Boxers on the decline, here's a free warning for you: be wary of going to Japan to start your "new" career in mixed martial arts.
That's exactly what Mr. Hollywood, Rubin Williams is about to do when he fights for Dream (or as they like to spell it, DREAM), Japan's top MMA promotion, Tuesday night. It's likely that he's not going to enjoy the experience too much.
Why? Well, it seems Williams is making his multi-disciplinary fighting debut against Kazushi Sakuraba, a catch wrestling specialist who's considered by hardcore MMA fans as one of the greats of the sport and owns wins over four members of the famed Gracie family.
It hardly seems fair for someone just learning the finer points of the ground game to be matched up against someone like Sakuraba, and if the fight was in the U.S., it almost certainly wouldn't be happening. But in Japan, matchmaking is more WWE than UFC, with entertainment value weighing a great deal more than pairing two men of equal skill.
Sakuraba is 40 and is 0-2 in his last two fights, but there's little doubt that unless he's overcome by the desire to stand and trade with Williams, he'll be making Mr. Hollywood tap out. And let's be honest - it's not like Williams was a world beater as a boxer. He had a decent run until about 2006, but since then he's probably best known for being knocked out by Jeff Lacy, Allan Green and Andre Ward or getting eliminated from Season 3 of The Contender without even getting to fight.
So yeah, maybe going into MMA seems like an okay proposition to keep fighting for a paycheck once your boxing career hits the skids. Just make sure you do it on this side of the Atlantic or else you run the risk of becoming a cautionary tale.
(Note: In the extremely unlikely event that Williams knocks out Sakuraba, please disregard this entire post!)
Posted by The Franchise
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