"LET'S SET THE DATE!" - GARY SHAW READY TO CO-PROMOTE WITH MAIN EVENTS GATTI - MITCHELL IBF TITLE ELIMINATION BOUT

08.02 - And then there were two...

With Emanuel Augustus' unanimous decision loss to Omar Weis tonight, the stage is set for Arturo Gatti and Sharmba Mitchell, the IBF's top two jr. welterweight contenders, to square-off in a title elimination bout to determine who will be the mandatory challenger to world jr. welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.

Per the IBF's order of February 5, 2003, "In the event Augustus does not win the bout on February 7, then Gatti and Mitchell should negotiate a fight and the winner will become the mandatory for the IBF jr. welterweight title. No boxers may contract for any other fights (which clearly demonstrates an unwillingness to participate in this process) until this box off is concluded or they will automatically eliminate themselves from this box off and will be lowered in the ratings as provided in the IBF rules."

"I made one promise to Sharmba," said Gary Shaw, president of Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, Mitchell's promoter. "You fight hard for me inside the ring and I will always fight hard for you outside the ring. Sharmba held up his end of the bargain. He beat two top-10 contenders [Vince Phillios and Carlos Vilches] in a two-month span and I am not about to let him down. I have already set my alarm clock and the speed dial on my telephone. First thing Monday morning I am calling Carl Moretti at Main Events to get this promotion started. This is a great east coast fight between two great east coast warriors, and the class of the division."