Williams scrambling for opponent, site
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Print Entry
Your weekly random thoughts …
• With Kelly Pavlik withdrawing from his Dec. 5 middleweight title defense against Paul Williams because of his chronically injured left hand, it has left Williams & Co. scrambling. The fight is 38 days away and promoter Dan Goossen still has no opponent, no site and no co-feature for the HBO "World Championship Boxing" card. It's a tall order to get all that done, put tickets on sale and mount even a modest promotion.
A week has passed since last Wednesday, when Pavlik pulled out, and little progress has been made. The two leading names mentioned as potential Williams opponents when the scramble started were junior middleweight titleholders Sergio Martinez and Sergei Dzindziruk. I'm told that HBO isn't all that interested in Dzindziruk, who is knee-deep in problems with promoter Universum anyway. Martinez didn't even receive an offer until Wednesday, one that undoubtedly will need some major tweaking, especially since the Williams side wants a rematch clause with whomever Williams fights.
Instead of going right away to Martinez, who was supposed to be the insurance policy for Pavlik all along -- at least that's what Martinez promoter Lou DiBella and HBO thought -- Goossen wasted a valuable few days trying to make a deal with welterweight Joshua Clottey.
The first offer to Clottey promoter Top Rank was a laughable $250,000. Such a lowball offer only starts negotiations off on the wrong foot. It was eventually raised to more than $500,000, which would have been split in some fashion between Clottey and Top Rank. However, Clottey wasn't interested in moving out of his weight class, especially for such an obviously difficult fight for a purse that wasn't overwhelming.
So now it seems like a fight with Martinez may eventually get made, but I hear the money isn't enough that Martinez wants to risk his belt. So even if the fight happens, it could be a nontitle fight above 154 pounds.
Whomever Williams fights, the bout still needs a site. The folks at Caesars Atlantic City, who were going to host Pavlik-Williams at Boardwalk Hall, aren't interested in Williams against somebody else because Williams means nothing there. That leaves Goossen to find a new venue on short notice. Heavyweight Cristobal Arreola is penciled in for the televised undercard, but he also has no opponent.
When the main event was Pavlik-Williams, Clottey was supposed to fight Carlos Quintana on the undercard. But when Top Rank, which promotes Pavlik and Clottey, fell out of the promotion, HBO turned the card entirely over to Goossen, which meant Clottey-Quintana was killed with HBO's blessing.
There is a scenario under discussion that would give Goossen a little more time to work things out: HBO would flip the Dec. 5 Williams date with the Dec. 12 date, which will be headlined by the rematch between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi.
It could work because Caesars Atlantic City is interested in hosting Diaz-Malignaggi II on Dec. 5 at Boardwalk Hall's smaller upstairs arena as a replacement for Pavlik-Williams. Diaz-Malignaggi II was talked about for Chicago, but no site deal has been finalized and there were no financial guarantees for going there. Going to Atlantic City would be worth more with backing from Caesars.
I'm told that Diaz manager Willie Savannah, who had been so adamant about not bringing Houston's Diaz to the East Coast for the fight, is now willing to bend and go to Atlantic City because it means more money. He's just not willing to go to Malignaggi's hometown of New York.
This should all play out in the next couple of days.
• Here it is, the height of boxing insanity: Promoter Artie Pelullo, who handles Harry Joe Yorgey, has petitioned the WBO to sanction his Nov. 7 HBO bout against Alfredo "Perro" Angulo for the organization's interim junior middleweight title. Just one problem: The WBO already has a junior middleweight titlist (Dzindziruk) and an interim titlist (Williams). As horrific as sanctioning bodies have become, even they haven't lowered themselves yet -- yet -- to the point of having two interim titleholders in one division. Let's hope this isn't a start. The nerve of Pelullo for even having the stones to ask. Here's hoping the WBO just says no.
• After a failed negotiation last year and then a postponement over the summer, followed by last week's cancellation, does anyone actually think that Pavlik and Williams will ever fight each other?
