“He’s got that ambition baby, look in his eyes” – Kanye West; Gold Digger
Looking at King Mo AKA Muhammed Lawal, first things first – he has ambition. He has already won a world title (Strikeforce; LHW), has secured a dual promotion contract with Bellator and TNA Wrestling, that will showcase his legitimate MMA skills alongside his pro wrestling capabilites/ theatrics to fans spanning many promotions and venues. So what would be the next outlet to conquer for a king such as himself? Professional boxing.
Now, do you think any royal subject like himself would train with a lower level camp – of course not. Enlisting the help of Jeff Maywetaher and “Badass” Kenny, Lawal is looking to only train with the best in the business – “the best in the world; if you train with subpar people, you will get subpar results.” – King Mo
Catching up with his majesty at Floyd Mayweather’s boxing gym in Sin City, our cameraman to the stars, Michael Mardones asked King Mo about his new training environment and future plans inside the four sided ring.
When asked on his thoughts on people criticizing MMA fighters training with professional boxers, he scoffed and dismissed that view. “I think they stupid man! That’s like saying – you’re a professional fighter, but don’t train with a world champion jiu-jitsu guy or don’t train with a world champion or gold medal wrestler. I’m trying to be the best!”
Looking beyond today and towards tomorrow, he has serious boxing aspirations he would like to fulfill in his career.
“Bellator hooked it up. I gotta win this tournament, do my pro wrestling stuff, I got boxing in my contract…somebody’s getting knocked out!” Hopefully…could you imagine Kingo Mo vs. Kimbo?”
“I really want to win a regional title, like the NABO belt, USB; it’s my goal”
Could we see something that really no other MMA fighter/star has done before? Ken Shamrock did a successful WWF stint in between UFC’s early days and then came back to be Tito Ortiz’s punching bag. We had this guy show up for a while and that was all fun, Nick Diaz was in talks to fight in professional boxing which never solidified, but who really has gone on to conquer all three arenas? Sounds like a job fit for a king!
