout which shall take place under the unified rules of boxing but will be contested inside of a cage. Although, with no regulatory board one has to wonder why the hell even bother to enforce any rules since there is no one minding the store in an effort to keep anyone safe.

Tim Sylvia seems to think this bout is his way of punching his card and starting a potential new job as a heavyweight boxer, and this makes me wonder if he is as delusional as Alabama for sanctioning it. Tim was interviewed by Jesse Holland of MMA Mania and had the following to say:

"I'm going to give it a whirl. Basically a fight's a fight, and I didn't have an MMA fight until July (actually August 1st) in the Affliction 3 (show), and we really wanted to fight before then. This opportunity came about – and I've always wanted to try boxing at a pro level – so we decided to take it and see what happens. I'm jumping in the deep end. I never have (done things half way). Look at the heavyweight (MMA) division; I've fought about seven of the Top 10. So I might as well jump right in there and fight a guy that's ranked in the Top 20 in the world."

I have to wonder just what in the hell he is thinking and sit back in amazement because he actually believes what he said. Now, Ray Mercer might be ranked in the top twenty somewhere in the world. This much is true. Of course he is probably ranked number twenty by the WTFIWWB organization based out of Bora Bora, and for all I know he probably holds a belt made out of cardboard to represent the Championship he won while fighting in the Dogpatch Boxing Federation's event in the Ozarks. However, Mercer is not relevant at all in terms of the actual top twenty boxers in the world, and no one would state such a claim unless they were either being fellated under the table or slipped a fifty for their troubles.

I hate to say it but Tim Sylvia is in some respect the equivalent of Ray Mercer in MMA, since both have clearly competed at the highest level and achieved some lofty goals but neither one is considered special in 2009. Sylvia, for one, was gladly allowed to leave the fold of the UFC and try his hand elsewhere, which he did for a King's ransom in a losing effort against Fedor last summer at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Sylvia is set to take on Paul Buentello on the Affliction: Trilogy card on August 1st, and while this is a somewhat serviceable heavyweight matchup between two known commodities, it is not exactly a barnburner of a fight with championship implications.

At 33 years of age, and having made a sizable sum of money in his MMA career, it is likely that Sylvia will bounce around the non-UFC circuit and pick up decent paydays while serving as a name opponent for those moving up the ranks. The UFC is in no hurry to welcome the man back since his fighting style was usually such that it could be imagined to evoke a "and you thought I was boring" response from Lyoto Machida. Big Tim can use the fame he achieved in the UFC and leverage this to garner paydays such as the one he received for starring in Fedor's clothing commercial, and there are no problems that I have with him doing so. I do have a problem with him doing something which will by proxy give the sport of Mixed Martial Arts a black eye, and that is all that he will achieve in battling Mercer.

I covered a Ray Mercer fight when he fought journeyman Troy Weida in the main event of a card held at Bally's Atlantic City in February of 2002. Ray scored a first round TKO over this walking and talking tomato can who would have gotten his ass kicked by nearly everyone in the first seven rows of the audience, including several small children. I don't want to say Weida took a dive but I witnessed some folks treat the slot machines more roughly than Mercer did him. Since this fight, Mercer has continued to ply his trade wherever he is allowed to, and in the process has faced and suffered defeat at the hands of such names as Wladimir Klitschko and Shannon Briggs. Oh, and Derric Rossey. Rossey is a known name in boxing to maybe his family and that strange 3rd grade teacher who thought he was so mature for his age. Mercer has been the equivalent of a traveling roadside attraction in boxing and hasn't been good for the sport in many, many years.

So, you take Ray Mercer who in 2009 is an embarrassment to boxing and put him against Tim Sylvia who isn't exactly the name we first mention to those unfamiliar with MMA inside of a steel cage and schedule them to box for six rounds.

No good can come from this, and the shame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of Monte Cox who should change his name to "Three Card Monte" for putting together this sham of a fight. Now, Sylvia-Mercer is of course just the cherry atop a sundae of fourteen MMA, bouts which sadly are not getting the lion's share of the publicity due to the circus surrounding this main event. That's the real shame for fighters such as Rich Clementi who will be taking on Sauske Zapata who is a heralded local fighter, and Jeremy Horn who is scheduled to face the undefeated prospect Chris Davis.

So, we truly do have a real MMA card featuring some notable names in some fights which, on paper, appear to be moderately compelling, and thanks to the main event it is as if they do not matter. Although in some respect it is likely these fighters would like to remain under the radar and not stick their necks out on the line and admit they have anything to do with a card featuring Sylvia vs. Mercer.

If you get a lapdance from a stripper it is likely you are going to go home with some glitter on you. Well, Sylvia and Mercer are going to do their dance atop the Adrenaline MMA III: Bragging Rights card on Saturday from Birminham, AL, and after grinding on each other and the fans over six rounds will send everyone home covered in something as well, albeit not of the sparkling variety. It will smell, however, and that stench is being rubbed off on our sport of MMA thanks to this clownish affair along with a heaping helping of shame.

This sport has come so far since 1993, and eighteen minutes on Saturday will potentially set us back years in the eyes of those who are privy to this travesty. Thankfully it is taking place where there is no regulatory board, and perhaps the old adage about a tree falling in the forest will ring true in this case.

Because if Tim Sylvia falls inside of a boxing ring, surrounded by a cage in Birmingham, AL, and no athletic commission would regulate it, perhaps we will not have to hear any sounds from those who could take this circus and use it to bolster their arguments against the sport. It matters not if Tim Sylvia or Ray Mercer harm each other on Saturday, because just the fact that this fight is taking place is enough to give MMA a black eye.