Notebook: Showtime, HBO in running for Cotto-Urkal
Welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto will defend his new belt for the first time March 3 in his native Puerto Rico against mandatory challenger Oktay Urkal. The network that will carry the fight -- HBO or Showtime -- remains a mystery, but one that is expected to be solved by the end of business Monday.
That's Showtime's deadline to match HBO's offer, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com.
Showtime televised Cotto's electrifying Dec. 2 knockout win against Carlos Quintana, for which he won a vacant title. However, Showtime's exclusive negotiating period for his next fight expired without an agreement, after which Arum shopped the fight to HBO.
"We've got an offer from HBO, which we've accepted," Arum said. "So we have sent a letter to Showtime including the HBO offer, and they have until 5 p.m. Monday to match the offer. If they don't, HBO does the fight on March 3. I'm playing this by the book."
Cotto (28-0, 23 KOs) is a prohibitive favorite against Urkal (38-3, 12 KOs), and the real carrot for the winning network is his next fight, a probable June 9 showdown with fellow titlist Antonio Margarito at New York's Madison Square Garden on the weekend of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade. However, Arum said that HBO's offer didn't include the guarantee that it would have rights to that potential pay-per-view blockbuster. "But we have said all along that the winner [of the bidding for the March 3 bout] will get the pay-per-view fight with Margarito," Arum said.
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| Urkal |
Although nothing has been decided, it seems more and more likely that Margarito will not face dangerous mandatory challenger Paul Williams and risk a lucrative fight with Cotto.
Margarito (34-4, 24 KOs) hurt his wrist on Cotto's Dec. 2 undercard defending his title against Joshua Clottey. Arum said he was awaiting a medical report before determining whether Margarito would fight before the proposed Cotto fight.
If Margarito does fight, Arum said he would consider putting him in a 10-rounder on Cotto's March 3 undercard.
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| Margarito |
"We met with Margarito's people and laid everything out to them, and told them to sleep on it," Arum said.
"He'll either lay off until a Cotto fight, fight a nontitle fight on the Cotto card or do the mandatory. But I think the mandatory is in third place."
If he doesn't face Williams, Margarito would probably be stripped of his version of the 147-pound title and simply challenge for Cotto's title rather than unify the belts.
Williams (32-0, 24 KOs) desperately wants a shot at Margarito, who probably will duck him instead. It's an ironic twist considering that Margarito has spent the past couple of years accusing the division's big names of ducking him.
"He is my main target for punishment, and I want him and his belt real bad," Williams said. "Margarito says he will fight anyone in the welterweight division, yet he hasn't proven to be so accommodating, especially with me."
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| Rahman |
Top Rank planned to feature Rahman in the main event of its Feb. 22 Versus-televised card at the Mountaineer Race Track in West Virginia against faded former contender Ray Mercer. However, Top Rank's Bob Arum told ESPN.com that German promoter Universum has contacted him about setting up a more lucrative fight in Germany between Rahman and former title challenger Luan Krasniqi.
"The Germans are talking to me about Rahman going over there to fight Krasniqi in March, so if we can make a deal, we would have to scrap the Mercer fight," Arum said.
Arum said the remaining obstacle to finalizing the deal is for the Germans to agree to use neutral officials, which is probably a good idea considering how notoriously difficult it is for a foreign boxer to win a decision in Germany.
Arum said the Feb. 22 Versus bout probably will still include heavyweight Joe Mesi in his fifth fight since returning from a two-year hiatus following a brain injury.
Whomever Rahman faces, co-manager Steve Nelson said Rahman will have a new head trainer: Marshall Kauffman of Reading, Pa. Kauffman, who replaces Thell Torrence, is best known for his previous work with newly crowned welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron. Rahman has changed trainers like he changes socks. Among others, Rahman has worked with Torrence, Roger Mayweather, Adrian Davis, Buddy McGirt, Tommy Brooks, Don Turner and Bouie Fisher.
"Rock is no longer with Thell. This last run to the title is going to be with Marshall," Nelson told ESPN.com. "For the last run, it was decided to go with a fresh start. Marshall was in the camp helping us get ready for the Maskaev fight, and he and Rock developed a relationship. We think there is chemistry there."
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• Welterweight Andre Berto (16-0, 14 KOs), the 2006 ESPN.com prospect of the year, will start the year with the toughest assignment of his career if a proposed fight with Ben Tackie (29-6-1, 17 KOs) is finalized. Tackie has fought top competition throughout his career, but mainly at junior welterweight. However, he has won two straight and never been stopped. Berto, 23, was so impressive to HBO brass in his network debut Dec. 9, when hammered Miguel Figueroa for six lopsided rounds, that the network expanded promoter Lou DiBella's Feb. 17 "Boxing After Dark" card to a tripleheader in order to make room for Berto. Another reason HBO opened up a third slot for a televised bout was to keep Berto away from rival Showtime, which had planned to feature Berto in the main event of its Feb. 16 "ShoBox" card. Also on the HBO show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York: Junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi (21-1, 5 KOs) faces all-action Edner Cherry (21-4-2, 10 KOs) in the main event, and junior middleweight Ishe Smith (18-1, 8 KOs), a star of the first season of "The Contender," faces Sechew Powell (20-1, 12 KOs).
