Walker “Will Hurt” Canseco

I grew up in Oakland in the era of the Bash Brothers, and I particularly liked Jose Canseco (0-1 MMA). Of course, he joined the 40-40 club before I was born, but that’s sort of beside the point. He was fast, he was strong, and he was a hometown hero.

I’ve since fallen out of sorts with that childhood idol-worship, and with Canseco in particular. His venture into MMA to take on K-1 fighter Hong Man Choi was one of the stupidest misadventures I’ve ever seen (and, keep in mind, I’m including the Pride-sanctioned sumo battle between Butterbean and Zuluzinho).

Canseco has recently made the decision to call out Herschel Walker (1-0 MMA) and, while I don’t think either are particularly relevant in MMA, it’s clear almost immediately who the better of the two fighters is. Walker has an extensive background in the martial arts, he’s a phenomenal athlete, even at his age, and he’s definitely put time into cultivating his technical skills. Walker, of course, responded by pointing out (correctly) that Canseco is in it for the money, and seems to take this sport seriously.

While it was embarrassing to watch Canseco take a beating from Choi, it might be a little more rewarding to watch Walker, who is a genuinely nice guy, working hard to learn the sport of MMA, beat the crap out of Jose. Hey, VH1 could air the fight, and put Danny Bonaduce on a co-main event.