Boxing-turned-MMA promoter Gary Shaw, co-founder of EliteXC, has
died at the age of 79.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced
the news on Thursday, and an outpouring of support and memorials
has come forth from former fighters and colleagues. Shaw ran the
boxing organization Gary Shaw Productions for over a decade,
setting up boxing events starting in 2002 involving several big
names including Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley and Shane Mosely.

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Sulaiman mourned his friend on his post on social media, stating,
“I will always remember Gary with his unique smile, fun character
and passion for boxing. Rest in peace my dear Gary.”

While involved in boxing, Shaw crossed over into MMA in 2006 to
create Elite XC with Showtime. The short-lived league ran 20 events
from 2007 to 2008, most notably co-promoting with Strikeforce
to put events on the Showtime network. A pair of Elite XC events
reached the pay-per-view airwaves, while Elite XC: Primetime in May
2008 marked the first MMA event to air on network television in the
U.S. That card featured names including “Kimbo Slice” Kevin
Ferguson, Robbie
Lawler and Gina Carano,
to name a few.

Elite XC provided opportunities for female fighters including the
aforementioned Carano and Cristiane
Justino to compete on a large stage before women’s mixed
martial arts was mainstream. While it folded later in 2008 when its
parent company, Pro Elite, filed for bankruptcy, Shaw continued his
work as a boxing promoter for the good part of a decade. Before
promoting, Shaw worked for the New Jersey State Athletic Control
Board for nearly 30 years.



Fighters like Justino have posted publicly about Shaw since his
passing, speaking to his influences in their respective sport.
Justino wrote, “RIP Gary Shaw. He was the first MMA promoter to
give me my opportunity to fight in the USA with Elite XC.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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