JERMAIN Taylor and Winky Wright will finally meet in the ring on June 17, and in the end that’s what really matters. But the long arduous process to finalize the fight exposed why boxing will never be what it once was.
When it comes to loyalty and professionalism, there is little of either in a sport where boxers always think the grass is greener elsewhere, where promoters undercut each other, and where the networks pretend to be pawns.
Never mind the usual, “I want more money,” demands that nearly always stagnate an intriguing mega-fight. The real trouble started when the deal brokered by Taylor’s promoter Lou DiBella and Wright’s promoter Gary Shaw appeared done on Monday only to have Wright fire Shaw on Tuesday while Shaw was in Las Vegas to negotiate a site.
Seems Wright wants to start his own promotional company, Winky Promotions, which is all fine and good, but if he continues to conduct business this way, he won’t be in business long.
Long story short, Wright threw Shaw under the bus, tried to sniff another deal with HBO and flirted with jumping ship to Golden Boy Promotions. In the process, he nearly destroyed a deal that will earn him roughly $4 million.
Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, said Wright “ambushed” a meeting HBO was having with Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions last Friday. Schaefer was in town to discuss a potential fight between Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver, while Wright was here to shoot a cameo in a Busta Rhymes video.
“[Wright] barged into the office sat down and started telling me all the difficulties he was having and how he wasn’t going to do the fight and saying how Winky Wright Promotions was very important to him,” Greenburg said.
Problem is Schaefer had previously agreed to meet with Wright during their respective trips to New York. Somewhere along the way, Shaw should have been told something. My guess is Golden Boy, which prides itself on its integrity, wouldn’t want one of its fighters having secret discussions with Shaw, DiBella or Showtime.
Ultimately, it took the threat of losing his payday for Wright to agree to the fight. This unnecessary chaos happens when fighters think they can become promoters overnight. “Other than Gary Shaw, it was amateur hour in the Winky Wright camp,” DiBella said. “On June 17, he’s going to find out who the best middleweight world is and it ain’t him.”
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Fernando Vargas hopes a victory over Shane Mosley on Feb. 25 (HBO PPV) in Las Vegas will earn him a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. “That is a big mistake,” Mosley said. “I am coming straight at Vargas and not another fight at welterweight or a fight over here or over there.”
Heavyweight Fres Oquendo (24-3) returns to the ring Thursday night at the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center. Oquendo’s new promoter is DiBella Entertainment. Brownsville’s Curtis “Showtime” Stevens is also on the card.
Looks as if we can have a heavyweight tournament after all. Hasim Rahman defends his WBC title against James Toney on March 18 and IBF champion Chris Byrd defends his crown in a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko April 22 in Mannheim Germany. One winner can face WBO champ Lamon Brewsterand the other WBA champ Nikolay Valuev. The victors could then meet for the undisputed championship.