James Irvin ready to start anew after battling drug addiction
by James Kimball on Mar 17, 2010 4:00 PM EDT
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Props: The Canadian Press
Quoteworthy:
"I needed to get caught. I needed to get in trouble for it and wake me up and get off of those things. I never even heard the word withdrawal. I didn't know what withdrawals were. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know to speak to a doctor about it. I took it the wrong way, kind of the cowardly path. I just kept on using the prescription drugs, but it's a tough push-pull kind of thing in my line of sport... Since then, since I've had that suspension, I've been drug free, it's been the happiest time of my life. I can honestly say that. A lot of people throw that around, but I can tell you with my family, with my wife, my training. I've found a new love in training again, it's something that I had lost while using prescription drugs and I just feel like a new person."
James Irvin is set to make his middleweight debut at UFC on Versus 1 this Sunday night, March 21, against Alessio Sakara after a 20-month long layoff from fighting due to a suspension and injuries. But to get to this point, "The Sandman" had to overcome some serious issues with an addiction to painkillers. In talking to The Canadian Press, Irvin candidly detailed his struggles with pain medicine and the difficult road he took to get to where he is today. As to how he will fare in his first fight since having his face split open by Anderson Silva back in the summer of 2008, what are we leaning towards? Is James ready for the stand-up war that is likely to occur when he squares off with Sakara this weekend, or is the extended time away from the game going to be detrimental to his chances?
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Sorry James.
Alessio is going to win by TKO if he fights up to his potential.
there's still something so unifying about sport in it's purest form, when athletes rise above themselves and touch greatness and in doing so remind us all that we also have greatness inside of us.
But when does he ever fight up to his potential??
Alessio is the more technical striker but i dont think he can deal with jame’s power… He has already been Tko’d by leben and mcfedries in the 1st Rd, both less technical than sakara but much more power.
"The Red-eyed Jedi...holds a 7th degree Black Belt in Bonghitisu"
by ItsNormlToSmokePot on Mar 17, 2010 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
Irvin should KTFO of Alessio.
Fedor played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won... but still avoids the UFC!
I think he's been learning from his mistakes of putting together too long combo's.
He’s looked much better in his last two fights vs Vedepo and Leites where he’s had more of a stick ‘n’ move strategy. He knows he gave Leben a chance to TKO him by staying in the pocket and being too long with a brawler.
there's still something so unifying about sport in it's purest form, when athletes rise above themselves and touch greatness and in doing so remind us all that we also have greatness inside of us.
should be an entertaining fight.
there's still something so unifying about sport in it's purest form, when athletes rise above themselves and touch greatness and in doing so remind us all that we also have greatness inside of us.
At least he won this fight
Sounds like he had a bit of a battle on his hands. I could only imagine the kinds of demons these guys face.
But at least he has been able to conquer it.
Its never truly conquered. He is in for a life long battle.
The world is a dangerous place to live - not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it. - Albert Einstein
Good for him
Hopefully he really is clean and happy. He’s an exciting fighter and i’m looking forward to seeing him back in the octagon.
james..
was a good fighter even while addicted to those drugs. He should be better without them I think Alessio Sakara is a very mediocre fighter. I’ll pick Irvin in this one….ring rust or not.
Cant wait!
Always been a fan of Irvin, he always laid it all out when he stepped into the Octagon..hopefully losing the drugs has made him a better fighter, also more well-rounded..
Good luck and here’s to a 1st round KO!
funkin finally mang
I been waiting soooo long for the return of this guy. Guess I should knock on wood, he pulled within 48 hours last time I believe. Plz don’t let me down Sandman, I love watching your fights!!!
Go Sandman!
worbanizer
by daniel worby on Mar 17, 2010 6:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good to hear,
Pills are a rough way to go. Hope he’s able to stay clean and put together a win. He is an exciting guy to watch, even if he’ll never be a world beater. Has anyone seen the Smashing Machine? Mark Kerr and Coleman used to pop fistfuls of pills back in the day.
Excited !!!!
I’ve been waiting patiently for this guy to finally get better, and now that he’s healthy and ready to go, I am honestly too jacked for words. MMAMANIA get ready to see Alessio Sakara brutally knocked out in the first round
On March 21, James "The Sandman" Irvin will knock Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara the f#ck out!
by jare (formerly jared) on Mar 17, 2010 7:48 PM EDT reply actions
man quit whining like a bitch and get an 8 ball like a real man
“oh poor me, im taking a glorified version of tylenol…got to have my hydrocodone…oh its just too much to deal with….oh im taking the same drug they give to 14 year olds who get their wisdom teeth pulled…poor me”
dude when you suck a fat biker’s bloody dick in a back ally just to lick the residue of his empty plastic baggie from the coke he finished 2 hours ago then you can say you have problems…not that i did that or anything 2 and a half years ago after my g/f dumped me and i needed something to numb the pain and i had no cash…im just saying in general….
my dream fight would have to be Brock Lesnar vs Jake Shields...and before the fight theres a video of jake slapping brock's wife...then id like to see shields try to gay porn a win over brock using his butt sex merry-go-round tactics...the massacre that would take place would be the greatest thing ever televised...every limb jake has would look like corey hill's leg...god i hate jake shields
word
It takes doing some unsavory things to come to a realization.
LMFAO
I'm not afraid of dying, I'm a little bit scared of what comes after
by SouthCaliStunNa on Mar 18, 2010 12:34 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You must just be an asshole and not know nothing about the subject because Methadone and Oxymorphone (what he was taking) are really strong drugs for most people.
And they deff dont give either to kids for a pulled tooth. More than likely the dentist will give you Tylonol 3 or low milligram hydrocodone..
Oxymorphone is about 2x as strong as Oxycontin or Hydrocodone, 2 drugs that a lot of people in america are addicted to right now.
And Methadone is used for people with extreme pain or an opioid drug addiction. Another drug with a big addiction problem
Any addiction is hard to deal with whether it be alcohol, pills, or hard drugs…. So trying to down-play his struggle because his addiction wasn’t “manly” enough for you is just stupid.
"The Red-eyed Jedi...holds a 7th degree Black Belt in Bonghitisu"
by ItsNormlToSmokePot on Mar 18, 2010 3:38 AM EDT up reply actions
i just want to see another flying knee like the terry martin fight...
I get my ass kicked for money, all you gotta do is talk motherfucker.... Rampage Pride GP03
by DrewMoney$$$ on Mar 18, 2010 1:55 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Sakara will KO Irvin
James has had too long a layoff and won’t be in great shape. He’ll gas early on and Alessio will take advantage.
"Not a lot of professional sports down here (in Australia)"
"We just had our best season (of TUF) last season and it was season 10"
"Nogueira is probabaly the best HW of all time"
Dana White, proving that he's clueless about Australian sports, has never heard of Fedor and is still trying to hype up TUF 10.
by David W-S on Mar 18, 2010 8:22 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
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