• Something I found pretty interesting: Former light heavyweight champ Glen Johnson, who is getting ready for his rematch against Chad Dawson on Nov. 7, and super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute, who is getting ready for his Nov. 28 rematch with Librado Andrade, have sparred quite a bit with each other in preparation for their respective bouts. Bute, from Montreal, went to Miami to train, which is where Johnson is based. From what I was told by someone who watched at least one eight-round session, the sparring was quite spirited.
• The numbers are in: Polsat, the biggest over-the-air network in Poland, estimated that 8.2 million households and 13 million-plus people -- in a nation of approximately 40 million people -- watched last Saturday's Tomasz Adamek-Andrew Golota heavyweight fight. That's amazing, and it tells you that while boxing has slipped on the pecking order in the United States over the years, it remains a significant sport in a lot of places around the world. Poland is obviously one of them.
• Speaking of Adamek, wouldn't you love to see him square off with David Haye? I'm not sure who Adamek will face next, but I heard there is interest on the Adamek side in bringing former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman to Poland for a fight next year.
• Tim Bradley's junior welterweight title defense against interim titlist Lamont Peterson, which takes place Dec. 12 on Showtime, is about as close to being a 50-50 fight as there is on the schedule right now. They're both young and undefeated. They both had good amateur careers. They both have good teams behind them. They are both fast and have good defense. And although neither is a big puncher, they can bang enough to keep opponents honest. It should be a highly competitive fight.
• Do yourself a favor and hit up YouTube to watch last week's sensational Ryan Rhodes-Jamie Moore slugfest from England. In an upset, Rhodes lifted the European junior middleweight title from Moore via seventh-round knockout. They traded with abandon for the entire fight until Moore could take no more. Great stuff.
• Good for Bernard Hopkins for giving back to his community. He's pledging $3 bucks for each ticket sold for his Dec. 2 fight against Enrique Ornelas to a trio of Philadelphia-area charities. Throughout Hopkins' career, he's always been about the money and how much he could make for himself. I don't blame him at all for that. But now that he has made tens of millions, it's great to see him spreading the wealth to those in need.
• Contrary to rumors out there in cyberspace, Showtime and promoter Gary Shaw both told me that the Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell Super Six tournament fight slated for early next year will be in the United States, not Germany.
• It's ridiculous that Devon Alexander, who put on such a good performance to win a junior welterweight title against Junior Witter on Aug. 1, is probably going to sit the rest of the year. It's not right for an engaging and talented 22-year-old (who made only about $35,000 for his title fight) to be put on ice like that. Shame on promoter Don King, who continues to do nothing whatsoever to advance Alexander's career. The same goes for Elio Rojas, another King-promoted young fighter (and I use the term "promoted" loosely). Rojas went to Japan and claimed a featherweight title with a strong performance against Takahiro Aoh in July, and hasn't been heard from since.
• From the "As If Boxing Needed Any More Belts" Department: The WBC has introduced four- and six-round championships for young fighters to contend in Mexico. Why doesn't WBC president for life Jose Sulaiman just give every single fighter who laces on gloves a belt and be done with it already? I'm sure if he brought the idea to a vote in one of his puppet committees, it would be approved unanimously.
• It actually has been a couple of weeks since the WBA did something reprehensible. Therefore, I expect some new bit of nonsense from the organization any day now.
• Let's hope President Obama does the right thing and grants Jack Johnson the posthumous pardon many in Washington have been working for when it comes across his desk.
• Happy birthday to Golden Boy's David "The Itsk" Itskowitch.
