Oscar De La Hoya will have a life-size statue of himself outside Staples Center next to Magic and Gretzky…Lopez To Emcee Boxing Writers Dinner…Peter Waiting on Vitali. By GEORGE WILLIS
LOS ANGELES–Not much surprises Oscar De La Hoya these days but he was genuinely stunned during Wednesday’s press conference here when told a life-sized statue of himself will be placed outside the Staples Center. He’ll go next to Lakers legend Magic Johnson and NHL great Wayne Gretzky.
Lopez starred in the ABC sitcom, âThe George Lopez Show,â which ran from 2001 to 2007 and still is seen in syndication. Only one television show involving Hispanic actors, âI Love Lucy,â had a longer run.
An enthusiastic sports fan, particularly of boxing, he is a good friend of Oscar De La Hoya. Lopez also has been frequently honored for his charity work. He received the Manny Mota Community Spirit Award and was named Honorary Mayor of Los Angeles for his extensive fund-raising efforts benefiting earthquake victims in El Salvador and Guatemala, and in Feb. 2004 he was presented the Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award by Harvard University for his artistic work and charitable endeavors.
Among the award-winners who will be in attendance at the BWAA dinner are Floyd Mayweather Jr., Fighter of the Year for 2007; ShoBoxâs Nick Charles, Broadcaster of the Year; Cameron Dunkin, Manager of the Year; brothers Lamont and Anthony Peterson, co-recipients of the Pat Putnam Award for perseverance in overcoming adversity; Steve Sneddon, the Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism, and Nigel Collins, editor of The Ring magazine, for long and meritorious service to boxing.
Peter’s Manager Prefers Wladimir Over Vitali
Ivaylo Gotzev, manager of WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter, thinks Vitali Klitschko should choose between politics or boxing and doubts whether the former heavyweight champion will ever get into the ring against Peter.
Vitali Klitschko is running for Mayor of Kiev in the Ukraine despite being the mandatory challenger to Peter. Klitschko got the designation after being named something called “champion emeritus” when he retired as the WBC champion because of an injury in 2005.
A purse bid for a proposed Peter-Vitali fight will be held in early May and the fight must take place within 90 days. “We’re hopeful Vitali will commit, but we really have doubts he’ll be able to make it happen,” said Gotzev, who was in attendance for the Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes press conference Wednesday. “They’re stating they want to go in July, but I don’t see it happening because the guy’s running for Mayor of Kiev. That’s going to take to the end of May so I don’t see how he could possibly refocus on his boxing career and his political career. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
If Gotzev had his druthers, he’d like to match Peter with Wladimir Klitschko the IBF heavyweight champion. Wladimir won a decision over Peter in 2005, but was knocked down three times in the fight. “Ideally, what I’d like to see happen is for the unification process to begin and end with one unified champion,” Gotzev said. “Wladimir Klitschko took the easy fight with (Sultan) Ibragimov (in January). Let’s see if he wants to take the hard fight, a rematch with Sam Peter. That’s really the fight that should happen.”
Elections for Mayor of Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, take place May 25.