Gary Shaw, the famed boxing promoter who eventually tried MMA when he helped launch Elite XC and careers for fighters like Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano, has died at the age of 79.
www.mmafighting.com
"Elite XC inked a deal to bring MMA fights to CBS for the first time in history in what was originally a multi-year contract for several events. The debut CBS card in May 2008 featured famed street brawler turned MMA enthusiast
Kimbo Slice in the main event, where he scored a knockout of
James Thompson that helped rocket him to even bigger stardom.
Elite XC also championed women’s MMA, especially after signing
Gina Carano, who became one of the faces of the promotion with a win over
Kaitlin Young on that same CBS card.
Unfortunately, only a few more Elite XC shows took place after that initial CBS debut, but the promotion was instrumental in helping to give a bigger platform to notable fighters such as
Jake Shields,
Cris Cyborg, and numerous others.
The promotion’s demise largely came later that same year when Slice suffered a devastating 14-second knockout to late-replacement opponent
Seth Petruzelli after UFC legend
Ken Shamrock suffered a cut warming up backstage for the fight.
In October 2008, Elite XC’s parent company Pro Elite filed for bankruptcy, which ultimately led to the end of the promotion after a total of 20 events.
Despite Elite XC falling, Shaw remained a stalwart in combat sports for years and continued to work in boxing, promoting fighters such as Shane Mosley, Diego Corrales, and Winky Wright."
R.I.P. He did some good