It had been an unusually upbeat week for boxing with lots of positive news emerging that’s sure to generate excitement about the sport.
New Jersey-based promoter Dino Duva announced the creation of a new company, Dynasty Boxing, in partnership with Terry and Tommy Lane, the sons of Hall of Fame referee Mills Lane. Zhang Zhilei, a 6-foot-6 super heavyweight who fought for China in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, is the first of several Chinese fighters the company plans to pursue.
Meanwhile, separate press conferences were also held in Manhattan to announce two much-anticipated bouts: 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins will challenge Beibut Shumenov of Kazakhstan in a unification of light heavyweight titles on April 19 in Washington D.C., and an usually grouchy Sergio Martinez of Argentina will defend his WBC middleweight title against popular Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on June 7.
“The room is going to be electric,” promoter Lou DiBella said of Cotto-Martinez, set for the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade.
Add in Showtime’s offering Saturday night from Puerto Rico, where unbeaten junior welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia (27-0, 16 KOs) of Philadelphia defends his WBA/WBC 140-pound junior welterweight titles against Mauricio Herrera (20-3, 7 KOs) of California, and all seems good in the world of boxing.
Then came reports from TMZ alleging Floyd Mayweather might have sanctioned the kidnapping and brutal beating of two former employees he suspected of stealing his jewelry.
This could just be a shakedown for money since word from Las Vegas is no charges have been filed, but lawsuits are being threatened. Still the news is troubling considering Mayweather’s legal history and his importance to boxing.
Should there be an investigation it likely wouldn’t hinder Mayweather’s scheduled May 3 pay-per-view bout with Marcos Maidana of Argentina in Las Vegas. But the remaining three fights on his six-fight $250 million mega-deal with Showtime could be in jeopardy if this leads to something criminal.
You would think Mayweather is smart enough to avoid participating in any kind of street justice. He served a 90-day sentence in the Clark County Detention Center in 2012 on a domestic abuse charge, and appearing before the court again could earn him harsh punishment.
Showtime has invested heavily in Mayweather and built much of its long-term boxing plans around his upcoming bouts. Losing his availability would be a huge blow to the network and the sport. It would be similar to what happened in the 1990s, when Showtime signed Mike Tyson to a huge contract only to see him get suspended and his reputation ruined for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in their memorable rematch in 1997.
Stay tuned on all that.
Meanwhile, Cotto-Martinez should be one of those memorable Garden events. Martinez, one of the sport’s nicest gentlemen, might be the only person on the planet that doesn’t like Cotto, calling him “arrogant” and saying, “he acts like a little girl.” A packed house is expected as Cotto tries to become the first boxer from Puerto Rico to win a major title in four different weight divisions. Martinez has said he’ll knock out Cotto in nine rounds.
“If he’s going to prepare himself for only nine rounds, he’s going to have problems over the last three,” Cotto said. Tickets are available at the usual outlets but going fast.
Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs) is always intriguing as he defends his IBF light heavyweight title against the WBA champion Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs). “It’s the most important fight in my life and it will be the hardest fight of my life,” Shumenov said. “Bernard is a boxing genius. He is a legend. He has the highest boxing IQ and skills ever.”
Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillen (30-0, 22 KOs) of New York will also defend his WBO middleweight title on the card against Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) of the Czech Republic.