When Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins brought their show to New York to promote their Oct. 18 Atlantic City fight, the press conference venue was the B.B. King Blues Club. When Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. hit the Big Apple 10 days ago to hype their Nov. 8 Madison Square Garden bout, they did so at the Times Square chapter of the Hard Rock Cafe. So what do you do if you?re Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao? When the traveling circus for that Dec. 6 bout visits New York Wednesday, the promoters worked things out with Homeland Security and will stage the official announcement at the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue of Liberty Play will kick off a six-city promotional swing for De La Hoya and Pacquiao, but as is often the case in today?s boxing world, the objective isn?t to build the live gate, but rather the pay-per-view audience. Tickets for the Dec. 6 bout went on sale last week, and all 16,000 seats at the MGM Grand Arena sold out in a matter of hours. . . .
Dismissed from De La Hoya?s corner after the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, Dedham?s Freddie Roach is looking forward to De La Hoya-Pacquiao even more than his fighter is. De La Hoya, who last week engaged the services of Nacho Beristain to run his corner, will thus be working with his third trainer in as many fights. Beristain was called in because Floyd Mayweather Sr., who rejoined De La Hoya for the Steve Forbes fight, is in England, training Ricky Hatton for Paulie Malignaggi.
The reluctant warrior
Undefeated challenger Juan Guzman left Showtime high and dry when he failed to make weight for his Sept. 13 challenge to lightweight champ Nate Campbell in Biloxi, Miss., and then refused to participate in what would have been a non-title fight. Guzman later apologized, noting (probably correctly) that his crash diet had left him too dehydrated to safely fight. Earlier this year, Guzman had blamed ?visa problems? for his decision to give up his 130-pound title rather than participate in a World Boxing Organization-ordered fight against Alex Arthur, a circumstance that might now be re-examined in light of this latest fiasco on the scale. . . .
Interestingly, the guys with the titles are the betting underdog in both halves of Showtime?s Oct. 11 telecast, which will span two continents: Vitali Klitschko, despite not having fought in 3 years, is roughly a 7-5 favorite over World Boxing Council champ Samuel Peter in their Berlin title fight, and New Haven, Conn., boxer Chad Dawson, having relinquished his WBC light heavyweight title to go after Antonio Tarver?s International Boxing Federation version, is a 9-5 favorite in their Las Vegas bout. Malignaggi, incidentally, is a 12-5 underdog against Hatton in their Nov. 22 HBO fight in Las Vegas, but as of last week the Magic Man is no longer the guy with the belt. Malignaggi was forced to relinquish his IBF 140-pound title rather than commit to an agreement that would have the Nov. 22 winner meet Canadian-based Cameroon challenger Herman Ngoudjo.
?Paulie really didn?t have much choice,? promoter Lou DiBella said. ?They wanted us both to sign an agreement to fight Ngoudjo, who Paulie just beat (in January). How much sense does that make??
What this means is that only Hatton?s Ring magazine title will be at stake (along with the inconsequential International Boxing Organization crown).
We?ve said it before and we?ll say it again: Boxing needs fewer sanctioning bodies, not more of them. With the networks encouraging champions to jettison their belts in favor of TV matchups, what?s going to happen the first time one of the principals in these magazine-title fights pulls a Guzman and comes in overweight? Do you suppose for a minute The Ring would strip Hatton? Or Calzaghe?
Sprechen zie Deutsch?
Trainer Emanuel Steward?s greatest fear was that Wladimir Klitschko?s defense against Alexander Povetkin might get hijacked to Russia. That eventually was headed off at a Sept. 16 purse bid, where K2 Promotions ponied up more than $13 million to outbid Povetkin?s representatives for the right to stage the IBF mandatory. The IBF/WBO title bout will take place Dec. 13 in Germany, and will be televised by HBO. . . .
In keeping with the scenario outlined here two months ago, Ireland?s John Duddy and Thomas Hearns? son Ronald are on a collision course to meet in New York in a January Showtime fight, assuming the two unbeatens stay that way in their intervening tuneup bouts. Ronald Hearns, who required barely two minutes to dispose of Alexander Quiroz on the Peter Quillin-Sam Hill card in Manchester, N.H., 10 days ago, will face Canadian Paul Clavette on the Oct. 24 Lucien Bute-Librido Andrade card at the Bell Centre in Montreal, while Duddy will headline a Nov. 6 DiBella/Irish Ropes co-promotion in Westbury, Long Island. The co-feature of the January card could be another tantalizing matchup: Quillin vs. James McGirt Jr.
Contenders galore
The Nov. 13 Peter Manfredo Jr.-Sakio Bika card in Providence is putatively a joint promotion of Jimmy Burchfield?s Classic Entertainment & Sports and the Tournament of Contenders, but it?s beginning to take on the trappings of a ?Contender? reunion. In addition to the main event, which matches the reality show?s inaugural season?s runner-up vs. the third season?s champion, the co-feature matches Season 2 winner Grady Brewer against Cornelius Bundrage, while in another featured bout New Zealander Daniel McKinnon makes his United States debut against Jaidon Codrington, the Bridgeport, Conn., light heavyweight who was stopped by Bika in the Season 3 finale at TD Banknorth Garden last year. For more information, phone 401-724-2253. . . .
?Tiger? Ted Lowry, who twice went the distance against Rocky Marciano, and former heavyweight champion Gene Tunney, who lived for 50 years in Stamford, Conn., following his retirement from the ring, head up the class of 2008 to be inducted into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame at a gala dinner at the Mohegan Sun Nov. 28. For information, phone Mike Murtha at 860-862-7586. . . .
When Acelino Freitas quit on his stool after eight rounds in his lightweight title fight against Juan Diaz at Foxwoods last year, trainer Oscar Suarez stepped up and took the bullet, claiming that he and not the fighter had stopped the fight. Suarez, who also trained, among others, Prince Naseem Hamed, died at 47 two weeks ago, just days after having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. . . .
A pair of 37-year-olds who may have seen better days, Howard Eastman and Andrew ?Six Heads? Lewis, fought last night at the National Stadium in Georgetown for the Guyanese middleweight title. . . .
