JOSE CANSECO PICKING FIGHTS ON TWITTER

The infamous, multi-tasking athlete himself decided Tuesday to call out Herschel Walker via Twitter.  “I guess I may have to show Herschel Walker who the real Bad Boy of the sports industry is.”  If the powers that be are reading, I want in” Jose tweeted. This comes just days after Herschel’s successful MMA debut.  Jose will find out, if he doesn’t know already, that this desperate tweet will get him no closer to becoming a legitimate fighter, let alone a fight with someone like Walker who now really is “in”. 

Does Jose Canseco really want to fight Herschel Walker to prove something?  Or could this be the desperate act of someone who needs to fight.  By his own acknowledgement, most of Jose’s post baseball activities, which have included Celebrity Boxing, a boxing bout with ex-pro football player Via Sikahima for $5,000, and his MMA bout with South Korean giant Hong Man Choi in Japan, have been to pay the bills.  Canseco is known to have perpetual financial woes since his baseball career ended in 2001.  Some of which were on display during his 2008 reality show “A Day with Jose”. 

Some of us in the media who cover MMA are going to make mention of Jose’s request in articles such as this one.  That is about as far as this will go.  No “powers that be” will be calling Jose for a sit down to discuss putting a fight with Herschel together. 

Let’s just say that Jose is aware that Herschel is signed with a specific organization, and he even knows that the organization is Strikeforce.  Then, of course, the powers that be would have to be decision makers within the Strikeforce organization.  Now if we are open minded enough to get that far, then we would have to surmise that Jose thinks that some of his 324,000 Twitter followers are Strikeforce officials.

In all seriousness, Strikeforce has made huge strides to become very successful in a growing, competitive industry in which the realistic goal for a company is second best.  A fight like Herschel vs. Jose is simply impossible because Herschel, although green MMA pro with only one fight, is with a promotion that is considered legitimate, and a promotion with proven fighters.  And the truth is, everyone from Dana White to Strikeforce fans would surely call Coker and company out on such an audacious act as signing Jose Canseco.

Jose was able to get a fight in Japan with Dream, but let’s face it; any known athlete from any sport, with a manager, a passport and a gimmick can likely land a fight in Japan with a big promotion.  But outside of Japan, working your way to the big stage by proving yourself in smaller shows is the common rite of passage.  So a fight that can be considered a side show can hurt the legitimacy of the event, the organization, and even the sport.

Nice try, Jose.  And good luck.

By Lee Cox

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