When it comes to getting an update on some of the most talented young prospects, world champions and biggest news makers in boxing, all it takes is one phone call to famed fight manager Shelly Finkel. That’s because he represents a bulk of the movers and shakers of the sport: Featherweight monster Manny Pacquiao, IBF heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, super featherweight dynamo Rocky Juarez and lightweight champ Juan Diaz – just to name a few.
Fightnews spoke to Finkel to get the latest news on his roster fighters:
Last week, Manny Pacquiao was rushed to the hospital because he was vomiting blood. Reports out of the Phillippines say that Manny has a medical history of stomach ulcers. What happened? Manny is fine. It was nothing serious. He was released from the hospital the next morning. He ate the wrong kinds of food, and as a result, he had a reaction. As a matter of fact, he was out playing pool last night (Wednesday). But even though Manny likes to keep late hours, he isn’t partying the way he used to.
So his rematch with Morales is still a go? This isn’t a type of illness that will have a lingering effect is it? The fight is still a go. And, it will not have a lingering effect. As long as Manny doesn’t eat very spicy foods, he won’t have that same type of adverse reaction.
Is Team Pacquiao still adamant that their fight will be at 130? Yes. It’s in the contract.
Being that Morales goes through hell to make 130, it would seem a definite that he’ll be consuming a sport drink during the fight, thus narrowing any advantage that Manny might have. What are your thoughts on this, and especially the Nevada Commission’s new rule? I think the new rule is great! A lot of the injuries in boxing, I believe, are due to dehydration. And, if this can stop it… if it can help one person, it’s worth it. As far as looking at this as a disadvantage, I don’t want to win because of someone getting hurt or seriously injured. So, Morales is more than welcome to drink it during the fight!
Is the fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Shannon Briggs official? No. But it will be. We’re working on it, but it’s not done yet… so I can’t comment any further. Right now, it’s a work in process and there are no stumbling blocks. So we’ll probably know in the next two weeks if it’s a definite.
Briggs is ranked #7 by the IBF. What were the determining factors in choosing him to fight for Wlad’s IBF title? One – Briggs is a very tough opponent. He’s on an eleven fight winning streak, all by knockout. Two – It being at Madison Square Garden is a perfect venue for it. Three – We couldn’t wait til after August to see that no one got injured in the Oleg Maskaev/Hasim Rahman fight. And four – We tried James Toney first, be he decided to fight Samuel Peter instead.
It’s odd that Toney didn’t accept that initial offer. He has always said that he’s dying to fight the ‘big guys.’ Well, if James gets lucky and beats Sam Peter, he can then talk again about fighting a ‘big guy.’
Did you consult with Wlad’s trainer Emanuel Steward prior to making the decision to select Briggs? Oh, of course! I always check with the trainer first. In this case, Manny feels that Briggs is a dangerous opponent, but Wladimir should be able to handle it.
Now that the rematch between Rocky Juarez and Barerra finalized, what is your opinion on the scoring blunder in their first fight? I think it was just an error and the officials weren’t careful. I don’t think there was any advantage to Barerra winning as opposed to him having a draw because in a draw, he keeps the title anyway. I don’t think anything devious was done, I just think it was inept. So, this will be a new fight and I believe that Rocky learned a lot of what he shouldn’t have done in the first fight… that he won’t do in the second.
Mike Tyson recently signed with Sports Placement Service, Inc. to handle all of his marketing and licensing opportunities. Sounds like Mike has something planned. What’s going on? It’s the same type of thing that they did for Muhammad Ali. I believe that Mike, as he said, is retired form boxing. And this deal will give him income, hopefully, for the rest of his life. It’ll be a good thing for him.
Vitali Klitschko. Has he contemplated a return to the ring? He hasn’t said anything to me about returning to the ring. As far as I know, he is retired. As a matter of fact, yesterday was his birthday.
Jeff Lacy. What’s going on with him? Jeff will be fighting in October on a double header, with Diego Corrales in the main event (opponent to be named). We were trying to make a fight with Tarver, but obviously that didn’t happen. So as of right now, we don’t have any names yet.
Juan Diaz’s promotional contract with Main Events is set to expire this week. What’s happening there? As far as promotional, Juan wants to be a free agent. But my contract with Juan expires at the same time. So I don’t know what is going on there. I love Juan and I enjoy working with Will Savannah and they’ll make a decision on what they want to do.
You have a great young prospect in Robert Guerrero. What’s new with him? He might get a shot at the IBF featherweight title on September 2nd, on the Peter-Toney under card. But nothing is set yet.
Fernando Vargas had a tough loss in his rematch against Mosley. Where does he go from here? Fernando is getting married on August 5th. He’ll have a honeymoon, and when that’s over, we’ll do some other things. At that point he will decide if he will ever return to the ring or not.
What are these ‘other things’? A promotion company and other entertainment vehicles. The promotion company is called VEP (Vargas Entertainment Promotions) and I will be actively involved. Fernando and I are friends, and we both decided to do business with each other, for the rest of my life or his life… whichever ends first. (Laughs).
Sounds like fight fans have a lot of interesting bouts to look forward to in the coming months! Is there anything you’d like to say in closing? Oh yes! I’d like to thank all the fans for coming out and supporting all my fighters, and for supporting boxing in general. The fans are the backbone of this sport, and I just hope we can continue to please them.
