Strikeforce's Antwain Britt Makes His Sweet Science Debut This Saturday

On the eve of UFC 118, where IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney will make his Mixed Martial Arts debut, another fighter is preparing for a cross-over match of his own. That fighter is Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Antwain "The Juggernaut" Britt.

Antwain Britt (Boxing: 0-0, MMA: 11-4) has chosen to try his hand at the sweet science and is set to make his pro debut at "War at the Shore" which will take place on August 28 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virgina Beach, Va. The event will showcase both MMA and Boxing matches, and is being promoted by Nick Garone's X-Cel Worldwide.

Come fight night, Britt's opponent inside the squared circle will be Antonio King, an amateur champion and golden glove boxer who is also making his pro debut. There is no doubt Britt will call upon his professional MMA experience to shake debut jitters.

As is expected with this kind of situation, Britt has had to answer a lot of questions about why he is switching to boxing, but he doesn't see it that way. "I'm not switching from MMA. I'm just using the boxing as sort of a training tool to get my hands a little bit better."

With nine of his 11 wins by way of (T)KO, it's only natural to wonder why he would want to focus more on his hands. The way Britt see's it is if he's "going to be known as a striker, then I want to to be the best [striker] I possibly can be."

The biggest lessons Britt looks to learn from boxing and transition to his MMA are keeping his hands up, putting together better combos, and perfecting his footwork and head movement.

Most MMA fighters will continue to compete in grappling tournaments or kickboxing matches to maintain and improve their skills, so for Britt the same should be said for boxing, because "being in the fire of it" is better than a sparring partner could ever be.

Weather it is boxing or MMA, Britt stays motivated with the same goal in mind, "to be the best." For MMA, "getting a good win" will put him back into title contention, where as for boxing he wants to be considered a powerhouse and possible contender in the next 6-12 months.

Britt's last MMA fight was at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on May 15 where he suffered a first round KO to now Light-Heavyweight Champion Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. It was a fight Britt felt he was decisively winning until he slipped and got caught with a clean one.

Britt's recovery from the loss may have done him more good than bad. Since then he has had corrective laser-eye surgery which has drastically improved his vision, and as he put it his "striking has increased 100 percent" in the last few months thanks to his boxing training.

A future rematch with Feijao is another definitive motivator for The Juggernaut. Britt admits "Feijao is a great guy," but he wants "to avenge the loss," and he's not afraid to say, "I want it."

Simply put, champion or not, if he gets the opportunity at Feijao again, "It's going to to be a blood bath," and for him, it doesn't matter who he has to go through to get there.

As for what's coming down the road for Britt, he is currently in talks with Strikeforce about being on a card in October. His opponent is yet to be announced, but Dan Henderson is a possibility with it being announced he will be moving back up to 205.

"I would love to have that fight" Britt says, in reference to a bout with Hendo. "I've actually talked about having that fight. Somebody is definitely getting knocked out in that one."

As an alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter: Season 8, there are a few guys he would be more than willing to take on, such as former roommates Ryan Bader and Krzysztof Soszynski.

"Bader is tough, Krzysztof is tough, everyone there is tough because they are training with great guys." But at the end of the day, "I'll fight anybody" says Britt. He would go on to add "I honestly believe that stepping into any cage, I can be competitive with any 205-er in the world right now."

As if his plate wasn't full already, the Sugar-Free Rock Star energy drink addict has also found time to develop his own Combatives company called A Squared Training Systems.

Focusing mostly on government, law enforcement, military, and private security contracts, Britt and his team of instructors integrate a multitude of disciplines from Krav Maga and Muay Thai, to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Combat Submission Wrestling, just to name a few.

The system is built on proven techniques that work in the cage, and has been modified to fit the unique situation law enforcement officers and uniformed service members may face, such as weapons retention and additional clothing and gear.

A Squared Training Systems is run out of the Hybrid Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. Britt credits the Hybrid staff and head trainer Buck Grant for his success both inside and outside the cage, or in this case, ring.

Britt's primary sponsor, Untamed Industries, will also being showing him some love for his boxing debut. It only seems fitting as he has become their poster boy...literally. But there also seems to be hope for an MMA apparel company to be sponsoring boxers, or fighters who box, that MMA might gain a few fans from boxing through the exposure.

With his boxing match at heavyweight, and there being no need to cut weight, Britt is also an aficionado of local pizzerias. At the top of his list, Chesapeake Pizza. If that's not available he goes down the list to Chicho's Pizza, and then coming in at third place is Sal's Pizza.

Although Britt has no official ties, he did want to make it clear what his favorite pizza was, and the specific order of his top three places.

With football season upon us, and The Juggernaut a committed Brett Favre and Vikings fan, I'm sure all three will be getting plenty of business every game day, that is until he has to take a break from boxing and start cutting weight again to enter the cage.

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