It
was decided a few days ago that in the wake of his gallbladder surgery late
last week, it wouldn't be prudent for Erik Morales to keep his January 28th appointment versus Danny Garcia at the Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas.
Eventually, Golden Boy Promotions made the decision to just postpone and move
the show instead of finding a replacement for “El Terrible.” The reality is
that it was Morales’ mystique and reputation which were going to carry ticket
sales for this card, to be televised on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark.”
On
Wednesday, March 24th was finalized as the new date for this promotion,
which also includes a junior middleweight bout between James Kirkland and
Carlos Molina.
“We
tried to find the next available date; we wanted to make sure Erik was fully
healed and will have sufficient time to properly train,” Golden Boy Promotions
CEO Richard Schaefer explained to Maxboxing, “so we could have done it at the
end of February or so but there were no dates available. The first available
date was March the 24th. The ticket sales going into this fight were
extremely strong in Houston so it was the right thing to do, obviously. We
tried to keep that fight in Houston and so we needed to see the availability of
the venues and we were very fortunate to be able to have worked out something
with the Reliant Arena, that they cleared for us the 24th.
“They
had some other holds there before. We were able to clear that over the past 24
hours, so we're really happy that we were able to get this date and HBO had to
check on their side what they were OK with and they were fine with the 24th.”
WBC
Jose
Sulaiman caused a bit of a firestorm when he spoke of the WBC not stripping
Floyd Mayweather of their welterweight title despite being convicted of a
felony (which is in their rules). Mayweather is scheduled to begin his 90-day
sentence on January 6th for charges of domestic violence against the
mother of his three children, Josie Harris.
Sulaiman
rationalized to the Manila Standard that while “beating a lady is highly
critical, it is not a major sin or crime.”
OK,
in the ensuing aftermath, the Sulaiman and the WBC was then compelled to
release this statement on Wednesday afternoon:
“I
would like to clarify my feelings about some recent comments of mine and
apologize for not finding the right words in English - there are many times
when I cannot find the right words to express what I really mean. The comments
attributed to me are a complete misrepresentation of my true feelings.
“I
am a devoted husband and father of two daughters and have three wonderful
granddaughters as well. The Virgin of Guadalupe is my superior saint. I am the
person that developed female boxing and I am the person in the WBC that has
always been concerned with the protection of women in the ring. I have always
been a strong supporter of women’s rights and the protection of women in
society. Those are the facts – everybody knows me.
“In
my comments, I just meant to say that I have always been in the corner of all
the boxers of the world. They are my greatest heroes and, good or bad, I will
always be in their corner.
“I
know Floyd Mayweather personally
and I know that he’s a good person. I know that he accepted a plea deal for a
serious offense and I did not intend to make light of that. The judge sentenced
him to 90 days, which I think is fair.
“But
I know that Floyd is a good human being with a good heart and I am confident
that he will redeem himself with his actions in the future.
“I
just wanted Floyd to know that the WBC will always stay strongly in his
corner.”
In
other words, “Hey, I goofed, but c'mon, I'm not giving up those sanctioning
fees that come along with his fights. Are you crazy?! I got a dictatorship to
run here!”
No
truth to the rumor that Sulaiman named Ike Turner one of his “emeritus
champions.”
MARAVILLA
The
word is that Sergio Martinez, the organization’s former middleweight titlist
who was just last week guaranteed a shot at Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the WBC
Convention in Las Vegas (only to have that promised welched on) will be making
a statement repudiating this organization. Just my opinion, based on his
stances on domestic violence and bullying, coupled with the way he's been dealt
with by the WBC, the only real decision he can make that will have any lasting
impact or impression would be to completely cut all ties to this organization
going forward.
Besides,
Martinez has a deal with HBO he can fall back on that isn't dependent on him
having the green belt.
Lou
DiBella, who promotes Martinez, said of this situation that sees Chavez Jr.
defending the WBC middleweight title against Marco Antonio Rubio, “They're
trying to screw Sergio.” So it looks like Martinez will be facing Matthew
Macklin on March 17th at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, “Yeah,”
confirmed DiBella, “if [Chavez]’s fighting Rubio.”
But
contrary to some reports, it will not be heavyweight Tomasz Adamek opening up
that HBO broadcast.
“Total internet bullsh*t,” DiBella stated of those rumors. “I've never had any
talks with Adamek or his manager and I think Kathy Duva's done a very good job
with him.”
As
for what the co-feature will be that night, he said, “Probably Andy Lee and
somebody.”
REMEMBER
THE ALAMO(DOME)
Speaking
of Chavez Jr.-Rubio, that fight will be held on February 4th in San
Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome. The co-feature that night on HBO will feature
the battle for the vacant WBO 122-pound title between Nonito Donaire and
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.
Here's
info on tickets from the Top Rank press release:
Tickets to the Chávez Jr./Donaire world
championship doubleheader go on sale this Saturday! December 31 at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $60, $40 and $25,
can be purchased at the Alamodome box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online
at www.ticketmaster.com and via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone
lines at (800) 745-3000.
SULAIMAN
FLURRIES
A name
I'm hearing for Brandon Rios for March 3rd is Kevin Mitchell out of
Britain. One major stumbling block are some legal issues that could keep
Mitchell from coming over to the States…Good thing Southwest doesn't charge for
rebooking. The funds I used to book my flights for January 28th in
Houston, were applied with the credit I had for the Robert Guerrero-Marcos
Maidana fight which never took place in San Jose in August. With other airlines,
I'd have lost money by now....Recommended reading: Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American
Sports by Mark Ribowsky, who tells it like it is about the man who told it
like it was...On February 3rd in Chandler, AZ at the Wild Horse Pass
Hotel and Casino, a card featuring Jose Benavidez and Xavier Montelongo Jr.
among others...Having my jury duty consist of less than four hours is truly a
holiday miracle...Promoter Ahmet Oner says he is leaving Germany. Lucky for
Germany...Has everyone calmed down over the release of the Air Jordans? Is it
safe to go back to the local mall? Houston we have a problem!: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/996293-air-jordan-2011-video-watch-houston-freak-out-over-new-sneakers.
It's the shoes! Money, it's gotta be the shoes! But seriously, they're just
shoes; stop the madness...
