Ken Shamrock Speaks On Ortiz Pulling Out Of 61 (Credit to MMANEWS.com)
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The following is an excerpt from an interview with Ken Shamrock, conducted by our friends at BoxingInsider.com:
Kal: What is your opinion on the performance of Tito Ortiz in his recent bout with Forrest Griffin?
Ken Shamrock: Unfortunately, I do know what he’s going through. I do not feel sorry for him; because he tried to be a punk when I fought him, and had no idea of what I was going through. Now, he gets a little bit of an idea of what I had to go through. He’s only got the tip of the iceberg, because he only has damage to his ACL. He has damage to his(knee ligaments,) but they are not completely torn. Where as, I had a completely torn ACL. He’s having problems with just some damage. So now, welcome to my world. Now he gets a taste of what I was going through when I fought him, and what I’ve gone through in the past 4 years trying to get my knee back to strength, and fighting even though I wasn’t 100%. Welcome to my world.
Kal: What do you think of Tito’s post fight comments pertaining to his injured knee?
Ken Shamrock: I think Tito legitimately has some knee problems. However, personally and in my opinion, he is playing it up. I think he is over acting. Sure, he has some discomfort and some pain in there, but it’s nothing that will prevent him from performing. The guy goes in and fights Forrest Griffin; I saw him on “The Ultimate Fighter,” and I saw what he was doing there. I never saw any signs of him wanting to stop. Sure, things were bothering him, but it’s that way with all fighters. I’ve gone my whole career with injuries, and fought with some (injuries) that I probably shouldn’t have fought with. For him to stand in the ring after he beat Forrest Griffin, and for him to make excuses on why he didn’t perform well is just stupid.
Kal: Do you think that Tito Ortiz will use this situation in order to delay the upcoming fight between the two of you?
Ken Shamrock: Tito Ortiz will not fight me. I saw it in his eyes when we were at “The Ultimate Fighter.” I saw it in his eyes at the fight. Tito Ortiz does not want to fight me; and that’s a statement.
Kal: I have never heard you sound more confident in a response.
Ken Shamrock: I heard the guy complaining in his training. I heard him complain at the end of his fight in the ring, trying to make everybody understand that he had a bad knee. Then I heard him at the press conference. You know what? He’s leading up to an excuse. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have an injury. I’m sure he does. But, if everyone remembers, when I fought Tito Ortiz, I had a completely torn ACL and I still fought…not the smartest move of my career….obviously, but I never made an excuse for it. I may have mentioned that I had an injury and had to take care of some things and get it fixed. But, I did not stand in the middle of the ring and make an excuse. I did not plan an excuse. This is like he’s planned it.
Kal: Where do you go from here? That is, if he refuses to fight you.
Ken Shamrock: I will fight anybody, because I’m fighting July 8th. I want to fight. If Tito is not going to step up, then maybe somebody else will. I want to fight Tito. It’s the fight we agreed upon. We signed the contract. He’s supposed to do it. From everything I’ve seen and heard, I don’t believe he will hold up to his commitment. He never has. He fought me one time and got the win. I will say this now, and I have never said it before, I had an injury in that fight and the injury kept me from doing what I needed to do. Now, he has a similar problem and I don’t believe he is man enough to step up. I’m fighting on July 8th, so maybe somebody will take his place and Tito can sit on the sideline and whimper about his leg. If Tito does not want to be in the fight game, then he needs to get out.
I still say Shamrock would win fight or no fight between the two and Tito will use this as an excuse not to fight.
