Former baseball slugger Jose Canseco is trying his hand at mixed martial arts, with seven-foot-two South Korean Hong Man Choi his first opponent.
The Canseco-Choi matchup will take place on the Dream 9 card May 26 in Tokyo, Dream said on its website. But Dennis Holahan, Canseco's Los Angeles-based lawyer, said the announcement was slightly premature.
"I think they have (jumped the gun) and I don't have any problems with them doing that because I don't anticipate any problems but it's just not confirmed yet," Holahan said.
"It probably won't be a sure thing for another week or 10 days," he added.
Holahan confirmed Canseco was training "very hard" in MMA.
Choi, a 29-year-old former kick-boxer, is 1-2 as an MMA fighter, with losses to Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic. The fight is part of Dream's eight-man open-weight tournament.
Canseco, 45, does have some celebrity combat experience. The six-foot-four 240-pounder fought former child star Danny Bonaduce to a draw in a celebrity boxing match in January in suburban Philadelphia. The bout featured only three one-minute rounds. Canseco was soundly beaten by former Philadelphia Eagle Vai Sikahema in a previous celebrity bout last year.
Canseco, the 1988 AL MVP, was a home-run hitter who has stayed in the limelight with tell-all books like 2005's "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," and 2008's book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball."
He also appeared on Season 5 of "The Surreal World," a reality TV show.
Showing posts with label Jose Canseco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jose Canseco. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Canseco regrets
Canseco regrets naming names in his book about steroids.
Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced," which focused attention on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball and led to congressional hearings on the subject, now says he never should have written the book and named names of alleged steroid users.
During the A&E Network's one-hour documentary, "Jose Canseco: The Last Shot," Canseco said he "regrets mentioning players [as steroid users]. I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people."
During the program, the 44-year-old Canseco said he "wanted revenge" on Major League Baseball because he believed he had been forced out of the game. The book was his means of getting even, and he named names "to show I was telling the truth" about steroids in baseball, he said.
Canseco last played in 2001 and retired in 2002 with 462 career home runs, a .266 batting average, 1,407 RBIs and 200 stolen bases for eight major league clubs. Among the players Canseco named in "Juiced" as alleged steroid users were Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. All three addressed the March 2005 congressional hearing on steroids, with McGwire's testimony damaging his chances of being voted into Cooperstown, and Palmeiro's unequivocal denial of steroid use haunting him when he later tested positive and was suspended.
Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced," which focused attention on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball and led to congressional hearings on the subject, now says he never should have written the book and named names of alleged steroid users.
During the A&E Network's one-hour documentary, "Jose Canseco: The Last Shot," Canseco said he "regrets mentioning players [as steroid users]. I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people."
During the program, the 44-year-old Canseco said he "wanted revenge" on Major League Baseball because he believed he had been forced out of the game. The book was his means of getting even, and he named names "to show I was telling the truth" about steroids in baseball, he said.
Canseco last played in 2001 and retired in 2002 with 462 career home runs, a .266 batting average, 1,407 RBIs and 200 stolen bases for eight major league clubs. Among the players Canseco named in "Juiced" as alleged steroid users were Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. All three addressed the March 2005 congressional hearing on steroids, with McGwire's testimony damaging his chances of being voted into Cooperstown, and Palmeiro's unequivocal denial of steroid use haunting him when he later tested positive and was suspended.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Jose Canseco - the Boxer?
ATLANTIC CITY - The former Bash Brother got his head bashed in Saturday night.
In less time than it takes to round the bases after one of his moon-shot homers, Jose Canseco was knocked out by former NFL return man Vai Sikahema in their celebrity boxing match that was equal parts "Saturday Night Fever" meets "Road House." How's this for star power - 1993 Phillies World Series goat Mitch Williams was ringside for the main event.
Sikahema, who was an amateur Golden Gloves champ during his youth before starring in the NFL, rocked Canseco with a devastating left hook in the first 30 seconds that dropped the former slugger to the mat. After a brief recovery, Canseco withstood another flurry of punches from the "Tongan Terror" before falling like a timber and mercilessly ending his night. If Canseco wanted to use the "Sweet Science" as a launching pad to a new career, it took 1:37 to prove the 44-year-old admitted steroid user better start thinking about a writing a third book
In less time than it takes to round the bases after one of his moon-shot homers, Jose Canseco was knocked out by former NFL return man Vai Sikahema in their celebrity boxing match that was equal parts "Saturday Night Fever" meets "Road House." How's this for star power - 1993 Phillies World Series goat Mitch Williams was ringside for the main event.
Sikahema, who was an amateur Golden Gloves champ during his youth before starring in the NFL, rocked Canseco with a devastating left hook in the first 30 seconds that dropped the former slugger to the mat. After a brief recovery, Canseco withstood another flurry of punches from the "Tongan Terror" before falling like a timber and mercilessly ending his night. If Canseco wanted to use the "Sweet Science" as a launching pad to a new career, it took 1:37 to prove the 44-year-old admitted steroid user better start thinking about a writing a third book
For nearly two decades, Canseco was one of baseball's most feared hitters, a superstar who earned millions of dollars whacking 462 career homers before packed stadiums from the Bay Area to the Bronx. These days, Canseco has been reduced to a circus side-show, a man with sizeable money woes who is loathed by former baseball players, coaches and executives after he put Major League Baseball on notice for its steroid sins with "Juiced."
According to a source familiar with the fight, Canseco earned a $35,000 purse - the equivalent of what he once made for several at-bats. But Canseco had to travel across the country to brawl Sikahema in what was supposed to be three, two-minute rounds. If Canseco goes any lower, his next gig may be blowing fire out of his mouth at county fairs.
According to a source familiar with the fight, Canseco earned a $35,000 purse - the equivalent of what he once made for several at-bats. But Canseco had to travel across the country to brawl Sikahema in what was supposed to be three, two-minute rounds. If Canseco goes any lower, his next gig may be blowing fire out of his mouth at county fairs.
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