The Boxing News Report 08.08.08
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 08.08.2008
This week we get an update on the De La Hoya-Pacquiao talks as well as some new signings by DiBella Entertainment. Plus, Margarito gets cleared by the NSAC on the rumor of steroids and tickets are on sale for Mayorga vs. Mosley.
Welcome back to another edition of the Boxing News Reports. This week we have quite a few things going on in the boxing world and I'm going to tell you the latest.
Now let's get right to it!
Venue Named for Marquez vs. Abraham
IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs) will return to the ring to face mandatory challenger Raul Marquez (41-3, 29 KOs) on October 4th at the JAKO Arena in Bamberg, Germany. It's the same venue where Abraham KO'd Sebastien Demers in May 2007 and the area where champion began boxing.
"It will be a tough nut to crack," said Arthur in regard to the class of his opponent. "But I will not disappoint my hometown fans. At Bamberg, I have very special memories."
Ticket sales will begin by the end of August.
Tickets on Sale for Mosley vs. Mayorga
More tickets on sale this week and this time it's for the September 27 fight between Ricardo Mayorga and Shane Mosley.
Seats are available at $350, $150, $75 and $50 and you can order them at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (877) 234-8425.
You can bet the build up to the fight will be entertaining as is always the case when Ricardo Mayorga is involved. It looks like Andre Berto, the WBC welterweight titleholder, will take on Steve Forbes on the undercard. Forbes as you recall recently took on Oscar De La Hoya in Oscar's last fight in May.
De La Hoya-Pacquiao Negotiations Under Way
I mentioned earlier in the week that a meeting was to be set up this week between representatives from Golden Boy and Top Rank to talk about the possibility of a December 6th fight between Oscar De La Hoya and lightweight titleholder.
"We met and there are some issues, but it was a good meeting," Schaefer told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.
Well it appears as things are inching ever so closer as it looks like the revenue split is one of the key factors. De La Hoya would likely get a 60-40 split, but the Pacquiao Camp also wants to share some of the revenue from the PPV and other rights. Also, Golden Boy has an affiliation with Philippine TV station ABS-CBN while Pacquiao has a deal with Solar Sports. That will be another issue to workout as far as who will get the TV rights in the Philippines.
DiBella Entertainment Inks Kermit Cintron
According to ESPN.com, Lou DiBella has just signed Kermit Cintron to a multi-year promotional contract. Apparently a deal has also been agreed upon on principal with the 17-2-2 Shaun George.
"It's a wide-open welterweight division, Kermit is a puncher and he factors into the division," DiBella said. "He'll be ready to fight in November."
DiBella said Cintron's first bout with him would come Nov. 15 on the non-televised undercard of the Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy super middleweight elimination bout.
Margarito Clean of Any Substances
A local radio program had recently alleged that Antonio Margarito had used steroids in his July 26th TKO win over Miguel Cotto. The rumor spread like a wild fire but Team Margarito insisted that no such substances were used nor where they needed.
Well this week, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed that Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto for that matter were both clean and no illegal substances were found in their pre and post-fight drug tests. Now let's put that all to rest and focus on what's next for their careers.
Margarito-Clottey II?
On the Topic of Antonio Margarito comes word from Bob Arum who told Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com that he is looking to pit newly crowned WBA welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito with his IBF counter part Joshua Clottey, possibly on November 1st.
The word is that Arum will be talking to officials from Dodger Stadium about possibly putting the fight there and also that the card could be televised on Showtime, rather than HBO.
Random Hits
- Sam Peter has promised to retire Vitali Klitschko on October 11.
- Boxing for the 2008 Summer Olympics begins this Saturday.
- Joshua Clottey injured his left bicep during his fight with Zab Judah but should recover quickly.
- WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan (29-4-1, 18 KOs) will take on on his mandatory challenger Guillermo Jones (35-3-2, 27 KOs) from Panama on September 27th.
That'll do it for this week, stay tuned for more updates on the De La Hoya-Pacquiao situation as well as updates from the Olympics!
Tickets on Sale for Mosley vs. Mayorga
I mentioned earlier in the week that a meeting was to be set up this week between representatives from Golden Boy and Top Rank to talk about the possibility of a December 6th fight between Oscar De La Hoya and lightweight titleholder. 
Margarito Clean of Any Substances
