(June 30, 2010 – New York, NY) Celestino Caballero made his debut at the featherweight division in April with an emphatic and unforgettable 12-round pummeling of the previously unbeaten Daud Yordan. The performance was so unforgettable, in fact, that it hasn’t escaped the memory of any of the champions from super bantamweight to junior lightweight, who are using their best footwork to stay as far away as possible from “Pellenchin.”
Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs) is riding of boxing’s most torrid hot streaks. Unbeaten since 2004, in that six year span Caballero won two belts at super bantamweight and beaten name fighters such as Yordan, Mauricio Pastrana, Steve Molitor, Somsak Sithchatchawal, and Daniel Ponce de Leon.
In recent weeks, rumored bouts against featherweight champions Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, and Elio Rojas haven’t come to fruition because of the reluctance of the champions to make a deal. Overtures made to the camp of WBA junior lightweight champion Jorge Solis were also rebuffed.
The unwillingness of other top fighters to get in the ring with him has left Caballero waiting for an opportunity he has long deserved.
“Great champions are willing to fight great champions. I should not be victimized by the politics of boxing or the cowardice of other fighters..”
It was reported by several sources that HBO, which aired Caballero’s win over Yordan, preferred a Gamboa-Caballero fight above all other potential opponents for the WBA 126 lb. champ. Gamboa’s promoter, Bob Arum, quickly nixed the proposition, asserting that Caballero’s camp had priced their fighter out. This claim was made before serious discussions with Caballero’s promoter, Lou DiBella, had ever begun.
Now Caballero sits on the sideline, while the networks give out dates to fighters who simply aren’t willing to fight the best opposition.
“We never priced ourselves out of a Gamboa fight,” said DiBella. “In fact, in our preliminary discussions I asked for the same amount of money that I’m hearing Arum is offering to other fighters. There is a big difference between Celestino Caballero, a pound for pound fighter, and Elio Rojas.”
That difference probably explains why Caballero is still on the hunt for a big fight. And so, Caballero ponders, “Why should I have problems feeding my family because I’m too good?”