Gary Shaw, the boxing promoter famous for converting to MMA while helping to launch Elite XC, has died. He was 79 years old.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman The first post about Shaw's death. Seymour Zivic, a longtime friend of the show, also confirmed the news to Kevin Iall.
Shaw entered the world of martial arts in 1971 when he began working for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, a position he held for nearly 30 years. He eventually moved into event promotion work in his early 2000s, perhaps his most notable being helping stage the 2002 heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. It's time.
In 2007, the upstart MMA promotion Elite XC was launched, and Shaw eventually became the public face of the company as president of live events. He also appointed his son, Jared “$kala” Shaw, to serve as an executive to assist with talent development and matching.
The following year, in 2008, Elite CBS' debut card in May 2008 featured Kimbo Slice, a famous street brawler turned MMA enthusiast, in the main event, where he shot to further stardom with a knockout victory over James Thompson.
Elite XC also championed women's MMA, especially after signing Gina Carano, who became one of the faces of the promotion with her win over Kaitlyn Young on the same CBS card.
Unfortunately, there were only a few more Elite I did.
The end of the promotion was largely due to the end of the same year, when UFC legend Ken Shamrock was injured while warming up backstage at a fight, and Slice suffered a devastating 14-second KO loss to replacement opponent Seth Petruzelli. It was because of what he did.
In October 2008, Elite XC's parent company, Pro Elite, filed for bankruptcy, ultimately ending the promotion after a total of 20 events.
Despite falling out of Elite