ESPN.com is reporting that DC heavyweight Tony "The Tiger" Thompson will travel to Bern, Switzerland for a rematch with heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko on July 7. Terms of the signing were not disclosed. The location will be the Stade de Suisse in Bern.
The deal cancels an IBF purse bid that was slated for today. If the purse bid had taken place today, Klitschko would have received 85 percent of the winning bid with Thompson getting 15 percent.
Thompson (36-2, 24 KO's) faced Klitschko (57-3, 50 KO's) in Hamburg, Germany on July 12, 2008 despite having a torn meniscus in his knee. Thompson was stopped in the 11th round. Since that loss, Thompson has won five straight bouts, all by knockout. Thompson is Klitschko's mandatory challenger.
Thompson's promoter, Dan Goossen, was hoping to make a deal that would bring the bout here to DC, but ESPN.com says Klitschko was not interested because there would be more money in Europe.
Most likely, the bout will be televised on the EPIX cable network which has televised previous defenses by Klitschko and his brother, Vitali.
85-15 split? That's obscene. And STILL not enough money for Wlad? Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteThat's okay because if Tony is healthy he'll whip that ass. Tony is fighting the right Klitschko. Stay away from Vitali, too tough.
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