by James Slater – If the fight card comes off as Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer hopes it will, boxing fans are in for a great, great night on June 27th. According to a news article on Ring magazine’s website, Schaefer is right now working on getting the much sought after Chris John Vs. Rocky Juarez rematch, along with world title fights James Kirkland Vs. Sergei Dzindziruk and Victor Ortiz Vs. Andreas Kotelnik, to take place on a mega-card at The Staples Centre in Los Angeles.
The second, and necessary instalment of John and Juarez going at it with the WBA featherweight belt on the line is some fight by itself, but the chance to also see two of the sport’s best up-and-coming fighters getting their first chance at a world title – in 154-pounder Kirkland and 140-pounder Ortiz – will make the card a must-see event. All three bouts would be relatively tough ones to pick at the very least.
Most fans felt Indonesia’s John did enough to have been given a win instead of the draw he got against Juarez last month, yet the unbeaten champ will have to be at his best in a rematch.. As for Kotelnik, who would be defending his WBA 140-pound belt against Ortiz, and Dzindziruk, who would be defending his WBO 154-pound strap against Kirkland – these two are very fine champions indeed. The two young guns would have to fight hard to see themselves crowned. Should it all work out, June 27th will have the potential be one of the best night’s of boxing so far in 2009.
No-one wants the card to come off more than Schaefer himself.
“I’m working on it like crazy,” Schaefer told The Ring. “If I pull it off, it’ll be huge. Rocky [Juarez] knows this would be his last chance. If you ask him where he turned in the best performance of his career, though, he’ll tell you Staples Centre, when he lost to Marco Antonio Barrera. Chris John is a great fighter. A lot of people thought he won the fight (last month).”
After talking up the featherweight rematch he has planned, Schaefer spoke about the two young guns – who each scored fine wins last time out.
“[Mike] Arnaoutis and [Joel] Julio were major tests (for Ortiz and Kirkland, respectively),” Schaefer said. “And they passed those tests with flying colours. Arnaoutis and Julio were two of the toughest guys in their respective divisions and neither had been stopped before. How much more ready can Ortiz and Kirkland be?”
Indeed, both “Vicious Victor” and “The Mandingo Warrior” are two of the very best prospects out there. Both guys are also very exciting to watch fight. However, Schaefer warned of how talented the two champions are, saying both Kirkland and Ortiz will be in very tough if the card comes off in the summer.
“Dzindziruk is very tough, so is Kotelnik,” Schaefer said. “(Golden Boy matchmakers) Eric Gomez and Roberto Diaz both told me these aren’t going to be easy fights. I said,’ Well, they’re world championship fights; they’re not supposed to be easy. How do you like our chances?
“They said, ‘I like our chances. Just don’t fire us if the guys lose.'”
Quality match-making is the name of the game, and what Golden Boy have planned for June 27th is quality no-one can argue with. Let’s hope the bill goes ahead. (note: Kirkland must first come through a May 2nd bout, against an as yet TBA, on the Hatton-Pacquiao bill).