• Heavyweight titlist Shannon Briggs' first title defense against mandatory challenger Sultan Ibragimov has been set for March 10 (HBO) for a couple of months. But now, after several sites were considered, the fight is headed for the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, according to Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing. Warriors is Ibragimov's co-promoter with Golden Boy and Golden Grain, which teamed up to win the purse bid for the fight. Margules was in New York this week finalizing the lease for the 5,000-seat arena.
• Ricky Hatton is going to give himself ample time to adjust to the time zone and climate changes by arriving in Las Vegas well ahead of his Jan. 20 (HBO) fight with junior welterweight titlist Juan Urango. Hatton, who vacated his welterweight belt to return to the junior welterweight division to challenge for his old belt, will relocate from his base in chilly Manchester, England, to Las Vegas on Jan. 7. If Hatton defeats Urango, plans call for him to meet former two-time lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo in the summer. Castillo will face Herman Ngoudjo in the HBO co-feature from the Paris Las Vegas.
• Warriors Boxing's Leon Margules, who promotes cruiserweight world champion O'Neil Bell, said contracts have been signed for Bell's mandatory rematch against France's Jean-Marc Mormeck, who was knocked out by Bell in the 10th round of their January 2006 undisputed title fight in New York. They'll meet again March 17 in Paris. Mormeck promoter Don King won a purse bid for the fight in August, but when he couldn't make the fight in time to meet the WBC-mandated deadline, he received an extension. Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) hasn't fought since beating Mormeck (32-3, 22 KOs), who has fought just once, winning a low-level July bout.
• Tickets for super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe's 20th defense against Peter Manfredo Jr. on April 7 (HBO) at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, are hot. With three months remaining until the fight, promoter Frank Warren announced that more than 10,000 tickets have already been sold. The stadium can hold approximately 30,000 for a fight. "We are ecstatic that the public is showing such tremendous support for this fight," Warren said. "It's a tribute to Joe Calzaghe and also to the popularity of Peter Manfredo and 'The Contender' series. Peter was mobbed by fans when he was over here last month. If tickets keep going like this, Joe's 20th title defense may well be in front of the biggest live audience in UK boxing history." • Warriors Boxing, with a lone bid of $48,300, won the right to promote the vacant junior bantamweight title bout between Russia's Dimitri Kirilov (28-3, 9 KOs) and Ricardo "Chapo" Vargas (39-12-3, 13 KOs) of Mexico. Warriors doesn't promote either fighter, but bid as a favor to Kirilov co-promoters Cedric Kushner and Steven Bash, neither of whom are IBF-registered promoters. The fight must take place by March 27. Kushner said he might take the bout to Russia, but if the deal doesn't work out he said he will offer it to ESPN2 for "Friday Night Fights." In his last fight, Kirilov challenged for the belt in May but lost a controversial split decision to Luis Perez, who was later stripped for failing to make weight prior to a November defense against Vargas. • When lightweight Mike Anchondo suffered a cut in a recent bout, his fight with Darling Jimenez was scratched as the Jan. 26 main event of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights." But organizers came up with a potentially action-packed replacement fight between junior middleweight brawlers Teddy Reid (23-8-2, 17 KOs) and Richard Gutierrez (19-1, 12 KOs). They'll meet in a 10-rounder at the Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Conn. Also on the card: rising Puerto Rican junior middleweight prospect Yukeno Andino (8-0, 3 KOs).
• Promoter Cedric Kushner told ESPN.com that former heavyweight title challenger David Tua (46-3-1, 40 KOs) will return to action Feb. 22 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. Kushner said Tua will face Robert Hawkins (21-6, 7 KOs). Tua has won four in a row since a draw with Hasim Rahman in their 2003 rematch and a subsequent two-year layoff. • Junior featherweight Antonio Escalante (14-1, 9 KOs), who emerged as a top prospect and exciting fighter in 2006, makes his 2007 debut on Golden Boy's Jan. 26 (Telefutura) card in Cicero, Ill. Escalante will face Leivi Brea (16-3-3, 8 KOs) in a 12-rounder.
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"I would love to defend my title against Jermain Taylor. Not only is he a terrific middleweight champion, he's the man who beat the man -- Bernard Hopkins -- twice. Perhaps in another year, Jermain will be ready to step up and challenge me and we can have a fight between The Ring magazine belt holders. I just don't think it's fair to push him up to my level yet. It's frustrating for me because it would be a big-money fight, but it's obvious he's just not ready."
-- Super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe, on the potential fight with Taylor, which had been talked about for late 2007 before the Taylor camp backed away from the prospect
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