Kimbo Slice is a famous personality thanks to his career as a boxer and mixed martial artist. Originally, Kimbo Slice was a bare-knuckle boxer who became recognized for his mutual combat street fight videos.
After the fame, he turned to mixed martial arts in 2005, leaving the underground fighting scene. He also signed a professional contract with EliteXC after he won the Cage Fury Fighting Championships against Tank Abbott.
Slice’s boxing career which had started lightly was taking good shape, and he was engaging in numerous fights.
Net Worth
Kimbo Slice’s net worth was $500,000 at the time of his death in 2016. Slice earned his wealth from fighting competitions and a career as a professional boxer
Early Life
Kimbo Slice was born on February 8, 1974, as Kevin Ferguson. He lived in Nassau for a while before he moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cutler Ridge, Florida. Slice grew up with his siblings under the care of their mother Rosemary Clarke.
When Kimbo was in Bel-Air Elementary School, he got into a fight with a fellow student, while trying to defend a friend. He later attended Cutler Ridge Middle School and Richmond Heights Middle School.
When he was in Miami Palmetto High School, he was a middle linebacker in football. He received a scholarship that enabled him to attend Bethune-Cookman University and the University of Miami, majoring in criminal justice.
Early Career
Ferguson worked as a bouncer in a strip club, until a classmate from high school offered him a job as a limousine driver and bodyguard for Reality Kings Netmedia. The Miami-based porn production company gave Kimbo a working opportunity until he was charged in 2002 for carrying a concealed weapon.
In 2003, Ferguson began doing mutual combat street fights. The videos were distributed through the internet, enabling him to get noticed. The first taped video fight was against a guy named Big D. Slice left a large cut on his opponent’s right eye, which led to the nickname Slice. Kevin also used his childhood nickname Kimbo, thus the name Kimbo Slice.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Slice began training in martial arts in 2005. Originally, he was training for bare-knuckle techniques and illegal street boxing, but with time, he began being interested in MMA. After he began training, he trained under Marcos Avellan and David Avellan.
As an Amateur, Slice lost his first fight to Jay Ellis in the first round of the Xtreme Fighting Organizations trials. In 2006, Slice signed to fight former WBO heavyweight champion Ray Mercer. In preparing for the match, Slice trained under retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten and boxing instructor Randy Khatami.
He won the fight with a guillotine choke at 1:12 in the first round. During a post-fight interview, Slice indicated that he would love to fight David Abbott. Abbott who was a spectator during the match answered the call and agreed to fight.
Despite having huge success as a martial arts fighter, Slice retired in 2010, to pursue a career in boxing. Unfortunately, the fighter died on June 5, 2016, shortly after he was admitted to a hospital.
