Thompson Turns Down Bosse Fight

Jul 15, 2008 4:04 PM John Chandler - MMAonTap.com

British heavyweight James “The Colossus” Thompson has reportedly turned down a proposed bout against popular hockey enforcer turned mixed martial artist Steve Bosse, leaving TKO Championship Fighting figurehead Stephane Patry searching for a new foe.

The news comes from Mike Russell of The Fight Network, who confirmed Thompson’s decision to not fight Bosse as something that “didn’t make sense” in this stage of his career, citing Bosse’s relative lack of experience and notoriety as one of the main factors in his choice. The former PRIDE veteran has not fought since losing to EliteXC heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at EliteXC’s “Primetime” event back in May.

According to Patry, he plans to bring in an opponent with a recognizable name and legitimate credentials, similar to Bosse’s last opponent, Wes Sims, in order to test the Canadian before handing him a shot at the currently vacant TKO heavyweight title.

“We wanted a good opponent with a recognizable name for Bosse like we had in Wes Sims for his last fight,” Patry said in the article. “We’ll bring in someone who can test him. He doesn’t want any easy fights. If he wins that fight his next fight will likely be for the TKO heavyweight title.”

One confirmed fight for the show features reigning TKO featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki returning to the promotion to defend his title against Stephane Vigneault. In addition to another featherweight bout between former champion Mark Hominick and Thierry Quenneville not yet finalized, welterweight king Jesse Bongfeldt and bantamweight champion Adrian Wooley are also expected to compete on the card.