Klitschko can't wait to clash with Chagaev
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Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
Ruslan Chagaev, right, will have his hands full with a motivated and not very pleased Wladimir Klitschko.
Klitschko anxious to fight regardless of opponent
Wladimir Klitschko is just anxious to fight. It doesn't matter to him if it is David Haye standing across the ring from him or Ruslan Chagaev. The unified heavyweight titleholder just wants to get his hands on someone.
That someone will be Chagaev, whom Klitschko will defend his belts against Saturday (5 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic and ESPN360.com) in front of a sold-out crowd of about 60,000 at Veltins-Arena, a soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Klitschko, of course, was originally scheduled to fight England's Haye, the mouthy former cruiserweight champion, who talked a big game and made a lot of promises but eventually pulled out on June 3, claiming a back injury.
Haye's team asked for the fight to be postponed, but Klitschko (52-3, 46 KOs) would have none of it, not after being led on for so long by Haye.
"I'm determined to fight and I definitely wanted to keep June 20 as the date," Klitschko told ESPN.com this week from Germany. "I don't want to postpone anything. I have already been postponed. I wanted to fight Haye in March or April, but Haye made a lot of promises."
After weeks of acrimonious negotiations, the deal was finally made and Haye promised a lucrative deal for the fight to be at Chelsea Stadium in England, but the deal went south, forcing the fight to be moved to Germany. Then Haye pulled out of the fight.
"No Chelsea Stadium and then no David Haye," said Klitschko, who hasn't fought since a one-sided seventh-round knockout of former champion Hasim Rahman in December. "I don't want to blame David Haye or kick him while he is on the floor, but right now I am very disappointed about David Haye. There were a lot of promises. I didn't fight in March or April because of him. Then he was supposed to deliver Chelsea Stadium and he couldn't deliver that. And the injury happened, which can happen to anyone. Then came his request to get the fight a few weeks later and I would have to reorganize everything. A lot of work. Then afterwards he says in the media we have to postpone four weeks and then several weeks. It was totally disappointing his postponing and not delivering. We still have no official report from the doctor [about Haye's back].
"Who the f--- is David Haye that I have to wait for him or postpone fights? So I just move on."
Klitschko didn't sound like he was in the mood to consider Haye as a challenger in the near future, either.
Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images
Wladimir Klitschko, top, hasn't stepped into the ring since disposing of Hasim Rahman in December.
"There are heavyweights fighting their way up to become mandatory," Klitschko said. "This guy comes from nowhere and he hasn't fought anyone in the heavyweight division but Monte Barrett. Now I say to Haye, 'Get in freakin' line and deserve the chance to fight for the heavyweight title.'"
When Haye backed out, Klitschko's team immediately reached out the camps of titleholder Nikolai Valuev and so-called "champion in recess" Chagaev (25-0-1, 17 KOs). They had been set to fight each other in a long overdue mandatory bout on May 30 in Helsinki, Finland. However, Chagaev did not pass his prefight blood test and was not allowed to fight by the Finnish commission because he tested positive for hepatitis B.
When Haye fell out, Klitschko, trainer Emanuel Steward and manager Bernd Boente went for a walk to talk about the options.
"We walked for about 20 minutes and Wladimir and Manny said no problem, talk to Valuev and Chagaev," Boente said. "I put in calls to both of them. Valuev's people said no. Peter Kohl [of Chagaev promoter Universum] was willing to do it and we made a deal."
The disclosure that he has hepatitis B didn't stop Klitschko from pursuing him. Because the rules are different in Germany than in Finland, Chagaev will be allowed to fight even with objections made by various international medical bodies.
Klitschko said that his doctor told him that the level of the virus Chagaev is carrying is not contagious.
"And on top of that, with my traveling to third world countries, I am constantly getting shots against different kinds of illnesses. I am not concerned at all."
Klitschko said he was also not concerned about having to alter his preparation for a right-handed fighter in Haye to Chagaev, who is a southpaw.
"It's just lucky for me and him that we're both in shape and fighting a couple of weeks apart, so I am happy about it," Klitschko said. "I have experience and I have fought a lot of southpaws."
Indeed, Klitschko has fought numerous left-handers in recent years, including Tony Thompson, Chris Byrd and Sultan Ibragimov.
Steward signed off on the change immediately.
"Emanuel right away said, 'Whatever, either Chagaev or Valuev, we'll take it.' We have so much experience and I am in great shape.
"At the beginning, when we changed the sparring, it was kind of weird, but the next day the recall of working with a southpaw was right there. I said to Manny, 'Keep cool, I feel fantastic. I don't feel any uncomfortable feelings.'