• DVD pick of the week: It certainly wasn't the most memorable heavyweight championship fight ever, but it has special meaning to me, so I decided to watch it again as we approach its nine-year anniversary. I delved deep into the archive for Lennox Lewis' defense against David Tua on Nov. 11, 2000, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Lewis, a far superior boxer with big advantages in height and reach, pitched the near shutout against Tua in a brilliant tactical performance. No, Lewis didn't get the knockout, but he did as he pleased against a big puncher whose only chance to win was to land a bomb. It's amazing that for all the quality opponents Tua ran through during his heyday, it was the only time he challenged for a title (although it's conceivable he still could get another chance). Anyway, why did I pick this one, you might ask? It was the first Las Vegas fight I ever covered, and I'll always remember it.
And Gunna put Agbeko/Perez that's on Showtime Saturday night up in the title. Should be a great fight Perez is abetter Vic D at that weight class.
09 Boxing Thread:: 12/12 Diaz.vs.Malignaggi HBO/Bradley.vs.Peterson Showtime
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bobby1109
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Clottey is smart for not taking that fight on short notice. A weight class above on short notice with one of the most dangerous fighters in the game for abelt? He should command a little more than $650,000.
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they tryin to bamboozle Clottey.
bobby1109
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Even though the vid is a little unfounded, watching that combined with the Yankees, Devils and Knicks losing? About to jump out the window and #$##
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http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4607169
Pacquiao calls out Mayweather
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Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Manny Pacquiao believes the biggest potential fight in boxing will never happen because Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants no part of him.
Pacquiao is training in Hollywood for his meeting with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, but the pound-for-pound champion spared a moment Thursday to evaluate his chances of fighting Mayweather, the unbeaten pay-per-view king. Although the matchup almost certainly would be a financial bonanza for both fighters, Pacquiao thinks fans shouldn't hold their breath.
"I don't think it's going to happen," Pacquiao said. "I'm sure he doesn't want to fight."
Mayweather has been circumspect about his plans for his next bout, saying only that he has never ducked anybody and would consider any opponent. In his comeback bout from a 21-month layoff, Mayweather demolished Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19 in a fight that generated more than 1 million pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather's advisers claim they haven't ruled out a bout with Pacquiao, likely among the world's few fighters who could match Money's speed. But the Filipino champion has surprisingly strong opinions about why it won't happen.
"Boxing for him is like a business," Pacquiao said. "He doesn't care about the people around him watching. He doesn't care if the fight is boring, as long as the fight is finished and he gets [plenty of] money. ... I want people to be happy. You have a big responsibility as a boxer."
If Mayweather and Pacquiao don't make a deal, Sugar Shane Mosley has been outspoken in his desire to fight Mayweather, even calling him out in the ring moments after his victory over Marquez. Mosley is slated to meet welterweight champion Andre Berto in Las Vegas in January.
After arriving in California last Saturday, Pacquiao has been ramping up his training regimen this week while also battling jet lag that forced him to sleep for about 20 hours on Wednesday, wiping out a day of training. Because of tax issues, Pacquiao's camp began in Manila and moved to Hollywood later than trainer Freddie Roach usually prefers.
"I'm not worried about it, because he's always known how to block everything out," Roach said. "If anybody can do it, he can."
Pacquiao looked fairly sharp while sparring 11 rounds Thursday at Roach's Wild Card Gym in front of a small group of spectators including Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest and his father, Ron Sr., both avid boxing fans and Pacquiao admirers.
Pacquiao will spar 12 rounds on Saturday before gradually scaling back in preparation for his trip to Las Vegas to meet Cotto, the once-beaten welterweight champion whose combination of size and strength will be unlike anything the former flyweight champion has faced. Cotto is in camp in Tampa. Fla., before traveling to the West Coast next week.
"I consider this one of the hardest fights in my boxing career," Pacquiao said.
. Add Pacquiao to the list of fighters calling out Floyd. Since Floyd fought JMM for calling him out does that mean he has to fight Shane, Paul, or Manny?
