1:13 PM EST

Gareb Shamus, co-founder of the IFL mixed martial arts league, has officially left the organization, and former Showtime executive Jay Larkin has added the title of CEO to his ever-growing list of responsibilities.
 
The IFL sent out a press release this morning making the announcement, which read as follows:
 
INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Jay Larkin named Chief Executive Officer

NEW YORK, November 20, 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB:
IFLI), the world’s number one team-based professional mixed martial arts
league, today announced a change in its senior leadership, naming Jay
Larkin acting Chief Executive Officer.  Larkin, who had joined the IFL as
President and Chief Operating Officer on September 21, 2007, replaces IFL
co-founder Gareb Shamus, who resigned his positions as chairman and chief
executive officer, effective immediately.  Shamus will remain available to
the IFL as a consultant.

“Taking a sports and entertainment entity from an idea to an established
brand in 14 months is nothing short of amazing.  Gareb should be commended
for his vision and leadership during that period,” Larkin said.  “From
first class events with rising athletes to quality broadcast television
and landmark licensing and sponsorship deals, the IFL brand that has been
built is very strong, and I look forward to the challenge of taking that
growing brand and working with our television partners, business partners,
staff, coaches and athletes to make it the best organization possible for
a very long time to come.”

Larkin joined the IFL after having spent over 20 years at media giant
Showtime, rising from a junior publicist to one of the most powerful and
respected dealmakers in the sport of boxing, during his storied career.
An accomplished television and theatrical producer, his educational
background has included time at the Boston Conservatory of Music; the UCLA
School of Theater, Film and Television; and a degree in theater and
directing from C.W. Post.  He began at Showtime in 1984, and helped create
some of the channel’s greatest entertainment specials involving legends
ranging from Frank Sinatra and Paul McCartney to The Rolling Stones,
Britney Spears, and The Spice Girls among others.

During that time, the Brooklyn native also oversaw the channel’s growth in
boxing, beginning in 1986 with Marvelous Marvin Hagler's middleweight
title defense against John Mugabi. He negotiated the deals and helped
create some of boxing’s most legendary matchups of the last quarter
century, including numerous Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Julio Cesar
Chavez fights.  He also was one of the key negotiators and co-executive
producer of what was then the biggest money fight in history, the 2002
heavyweight championship bout between Lennox Lewis and Tyson that happened
because of a landmark deal between Showtime (Tyson's network) and rival
HBO (Lewis' network).

The final IFL event of 2007, the IFL “World Grand Prix,” will take place
on Saturday, December 29, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut.  The event will mark the first time in North America that
five MMA title belts will be on the line in the same night.  The 2008 IFL
schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.