Shine Fight announces "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas" for May 15 in North Carolina
The upstart Shine Fight Promotions today officially announced its long-rumored third event.
Featuring a main event between nine-time UFC veteran Din Thomas (25-8) and former boxing world champion Ricardo Mayorga (0-0 MMA, 28-7-1 boxing), "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas" takes place May 15 at Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C.
The evening's main card, which has yet to be fully announced, airs live on pay-per-view for a price of $29.95.
While Thomas, an American Top Team product, is undoubtedly the better-known commodity to mixed martial arts fans, the controversial Mayorga brings a legendary boxing history to the contest.
Of course, the Nicaraguan fights for the first time in a n MMA contest. Nevertheless, he isn't shying away from a little trash talk.
"I conquered the world in the boxing ring, (and) all the while I was puffing cigarettes and drinking beer," Mayorga stated in today's release. "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."
Thomas, who has openly campaigned for a fight with Mayorga since the boxer first announced his intentions to enter the world of MMA, isn't too concerned with the skills of his 36-year-old opponent.
"I respect what Ricardo has done in boxing," Thomas stated. "He fooled many opponents with that smoking and drinking shtick, but he won't fool me. I train night and day, and I know he works hard also, but I will send him back to boxing – crawling back to boxing.
"He is about to get a violent education about the skills he needs for MMA, and they are skills that an old dog like Mayorga cannot learn. I will be taking this cat to school. Trust me."
Shine Fights CEO Devin Price said he envisions the match as a crossover moment for fans of both boxing and MMA.
"In my opinion, boxing and MMA are not in some knockdown, dragout war," Price stated. "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 vs. MMA nonsense is ancient history."
Tickets for "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas" soon will be available on Ticketmaster.com. Further event details are expected to be released in the coming week.
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Originally Posted by MMA_scientist