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Pun is frustrated... can't blame him though
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| >>>Click Here For Tons of More Breaking Boxing News, Articles and Insider Information<<< By Rick Reeno On Thursday, BoxingScene.com ran an interview with former welterweight champion Joshua Clottey, who explained his decision to turn down an offer of $650,000 to fight Paul Williams on December 5. According to Clottey, he needed a few more weeks to train. But, at the same time he made it clear that an offer of $650K is not enough to close the deal - unless the fight is pushed back to a later date. Clottey cited a few of his personal concerns, including several days of absence from the gym. He appeared to be concerned that his new trainer had already flown back to Africa. Williams reached out to BoxingScene.com to set the record straight. He doesn't buy any of Clottey's concerns, or as Williams calls them - "excuses." Clottey, on a number of occasions, has called Williams out. And it's not the first time for Williams and Clottey to trade verbal blows on BoxingScene. Williams wants Clottey to "stop lying to the people." Clottey was scheduled to fight Carlos Quintana on the undercard of Williams-Pavlik. He lost the co-feature opportunity when Pavlik withdrew from the fight and Williams' promoter Dan Goossen took full control of the HBO date [12/5]. "I just want to tell him 'don't be lying to the people by saying things and they're not true.' If you break it down, people who really know about boxing know that he was in training for the [Carlos] Quintana fight. He was fighting Quintana on the same card with me and Kelly [Pavlik]. Now he's out of shape because he didn't train for five days? He was training the whole time. The bottom line is - he's scared. He's the same as Kelly, he doesn't want to fight me," Williams said. "He talks all this mess about me all the time in all of these internet interviews. He says I'm a weak welterweight and he wants to fight me but when the opportunity comes, and he can make three times more [money] than he's ever made - he folds up like a tent. It don't take much to get his trainer back and I know people in the gym who told me he's been training the whole time. When you catch someone in a lie you want to bring to someone's attention." With the loss of Pavlik, Williams' team has been trying to line up a new opponent. Over the last year they tried for several names like Shane Mosley and Kermit Cintron. Williams has no beef with Mosley or Cintron because they simply turned him down. In Clottey's case, Williams is aggravated because of the reasons being presented. "I can at least appreciate Mosley and Cintron because they flat out said no. They didn't do all of these cat and mouse game. They didn't do all of that talk like Clottey. When it gets down to business, he froze up like a popsicle. He's trying to sell all of those wolf tickets on the internet. He likes to do all of that internet talk because on the internet it's safe because nobody is throwing punches at you. Because in the ring my left hand would have been hitting his mouth all night," William said. "He still can't get over his hump. He was doing well against Margarito and then he started crying about his little finger, that he hurt his little hand. That shows you right there he don't got no heart. He was doing well against Cotto and then he faded out. All you have to do is spank that butt and he'll head back to Ghana crying. He can make three times more than he ever made and buy all of the coconut rum he wants with that. It comes down to how much heart and how much balls they got and whether they fold and as you can see they already folded. He likes to do that web talking. When it comes to getting in the ring - he gets the hush mouth. He needs to stop telling them lies and selling those wolf tickets on the internet. He only wants to fight on the internet because he's scared - flat out scared. " Williams is frustrated. He says the sport of boxing is being affected in a negative way when the big names refuse to fight each other. He doesn't understand why a fighter like Shane Mosley wasted away several months chasing a fight with Manny Pacquiao when there was little chance of getting that fight. And at the same time Mosley refused other offers that were sitting on the table. "Like Shane Mosley. He'll go in the ring and call out Floyd Mayweather but when someone calls him out - he don't want to fight. I don't know why these guys are still in the game if they don't want to fight nobody. They are willing to fight for peanuts against someone safe, that they know they can beat. What these guys do, like Kelly Pavlik and Clottey, it's bad for boxing. They build themselves up but then when it comes down to getting in the ring - they don't want to fight," Williams said. His next opponent is up in the air. He doesn't know whether the fight will be at 160-pounds, 154 or elsewhere. He, along with his team, hope to finalize an opponent in the next few days. "It's frustrating because you don't what don't know what weight to stay comfortable at. We're going up and then we're going down. We don't know what style to train for. It throws you off your game a little bit," Williams said. |
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Sounds like Paul is tired of the games and politics. Lol @ "he froze up like a popsicle", "spank that butt", and "buy all of thecoconut rum he wants." I'm a little surprised Pac-Man is speaking out on Money May. I can appreciate him voicing his opinion though.
