A couple months ago, I blogged about a promotion that was planning an MMA event in Reading called "Crime and Punishment: Cops vs. Cons" and said I would reserve my judgment until after I spoke with its promoters, Ryan Kerwin and Raymond Gokool. Well, I spoke with Kerwin earlier tonight.
My first stop, however, was a call to Greg Sirb, executive director for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission on Wednesday.
I asked Sirb what he thought of the event, was it going to be real cops taking on real cons inside a cage?
"That's just blowing smoke up your ass," he said. Sirb said that "not even one" of the fighters on the card is a real cop or real con. "It's marketing. There's no cops, there's no convicts. I have the freakin' line-up. Do you think I would let that go on?"
My next call, today, was to Kerwin, who said that yes, the title of the event is a bit of marketing to set himself apart from the other MMA events popping up all over the state. But contrary to what Sirb said, the fighters - at least those on the main card - are all cops or cons. "This isn't a joke," he said.
Middleweight bouts
Cop - Lamont Lister
vs
Con - Matt Masterson
Cop - Taylor Sensabaugh
vs
Con - John Bryant
Welterweight bouts
Cop - Chris Kennedy
vs
Con - Marcus Ajian
Lightweight bouts
Cop - Brian Smiley
vs
Con - Shannon Green
Featherweight bouts
Cop - Johnny Torres
vs
Con - Gabriel Greenberg
