Shine III was scheduled to take place in Fayetteville North Carolina on Saturday May 15th.
Unfortunately, the only fight that happened in this event took place in a Florida court between Don King Promotions(DKP) and Shine Fight Promotions. DKP wanted to stop a fight involving boxer Ricardo Mayorga who is in a contract with DKP.
The day of the fight, a Florida judge finally ruled in favor of DKP which killed the Shine main event of Mayorga vs Din Thomas. Things went down hill fast after this announcement.
While standing in line after the doors were supposed to open to the event, the announcement was made that the main event was off and replaced by Ninja Rua and David Heath. Fans seemed marginally disappointed and only a very few people got out of line over the announcement.
Doors finally opened and fans were let inside. As fans entered with anticipation of some great fights, there were issues taking place behind the scenes.
The North Carolina Boxing Authority(NCBA) requires that both the physician and the fighters purses are on scene 2 hours before the event. This was not so in either case.
Ron Foster, Shine match maker said the physician issue was a surprise. He had one lined up and even spoke to them the day before the fight. After not hearing back on Saturday, Foster sought to get an emergency replacement.
A local doctor was found, but the NCBA felt they were not on the scene with adequate time to ensure fighters safety.
Due to the court case taking place in Florida, Shine CEO Devin Price was held up along with the fighters checks. Though some efforts were made to transfer money and have Devin's brother Dorion handle it, the NCBA wanted things done by their rules. Rules which would have required Devin to be there with the company checks.
The NCBA pulled the plug on the event and the fans and fighters were notified.
Wanting to point the finger, most were angered at Don King. Others were angered that Shine didn't do more to have a back up plan covering all the bases. And some put the blame on the NCBA.
The cold truth is perception is reality to many. This could be the same type of situation that killed MMA promotion Affliction when they canceled an event due to losing headliner Josh Barnett.
Shine Fights says this will not be the case and has promised to push forward with another event this summer.
Only time will tell the ultimate impact of this weekend on the promotion. I for one, hope that we are not witnessing another MMA promotion going under and look forward to see how they bounce back.
James "Chivo" Schnepp
For pictures and to discuss this event, head over to the bloodyknux.com forums here!