PBF and Manny. Can't wait to see another overpriced snoozefest.
I can see where Paul is coming from on this but come on $650,000 is lowballing the hell out of Clottey. Josh has been training for a fight at 147. If he fightsPaul at 154 it'll be for a championship belt. Don't lowball the man. And it wasn't fingers against Margarito, he broke both hands and still foughtthe full 12 *gunna shrug*
Updated title, my dude
I can see where Paul is coming from on this but come on $650,000 is lowballing the hell out of Clottey. Josh has been training for a fight at 147. If he fightsPaul at 154 it'll be for a championship belt. Don't lowball the man. And it wasn't fingers against Margarito, he broke both hands and still foughtthe full 12 *gunna shrug*
Updated title, my dude
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But yo Is it true Clottey hasn't had more than a 500k payday?
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Clottey doesnt seem like the kind of fighter to duck anyone or be scared but he was training for Quintana so I dont know.
He was training for 147 I don't blame him for not taking it on short notice. There was an idea floating around about putting Maliggnaggi/Diaz on the 5th inAC since AC wanted that fight to begin with and move Paul vs. whomever to the 19th give it a couple weeks to find an opponent and a venue.
marionthebarberian
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Originally Posted by KingJames23
. Add Pacquiao to the list of fighters calling out Floyd. Since Floyd fought JMM for calling him out does that mean he has to fight Shane, Paul, or Manny?
pacqiao should not be calling anyone out, when he himself has been ducking.
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Clottey really doesnt have any bargaining chips he's lost the 2 biggest fights of his career . Hes not a big draw so 650k is good money for him , his fightwith Qunitana is off for now so where does he go ?
He should just take the payday .
He should just take the payday .
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I think you're right
I was under the impression he had been gettin more cake than that so I figured they were short changin him but damn, If this is his big $ pay day then heshould take the fight. maybe push it back so he can come in a lil heavier
I mean to give him $600,000 to give up his belt and fight Cotto then to offer only $50,000 more to move up to fight for another belt against a more dangerousfighter? I'd think he should get at least $800,000.
$%!%@%$ Yuku I posted up all the new **$* on ESPN in my last edited post and I don't even see it.
$%!%@%$ Yuku I posted up all the new **$* on ESPN in my last edited post and I don't even see it.
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Originally Posted by marionthebarberian
Originally Posted by KingJames23
. Add Pacquiao to the list of fighters calling out Floyd. Since Floyd fought JMM for calling him out does that mean he has to fight Shane, Paul, or Manny?
pacqiao should not be calling anyone out, when he himself has been ducking.
who did he duck?
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Originally Posted by Control Are
Originally Posted by marionthebarberian
Originally Posted by KingJames23
. Add Pacquiao to the list of fighters calling out Floyd. Since Floyd fought JMM for calling him out does that mean he has to fight Shane, Paul, or Manny?
pacqiao should not be calling anyone out, when he himself has been ducking.
who did he duck?
Juan Manuel Marquez.
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yeah after Marquez def should have won that "decision" that was about as good as the judging in the shogun/machida(sp?) fight, pac man turned downanother fight with marquez....but pac callin out pretty boy? just sayin what everyone and their brother has been sayin since before floyd fought marquez...pplwanted that fight to be pac
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I have no interest in watching Punisher vs. Clottey
Hope they get the Martinez fight done.
Hope they get the Martinez fight done.
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I like how pacman is duckin one man and floyd ducks his whole welterweight division. Pacman is chasing fighters above his weight class not chasing fighters 2weight classes below him. That's like pacman chasin gamboa. Come on people, STOP. Just effin stop it already. This has been goin on too long already
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