The headline and the following article is written with more emotion than usual.
The recently announced heavyweight unification battle between WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov and WBA titleholder Ruslan Chagaev slated for October 13th in Moscow has been called off. Chagaev had to drop out of the bout because of a "painful but non-life threatning illness."
Apparently, however, the word "mandatory" means very little to the WBO because DC's Tony Thompson (the current NABO champion and ranked fourth in the world by the WBO) who is the MANDATORY challenger has been passed over in favor of....
Evander Holyfield!
Yes, Holyfield will try for his fifth world title despite being ranked 13th in the world by the WBO and coming off opponents that have been substandard at best!
This is a prime example of bad politics and one of the reasons boxing is in the condition it is in.
Mandatory is after his first defense!
ReplyDeleteHe will be next in line.
Any questions please contact a WBO representative.
Continued Success,
FRANCISCO VALCARCEL, ESQ.
President
First Federal Building, Ste. 711-714
1056 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan 00927
Puerto Rico
Ph: (787) 765-4628
Fax: (787) 758-9053
Mobile: (787) 378-8659
E-mail: pacoval@wbo-int.com
It looks like you got his attention pretty quick Gary.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Digital!!!! See the whole world knows about BATB baby! Great work! Let's hope that Tony gets the next shot because he is the best heavyweight in the world today!
ReplyDeleteTony the wbo is dissing you...what about the wba, ibf i guess there all tied up with others already..This is ridiculous that Tony is still the dark horse...that can be overlooked....WBO sucks
ReplyDeleteEveryone should email him at pacoval@wbo-int.com sad and pathetic Frank!!!!
ReplyDeleteTony can now fight Seth Mitchell in Jan 2008 if Tonys people are not scared...
ReplyDeleteYou cant really be SETH friend if you want him to take this ass wooping so early in his not yet CAREER. Have him cover and spar with Tony at Bald Eagle starting on Monday
ReplyDeleteDigital, how can they do this? Literally, how? Could Tiger sue the WBO or something, because it seems like the WBO's breaking the rules. Doesn't mandatory mean mandatory???
ReplyDeleteMandatory means mandatory but not in boxing apparently! Hang on Big Tony, you're the best in the world. You will not be denied! You can not be denied!
ReplyDeleteI don't think a lawsuit could do anything, ACW.
ReplyDeletePresident Valcarcel has a point but if he is not going to do a mandatory, then someone else in the top 10 deserves the shot more than Holyfield.
This was an opportunity for the WBO to make some money.
I will be talking to some people tomorrow night who do know something about situations like these. I will report further.
At least you know they read your blog...How important and what and intergral part of boxing you have become Digital...your words convey meaning in the world of boxing
ReplyDeleteCongrads.to you Gary..Sorry to hear aobut tony
The only person who seems to be getting dissed is Evander Holyfield.
ReplyDeleteLike Roy Jones once said yall must have forget.
Well, maybe a lawsuit couldn't do anything, but at the VERY, VERY least this is unethical. I look forward to the further reporting; this is very...interesting, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great (if it's real and not a forgery) that Valcarcel wrote to Boxing Along the Beltway. You shouldn't bash an official like this, because he is here explaining the rules to you! Of course a champion gets an optional defense to open his reign. It would be ridiculous not to. All champions earn the right to fight outside of the mandatory contender. How can that be faulted? Only a fool would fight Thompson before Holyfield. Never forget: It's about the money. And there is a bright side . . . Thompson just might get to fight Holyfield (although that grizzled old warrior would naturally be allowed to sidestep the mandatory challenger as a first defense, too) and make some money in his home country, rather than having to travel to Russia or Germany. What Thompson should do now is, instead of filling his pockets with mothballs and waiting, tell his promoter to put together a show for him in D.C. so he can fight before the hometown fans. He keeps sharp, spreads his name and lays the foundation for making even more money when his time finally does arrive.
ReplyDeleteContinued success,
John Scheinman
President
First Federal Building, Ste. 711-714
1056 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan 00927
Puerto Rico
Ph: (787) 765-4628
Fax: (787) 758-9053
Mobile: (787) 378-8659
E-mail: pacoval@wbo-int.com
Love that sharp intellect and sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteL.S.
John-If those are the rules, that explains it. I'd love to see Tiger fight in the DC area though.
ReplyDeleteThats ok let them beat each other up and then who ever win will be soft for Tony.Then the fight will be that much eaiser.I hope Evander win and the Tony will win by KO against a old legend.
ReplyDeleteIf you were the manager of Ibragimov would you want to put your guy in with Tony Thompson or Evander Holyfield? In other words do you want to fight a 6'6 southpaw who can punch whose only loss was last century and who has beaten everyone he has fought easily or a former champion whose best fights were in the last century and who appears somewhat of a shadow of his old self? Or would you fight someone that puts few asses in the seats and is a nice guy with no badass reputation that you can set up as a foil for your guy to sell tickets or the living legend Holyfield that people will still line up to see?
ReplyDeleteOr would you do the smart thing which would be to take the easy money and the easy fight and fight Evander, and then try and delay fighting Tony T for as long as possible in hopes that you would be offered another unification bout which you could argue precludes your fighting Tony? Or in the best of all worlds some other champion or big fight emerges that an impatient Thompson team takes out of frustration.
Thompson's team is going for the grand prize in boxing, the ultimate brass ring - to win a title unencumbered by a promoter who will always be taking a huge hunk out of the Tiger's money every time he fights; and not just any title, but the heavyweight title. WOW.
Any fan of the sport, yet alone any fan of Tony's should be rooting for that to happen. Because if a great fighter combined with savvy management can take an unknown fighter to the heavyweight championship of the world without having to carve the deal up to a major promoter, the whole boxing world would feel the tremor.
It is not so far removed from when the great stars of the silent film era broke from the grasp of the studio system and formed United Artists and went their own way.
So as DC area fans, and many of you bought tickets to watch Tony fight locally, and fight fans with an interest in fairness, and sports fans who like boxing, but would like it more if the great fights were consistently allowed to happen, keep rooting for Tony T, because there is a lot more at stake here than his just winning the world title.
PS Here is a quizz- Who was the last fighter to win a major world title in an important weight class who won the title without a promoter?
ReplyDeleteHint#1: He is attempting a comeback right now.
Hint #2: His management lost their smarts when he won and went a lost the title for no money.
Chris, I don't know. Who?
ReplyDeleteRiddick Big Daddy Bowe
ReplyDeleteListen, the deal is obvious. As said earlier the WBO want to make some cash ( don't blame them ) and T will get his turn. Nobody want's a southpaw much less a 6'6" one. BUT!, no shot at Tony at all but Holy at 44 is still and always will be a bigger name then him. I say this because even if Tony get's his shot the competition today does not have the name value as the Holyfield days ( Tyson, Bowe, Foreman, Holmes, etc. ) so the wins will not stand the test of time as I don't see any Heavys right now that can bring those BIG fights. As far as Holy getting the shot? it's kind of like this, if Micheal Jordan and Gil Arenas walked into Ben's Chili Bowl and there was only 1 Dog left and they both were hungry, Ben's giving that dog to MJ! Good luck T.
ReplyDeleteIf Michael Jordan and Gil Arenas walked into Ben's Chili Bowl and there was only one dog left, who in the hell got in there before them and ate all those hot dogs? -- J.S.
ReplyDeleteChris M.
ReplyDeleteBernard Hopkins...
James Toney thought it was a buffet.
ReplyDelete