30.11.07 – By Matthew Hurley: Wayne McCullough’s latest comeback against Kiko Martinez, scheduled for this Saturday night in Belfast was called off when Martinez failed to make weight. McCullough and his handlers are now considering whether or not to go through with the fight at a catch weight. On December 5th British promoter Frank Warren will hold a press conference announcing a super featherweight showdown between Kevin Mitchell and Carl Johanneson. The fight has been brewing for a long time with Mitchell claiming that Johanneson has been ducking him..
The boxing public heaved a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that Manny Pacquiao had decided that his next opponent would be Juan Manuel Marquez. The ongoing speculation as to who the Filipino star would step into the ring with had begun after he defeated Marco Antonio Barrera in their rematch in October. The consensus was that although the public was clamoring for a Marquez rematch of their 2004 thriller, which resulted in a draw, Pacquiao was leaning toward a foray into the lightweight division to take on WBC champion David Diaz. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum announced on November 29th that his fighter had decided on the long awaited return match. The bout will take place on March 15th at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino and will be broadcast on HBO pay per view. With yet another exciting match up to look forward to the sport of boxing continues to thrive and 2008 is shaping up to pick up where 2007 left off.
The much-anticipated December 8th welterweight showdown between Ricky Hatton and WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather continues to heat up. As both fighters wind down their preparations the war of words continues. Hatton has recently focused on Floyd’s bad hands which became a center point of the second episode of HBO’s 24/7. Mayweather was shown going through a wax paraffin treatment and lamenting the damage that has been done to his hands and back over the last several years. Hatton remarked, “I hope he doesn’t use this as an excuse when I beat him.”
Mayweather ended the program by saying, “He hasn’t fought forty-three Floyd Mayweathers. If he had he’d be zero and forty-three.”
In a recent sit down with the media Hatton commented on Mayweather’s verbal assaults. “I think he’s an insecure person and he likes to play mind games, but I don’t think he does it to try to intimidate you because he’s not exactly what you (would) call intimidating looking with his nice suits on and his bling. He doesn’t exactly make me want to run away down the street. I think he tries to get under your skin and annoy you; more annoy you than scare you. He must surely know when he sees me and looks in the mirror and he knows that I’m not scared of him and he knows I believe I can win. I have no fear of him.”
Boxing fans again had reason to rejoice when Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) won the purse bid to promote the World Boxing Organization lightweight title bout between Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. The WBO anointed Diaz “Super Champion” status, yet another bit of lunacy on the part of a sanctioning body, but it ensures Diaz of 80 percent of GBP’s $1.5 million dollar bid. Diaz will receive $1.2 million to Katsidis’ $300,000.
In an odd postscript, the minimum bid for this stellar match up was only $50,000 and GBP were the only promotional company in attendance during the bidding, which was held on Tuesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Despite the opportunity to submit the lowest possible bid GBP decided that the two fighters were worth the expense.
“This tells you how much we believe in the fight,” CEO Richard Schaefer said to Maxboxing.com after securing the fight. “We believe in this fight and there was nobody else bidding there, so we could’ve low-balled the thing but we didn’t do that. We believe that the fighters should be fairly compensated for a fight like this.”
This Saturday night Antonio Tarver and Vernon Forrest return to the ring at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino. Tarver will defend his IBO light heavyweight belt against Danny Santiago and Forrest defends his WBC super welterweight title against former titleholder Michele Piccirillo. Also on the card, and what is easily the most interesting of the three bouts, is IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire defending his title against Luis Maldonado. The card will be televised on Showtime.
Finally, also scheduled for this Saturday, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. takes on Ray Sanchez at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jorge Arce fights Medgoen Singsurat for the WBC Latino bantamweight title on the under card. The fight, promoted by Bob Arum, is on pay per view so let the buyer beware.