"I have to give some respect to Chagaev for taking the fight, too. To be fair, I believe it's also not so easy for him. I'm not the same as Valuev. Both of us had to switch on two weeks' notice."
One thing about the fight Klitschko was not happy about was HBO's decision to pull the plug. It planned to show the Haye fight, but declined Chagaev, opening the door for ESPN Classic to pick up the fight on short notice. ESPN Classic is not paying a rights fee, just its production costs.
"I was speechless. I couldn't believe it," Klitschko said of HBO's decision. "To be honest with you, I'm actually very happy because a lot of fans in the U.S. through ESPN will be able to see a world championship fight that they might not have seen if they can't afford HBO," Klitschko said. "I'm happy about that. But there are two sides. On the other side, I'm going to be short [financially] because we lose the HBO money."
Chagaev was also eager to take the fight as soon as it was offered.
"The cancellation of the fight against Valuev for me was a real shock," Chagaev said. "I was really broken up in Helsinki. It was a difficult time for me. But thank God, Klitschko suddenly wanted to fight against me. That's real luck for me. A chance like this comes only once in a lifetime.
"After the cancellation in Helsinki I wanted to take a holiday with my family and had already bought the tickets. The day before departure, I called my coach and told him that I'm flying out on holiday and he said OK. A half hour later he called back and said 'Ruslan, I am sorry, but you must now fight against Wladimir Klitschko.' I immediately and without hesitation agreed to it because this is a dream for me."
Internet PPV cards
With limited TV slots available, promoters have to be innovative to get their fighters exposure, so that's what Main Events and Prize Fight Boxing are doing.
Cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek's July 11 defense against Bobby Gunn at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., will also be available via Web cast. Main Events, Adamek's promoter, will offer a live stream for $9.95 at www.mainevents.com, company boss Kathy Duva told ESPN.com. Duva said the fight will also be shown on July 12 on a delayed basis on New York regional sports network SNY as well as on dates to be determined on select Comcast Sports networks.
Marty Rosengarten for Ringsidephotos.com
With limited TV dates for boxing, the next best way to catch a rising boxing star is on the Internet.
Prize Fight, which promotes blue chip prospects Fernando Guerrero and Shawn Porter, is making its untelevised card Friday night in Guerrero's hometown of Salisbury, Md., available on its Web site. "Boxing's Future Champions" will air at 8 p.m. ET at www.PrizeFightTV.com for $4.95. Guerrero (13-0, 11 KOs), who has been on ESPN2 and Showtime, is a middleweight from the Dominican Republic with a tremendous following in his adopted hometown. He faces Brian Norman (17-8, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Another of the featured bouts pits junior middleweight Porter (8-0, 6 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate, against late replacement Brandon Wooten (6-13-1 2 KOs) in a six-rounder. Porter was supposed to fight Dion Savage (5-0, 3 KOs). Four other bouts will also be shown.
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
QUICK HITS
Gamboa
• Top Rank has made official its signing of interim featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, the 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist and one of boxing's most dynamic fighters. Top Rank is coming on as co-promoter with Arena-Box and has added Gamboa (15-0, 13 KOs) to its July 25 "Latin Fury" PPV card headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Jason LeHoullier in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Gamboa will make his first defense against Panama's Whyber Garcia (22-6, 15 KOs), who is two fights removed from a fifth-round knockout loss to junior lightweight titlist Jorge Linares. Eventually, Top Rank's Bob Arum wants to match Gamboa and junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico. If Lopez wins a June 27 defense in the main event of another "Latin Fury" PPV and Gamboa beats Garcia, Arum told ESPN.com they'll be featured in separate defenses Sept. 26 on a PPV card from New York's Madison Square Garden Theater. Arum, hoping to build Lopez into a New York mainstay like he did with Miguel Cotto, sees Gamboa-Lopez as a big fight when Lopez is ready to move up in weight. "A fight between Gamboa and Lopez, to my mind, will be a major, major attraction," Arum said. "We'll put them on the same card in September and the plan is to ultimately match them. When that will be is when the stars are aligned."
Solis
• Besides signing Gamboa to a co-promotional deal, Top Rank did the same with heavyweight Odlanier Solis (14-0, 10 KOs), a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who defected with Gamboa, Arum said. Solis' Top Rank debut is scheduled for Aug. 15 on the undercard of the a pay-per-view card at Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood. Solis could face rising American contender Kevin Johnson (22-0, 9 KOs), who knocked out 2004 U.S. Olympian Devin Vargas on May 15 on ESPN2. Top Rank's Carl Moretti and Johnson promoter Joe DeGuardia told ESPN.com they are in talks. In the main event, Arum said Nonito Donaire, who will vacate his flyweight title, will move up in weight to meet former junior flyweight champion Hugo Cazares for a vacant interim junior bantamweight belt.
