ICF: Balance of Power Post-Event Interview with Larry Shelton (9/10/09)

A couple weekends ago, I attended the ICF event, Balance of Power. There were a number of entertaining fights and exciting finishes, but the headline fight easily generated the most pre-fight hype. Florence, KY police officer Larry "K-9" Shelton faced off against Cincinnati attorney Eric "Bulldog" Deters. Deters had long been stating he wanted to fight a police officer (he is known, among other things, for suing police for misconduct) and Shelton stepped up to the plate. Shelton ended up beating Deters in the first round via TKO due to strikes and I caught up with him after the event to get some comments.

You can see what Shelton had to say, and catch a video of the fight, after the jump.

Brian Furby: Big win over Eric Deters tonight, how did you feel going into the fight?

Larry Shelton: I was very calm. I trained so hard with Scott O’Brien and Dan McMillan and I felt very comfortable.

Brian Furby: There was a lot of pre-fight hype and trash talk going on – did that affect your preparation at all?

Larry Shelton: I didn’t think about it at all, I just trained hard, not so much for Eric Deters but for any fighter. I just went out there and gave it my best.

Brian Furby: Once you got in the cage, what did you think about Deters as an opponent?

Larry Shelton: I don’t think he was comfortable in the cage. That may be lack of experience but I have to admit I respect him now. He opened his mouth, but got in there and I respect that. He may do some things I disagree with but I respect that.