Fight in Turkey for Berto?
Friday, July 24, 2009 |
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As promoter
Lou DiBella put it: "In the economic world we live in today, if you can go somewhere to make a big event, you have to look at it. If they're talking millions of dollars in a soccer stadium, you have to look at it."
That's the scenario that could send welterweight titlist
Andre Berto to Turkey to face
Selcuk Aydin if Berto doesn't wind up making a deal to fight titleholder
Shane Mosley, said DiBella, who promotes Berto.
DiBella said Arena-Box promoter
Ahmet Öner, who promotes Turkey's Aydin, has contacted him about putting together the fight at a stadium in Istanbul.
"They've got to come up with millions, but Ahmet is working on it on his end," DiBella said. "The Turkish government would be involved. I guess they want to bring a big championship fight there. Ahmet said he'll get back to me."
"We are working to make it happen," Öner told me in an e-mail. "It is not easy because Turkish TV is paying, but not like HBO for a boxing event. The government is really interested, but we will see how big."
DiBella said Berto (25-0, 19 KOs) is willing to go overseas -- without the support of HBO if necessary -- to make his fourth defense "if the money is substantial and we have assurances from the WBC about the neutrality of the judges and referee. Andre would be going into a sold-out place where everyone is rooting for him to get killed. But if the money is good enough, he'll go. Andre is a professional. Ahmet is talking about substantial money. When he talks about substantial money, I listen."
Berto has a mandatory due against
Luis Collazo, whom he edged via close decision in January, but there are issues making the rematch because HBO is not going to substantially increase what it paid for the first bout and Collazo wants more for himself than the entire license HBO is willing to pay, DiBella said. But DiBella said Berto-Aydin would be worth enough money "that it would allow us to pay Collazo to step aside. Aydin is the next mandatory after Collazo anyway, so we'd be flipping the order and paying Collazo for it."
DiBella said he's spoken to Collazo promoter
Don King, who was receptive about the possible scenario.
Aydin (19-0, 15 KOs), a 2004 Olympian like Berto, earned his spot as the next mandatory challenger (and won the vacant European title) with an exciting ninth-round knockout of
Jackson Bonsu on July 11. It was a terrific fight and Aydin would be a handful for Berto.
DiBella said he is considering Aydin because talks for a fight between Berto and Mosley have gone nowhere.
"I haven't gotten an offer other than what I already turned down from Golden Boy," DiBella said. "It was $750,000, less than we've been paid for our last few fights and the kid [Berto] isn't taking less to fight Mosley than he has for other defenses when this is much bigger fight."
DiBella said that if Berto goes overseas, he has a suggestion for Mosley -- for him to fight another of DiBella's fighters, former welterweight titlist
Kermit Cintron, who would love the fight.
