Although the World Boxing Council?s wrong-headed (and thankfully rescinded) move to erect its Rocky Marciano statue in Boston rather than Brockton was undertaken in Manila by a Mexico City-based organization, it?s not as if the WBC shouldn?t have known better.
While he prefers to portray himself as a downtrodden third-worlder, WBC president Jose Sulaiman grew up in New England. His family is of Lebanese descent and he is a Mexican citizen, but Sulaiman spent his boyhood in Fall River, where he played CYO baseball under the name Joey Solomon, and Jose clearly knows the difference between Boston and Brockton.
Here?s what people need to understand: The move to put the statue in Boston (where it would have been seen by more people) was never about paying tribute to Marciano; it was and is self-promotion for the WBC – which, by the way, wasn?t founded until 1963 and thus didn?t even exist when the Brockton Blockbuster was fighting.
Gettin? their Irish up
Andy Lee, who faces Jason McKay in an Irish title fight in Dublin Saturday, was at ringside when John Duddy outpointed Howard Eastman at the King?s Hall in Belfast last night, but the two didn?t exactly socialize. Brian Peters, the promoter of both cards, kept the two unbeaten Irish middleweights apart by assigning them separate hotels in Northern Ireland – and not just because a fight between the two seems inevitable somewhere down the line.
Lee bears no personal animosity toward Duddy, just his United States-based promotional company, Irish Ropes, which he claims gave him the short shrift when he boxed on the company?s St. Patrick?s Day card at the Madison Square Garden Theatre last March. On that occasion, Duddy had his hands full before stopping Anthony Bonsante in the main event, while Lee stole the show with a spectacular knockout of former WBC champion Carl Daniels.
The Daniels KO was so picturesque, in fact, that it wound up on YouTube – for a week or so. According to Lee, YouTube removed the video under threat from Irish Ropes because it was deflecting attention from Duddy.
Irish Ropes, which has promoted Duddy fights in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, will be undergoing some changes in the new year. Mayo-born founder Eddie McLaughlin, who has overseen Duddy?s career from the outset, plans to return to Ireland indefinitely, leaving the day-to-day operation in the hands of longtime matchmaker Jim Borzell.
Shaw, Donaire spar
There were few surprises on Gary Shaw?s Showtime card at Foxwoods last weekend as Antonio Tarver, Vernon Forrest and Nonito Donaire mowed down their opponents, but the residue of the tripleheader appears to be an incipient rift between Shaw and Donaire, the talented Filipino who had upset flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in Bridgeport, Conn., last summer.
When Donaire knocked out Darchinyan, who had occupied a spot in several experts? pound-for-pound Top 10s, Shaw (who had both fighters) was all smiles, but after disposing of Luis Maldonado at the Mashantucket casino Saturday night, the Filipino Flash turned his wrath on the promoter, accusing him of short-changing him on his allotment of hotel rooms and tickets.
?My family was seated three rows behind Maldonado?s,? said Donaire, who claimed that when his complaint was relayed to Shaw by manager Cameron Dunkin, the promoter?s response was, ?Who does he think he is, Manny Pacquiao?? . . .
The first heavyweight title unification bout in eight years (since the two Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield fights in 1999) was officially confirmed last week when champions Wladimir Klitschko (IBF) and Sultan Ibragimov (WBO) appeared at the Times Square chapter of the Hard Rock Cafe to announce their Feb. 23 engagement at Madison Square Garden. The two belts not owned by Klitschko and Ibragimov will also be on the line in early 2008: Oleg Maskaev (WBC) is supposed to defend against ?interim? champion Samuel Peter in New York on Feb. 2, while British promoter Frank Warren announced that England?s Matt ?Red? Skelton would meet WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev in Germany on Jan. 19. Chagaev hasn?t fought since winning the title (from Nikolai Valuev) last April, and pulled out of an October unification bout vs. Ibragimov after reportedly being diagnosed with Hepatitis B.cw0cw0
Golota, Mollo paired
