Exclusive Update on Showtime/Elite XC’s Antonio Silva vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Sid Needelman Reporting…
In an exclusive update on this upcoming heavyweight main card fight, both fighters were being exposed to the public in the past week.
Antonio “Big Foot” Silva was in Miami Saturday night at Bayfront Park for the http://www.valetudomia.com event headlined by a victorious Raphael Dias. He was accompanied by several other American Top Team members including Gesias 'JZ' Cavalcante and Marcus “Conan” Silveira. “Big Foot” looked healthy with no visible signs of injury as he walked around greeting fans and speaking with his teammates. The next event under the same promotion is tentatively set for a South Beach location during the Winter Music Conference.
Antonio has had two straight victories in Elite XC and has a win over Wesley “Cabbage” Correira and one of his two victories in K-1 action was over the experienced Tom Erikson. His hands also dwarfed mine when I shook his hand a few months back.
In a very different life story, Ricco Rodriguez just signed on to fight the giant Brazilian last week. The canceling of the WCO show and Ricco’s new found mainstream fame thanks to VH1’s Celebrity Rehab, he was a perfect opponent for Antonio. Elite XC probably figures if “Big Foot” wins, he beats a guy who has beaten Randy Couture, held UFC gold and has VH1 audience name recognition. If Ricco should win, a former champion is on board to add legitimacy to the new fight organization.
One concern though is what impact the VH1 reality show will have on a man who has beaten Andrei Arlovski, Paul Buentello, Travis Fulton and Jeff Monson. It was only about a week ago most people did not know that Ricco was involved with a chemically caused car accident where he switched his girlfriend’s body into the driver’s seat to keep blame away from himself. He also admitted publicly to use of marijuana and cocaine, and having lost custody of his son. He also has made it public that he was sexually abused as a child. Having the impact of the world see this on mainstream TV seemed to have some impact on him as his voice was somewhat shaky on the phone over the weekend when discussing the episode. He also has to see how the other stars of the show, be it a Baldwin brother, former pro-wrestler Chyna or Mary Cary thought of him as he was a late addition to the cast.
Seeing his upcoming interviews and press coverage would be an ideal way to calculate the impact the show may have on his focus for the upcoming battle of between two big men.
