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  - FLORIDA COMMISSION: NO IMPROPRIETY BY ELITEXC
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - by Tom Hamlin - MMAWeekly.com
Seth Petruzelli’s comments to an Orlando talk radio show on Monday sparked an avalanche of criticism from fans and pundits who believed EliteXC had attempted to influence the outcome of his fight with Kimbo Slice at Saturday’s “Heat” on CBS.
As the volume of outrage grew in the hours following the interview, MMA media outlets scrambled to clarify Petruzelli’s comments and their implications on the event.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer subsequently informed MMAWeekly.com he had brought the comments to the attention of EliteXC co-matchmaker JT Steele, who emphatically denied any payoff.
“Hypothetically, if that happened, and we found out later that one of the fighters or both were told, ‘look, you need to fight a certain way,’ or some incentive not to utilize part of your skills, I would file a complaint,” Kizer said. “I would file a complaint against the promoter; I would probably file a complaint against the athlete as well.”
Petruzelli eventually amended – or retracted, depending on your point of view – his statement, saying his desire to stand with Slice was his alone.
EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw followed, telling MMAWeekly.com Monday night, “Why in a million years would we ask Seth to not take Kimbo down? That’s crazy. That’s all Kimbo’s been working on is the ground game. If anybody knows Seth Petruzelli, he’s a K-1 fighter, I wouldn’t want him standing. So to say ‘don’t take him down,’ that’s ridiculous.”
To get an official response on the comments from the Florida State Boxing Commission, MMAWeekly.com today spoke with Alexis Antonacci, press secretary for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, who spoke on behalf of the commission.
“We take Petruzelli’s comments to mean that he got paid more to move up in the card,” Antonacci stated. “Which is accurate and perfectly within the regulations. Because without someone, him in this case, stepping in to be part of the main event, the event would not have gone off.”
Antonacci said one or more Florida State Boxing Commission officials were present during the negotiations between EliteXC and Petruzelli, and had verified there was no impropriety.
“Our interpretation is that the comments made were in reference to the promoter asking him to join a fight that he wasn’t originally scheduled for,” she continued. “We don’t believe any wrongdoing occurred. That being said, if someone believes that wrongdoing did occur, they can file a complaint with the commission, with the department, and we will look into it.”
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