24.01.07 – By Michael Marley, www.BoxingConfidential.com: You can’t see hot molten lava pouring from a person’s mouth when you speak to him over the telephone. But Ivaylo Gotzev, the always-aggressive manager of WBC #1 heavyweight contender Sam Peter, is getting into volcanic mode to put a screeching halt to the “sneaky ways” of the WBC and the returning Vitali’s handlers. And he threatens massive litigation, which might put the financially troubled world governing body out of business permanently..
In an exclusive interview from his SoCal office, Gotzev said he and his “A List” team of lawyers are going to the mattresses in an all-out war to prevent WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman and his minions from pushing Peter, two-time winner of James Toney, back from his first in line spot as a challenger to WBC heavyweight champ Oleg Maskaev.
“You saw that press release quoting Sam, he was speaking from the heart. Sam has followed every rule and every dictate from the WBC and now they want to shove him aside. We, and by we, I mean Sam Peter, Dino Duva and Don King…together we will not let this happen. After what happened to the WBC in the Rochiggiani case, you would think they would learn…but I guess they have not learned,” Gotzev said.
Gotzev says his army of attorneys have “reviewed all documents” pertinent to the case and that they will go into federal court to take any and all legal measures necessary so that a Maskaev-Vitali WBC title fight is not made. Obviously, Maskaev promoter and Vitali’s handlers are eyeing a huge jackpot with such a fight generating huge license fees from Russian, German and American TV networks. The first-ever all Russian heavyweight title fight would be a blockbuster event for Moscow in terms of live gate and other revenue also.
Gotzev said his legal cadre will seek gigantic punitive damages to redress the wrong conduct of the WBC. Gotzev also said the new WBC rule allowing an ex-champion to come back and get an immediate title shot is bollocks as well.
Our punitive damages are skyrocketing with each passing day that Sam Peter’s rights and interests are delayed,” the Bulgarian-born Gotzev said. “Day by day, the punitive damages grow larger and larger. These damages will be extensive, extensive.”
“Jose told you, Marley, he is waiting for a phone call from Vitali. What kind of rubbish and nonsense is that? Is Vitali running the WBC now? As far as that rule, they stuck it in during the recent convention in Croatia.
“The whole thing is a sabotage and conspiracy,” Gotzev said. “This is a rule they created personally for Vitali’s benefit. We know the people who tortuosly interfered with Sam Peter’s rights. We know who they are, they know that we know, and they should also know that they will, all of them, be named in our lawsuit.”
Gotzev was furious that, in my exclusive interview with Don Jose, he mentioned in passing that Peter had made $2.7 million in the ring for the two Toney bouts and suggested the young contender could wait to fight a Maskaev-Klitschko winner.
“We jumped through all of Jose’s hoops, all of them,” Gotzev said. “How about the sanctioning fees they twice collected from both Sam and Toney? I think the WBC took down millions in fees between those two bouts and, don’t forget, they made us fight Toney the second time. We went along with that…and now this! They got big sanctioning fees and that is what they want to get out of Maskaev-Vitali.”
Expect more explosions as Boxingconfidential provides more exclusive reportage on this heavyweight warfare!
Mlcmarley@aol.com