Hennessy offers Alexander 70k to fight Eastman

11.06 - Press Release - Promoter Mick Hennessy has offered Wayne Alexander the £70,000 he has called for to get in the ring with his British, Commonwealth and European middleweight champion Howard Eastman.

The proposal follows Frank Warren promoted Alexander's recent decision to relinquish his status as the mandatory contender for Eastman's European title on the day that purse bids were to be lodged for the right to promote a showdown between the two.

It transpires that the big punching former light-middleweight triple champion was worried that his split of the winning bid would not be sufficient to compensate him for taking on arguably this countries best fighter pound for pound, so he pulled out before offers were lodged to avoid a fine for late withdrawal.

At that point it seemed that despite the fact that both fighters were keen to share a ring, yet another potentially explosive all domestic clash had gone by the wayside.

However, in the interest of making the fight for the sake of the British public, Hennessy has acted to allay any fears Alexander had concerning his remuneration by offering him a guaranteed purse, as well as a time and place, to step in the ring with the 'Battersea Bomber'.

"I understand that Wayne was worried that the purse bid for his mandatory challenge to Howard would be too low," began Hennessy.

"Well firstly I would like to assure him that whilst I have no idea what his promoter Frank Warren would have bid, my offer would have seen him paid very well for the fight. What's more, he would have received 40% of my winning bid as a European challenger, not the 25% he erroneously believed.

"Secondly, I am happy to still make this fight. Wayne claimed in Boxing News that a fight against Eastman, something he states he still wants in order to avenge a loss he suffered at his hands as an amateur, would be worth £70,000 to him.

"Well no problem, Wayne can have £70,000 if he challenges Howard on July 25th - 6 weeks from this Friday - at the Norwich Sports Village for his European Title, no options or rematch clause required.

He added: "That is a massive purse for a European challenger to earn, but I am happy to pay it for the sake of bringing the fight to the BBC. This will be a spectacular event for British Boxing featuring this countries best fighter in Howard Eastman - a truly world-class gunslinger who goes about his business in the old-fashioned way.

"Let us not forget also what Alexander would bring to the table. He is an all-action explosive talent who always has you on the edge of your seat - this would be one of the best domestic fights for many years whilst it lasted.

"It is an example of exactly the kind of fight British boxing needs for its rise in popularity to continue. We saw recently what kind of anticipation and excitement a fight between two exciting domestic fighters can generate when David Walker (Hennessy Sports) took on John Humphrey (Sports Network) in a sensational eliminator for the British light middleweight title.

"I am therefore hopeful that Alexander will accept the offer, details of which have already been faxed through to Warren's office.

"I would also like to think that once Howard has come through this showdown, as I fully expect him to do, that a fight against Joe Calzaghe can still be made."