![]() ![]() The South Florida criminal world he came from was incredibly sexy, and gave them a spyglass into a universe they would never be a part of. Years later, even after he had been signed with professional outfits and heavily promoted, only to be knocked out again and again before millions of eyes, he still mystified people.įor fans, he was a cool badass who rolled up into backyards and beat the hell out of challengers. For others, he was an entertaining and charismatic guy who maimed lesser challengers. For some, he embodied everything that terrified them. What made Kimbo fascinating was that he was a blank slate that viewers could paint their hatreds, fears, ambitions, and desires on. But Kimbo did it first, and he did it the old-fashioned way: He fascinated people because of how he looked and what he did. Like all things, the practice of getting famous on YouTube was ascribed a money-making formula and financialized. Now, the term evokes hyper-manicured telegenic teenagers who perform highly-rehearsed comedy skits made to look organic or spit truisms about video games or bullying into a front-facing Macbook camera. Still, his rough style made Kimbo one of the first breakout YouTube stars. He hit hard, and he knew he’d often have to take one to give one, as his defensive boxing wasn’t exactly at the Pernell Whitaker level. None of this stopped him from losing only one of his taped street fights (a grueling gym bout with Boston cop and MMA fighter Shaun Gannon). ![]() He was prone to exhaustion, had horrible knee problems, and was fairly easy to hit. The problems that hampered his his career as a professional mixed martial arts fighter and boxer were evident in the street fight videos that made him famous. Kimbo was not the greatest fighter in the world, and few people thought he was. He started street fighting as a way to earn more money, and the combination of his look, demeanor, and ability to maim opponents in backyard and back-alley arenas made him a celebrity online and led him from YouTube to the UFC. He was homeless for a period, sleeping in his truck before he became a bouncer, and later a bodyguard for the pornography company Reality Kings. After injuries dashed his football dreams, Kimbo entered the world of fighting through the many illegal and semi-legal business opportunities Miami offered. ![]()
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