Arce
• A hand injury to bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel has forced his mandatory defense against Eric Morel, slated for Top Rank's "Latin Fury" PPV card on June 27 in Atlantic City, N.J., to be postponed. Top Rank moved the return of Jorge Arce from this week in Mexico to the PPV to replace Montiel-Morel. Arce (51-5-1, 39 KOs), dominated by junior bantamweight champion Vic Darchinyan and knocked out in the 11th round in February, faces the Philippines' Fernando Lumacad (19-1-2, 7 KOs). "The plan is to move the Montiel title fight to a new date, perhaps in September," Arum said. In the June 27 PPV headliner, Lopez defends against Olivier Lontchi. In other TV bouts, Yuri Foreman meets Cornelius "K9" Bundrage in a junior middleweight eliminator and junior middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan steps up in class against Andrey Tsurkan. Three other notable fighters are in untelevised matches: junior welterweight Demetrius Hopkins, featherweight Mario Santiago (returning from a year layoff) and 2008 Russian Olympic middleweight Matvey Korobov, who also fought last week.
Clottey
• Although Joshua Clottey came up short in a split decision loss to Cotto last Saturday, Arum said the fight established Clottey as a major player in the deep and star-studded welterweight division. He'd like to get Clottey back in a major fight as soon as possible. "I'm out trolling the waters," Arum said. "Clottey fits with Shane Mosley, Andre Berto and Paul Williams. And all of those fights would be fascinating fights. I think he would beat Berto. I would make Mosley a favorite and Williams, I'm not sure."
Jones
• Last month, 40-year-old former four-division champion Roy Jones (53-5, 39 KOs) and 32-year-old ex-super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy (25-2, 17 KOs) agreed to terms for a summer light heavyweight fight. This week, they announced the date and site for the pay-per-view fight: Aug. 15 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. The original target had been Aug. 22 in New Orleans, but that fell through, Square Ring CEO John Wirt told ESPN.com. In the co-feature, former light heavyweight titlist Danny Green (26-3, 23 KOs) of Australia will fight a cruiserweight match against Julio Cesar Dominguez (20-4-1, 14 KOs) of Argentina. Green, at a press conference in Australia, and Jones, appearing via satellite, also announced this week that if they both win, they will fight each other in a light heavyweight match in November in Australia, which would be Jones' first fight outside the United States since corrupt judges robbed him of the 1988 Olympic gold medal.
Martinez
• Junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs) will make his first defense in his hometown of Madrid on Sept. 26, adviser Sampson Lewkowicz told ESPN.com. The opponent isn't set, but Lewkowicz said they're working to sign Pablo Navascues (23-1-1, 16 KOs), who is also from Spain and coming off a draw with former titlist Javier Castillejo, another Spaniard who retired after the draw. Martinez, however, still has former titlist Vernon Forrest on his mind, according to Lewkowicz. Forrest, of course, continually ducked Martinez when Martinez was the interim titlist and Forrest's mandatory challenger. In May, Forrest was finally stripped of the title and Martinez elevated. "Sergio told me that anytime I talk with the media to tell them for him, 'I want [Forrest] and I want to let all of the people know that any time he wants the title that I am only a phone call away, and I will kick his ass,'" Lewkowicz said. "Sergio wants to fight this guy because he doesn't like him or the way he acted. If Forrest wants the fight, Sergio will cancel. Any time he wants the fight, Sergio will prove himself against him."
Berto
• A rematch between welterweight titlist Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KOs) and former titleholder Luis Collazo (29-4, 14 KOs) moved a step closer to reality this week when the WBC ordered negotiations to commence. Berto won a close unanimous decision in a Jan. 17 slugfest that many thought could have gone either way. Collazo hasn't fought since the fight, while Berto defended his title May 30 with an easy decision against Juan Urango. If the Berto and Collazo camps don't make a deal, a purse bid is scheduled for July 17 in Mexico City. Berto promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN.com that HBO told him it's holding a fall date for Berto in order to do the rematch. Of course, that could change if a bigger fight presented itself for Berto, such as one with Shane Mosley.
Prescott
• Two more cards have finalized for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," which finishes the season Aug. 28. On July 17 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, lightweight Breidis Prescott (21-0, 18 KOs), who owns a first-round knockout win against Amir Khan, headlines against Ray Nahr (22-1, 19 KOs). Also, junior featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux, the 2000 and 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, and junior middleweight Yudel Johnson, who won gold in 2004, box their second professional fights and first under the guidance of new trainer Freddie Roach. Two weeks later in at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., former lightweight titlist Julio Diaz (36-5, 26 KOs) faces Victor Manuel Cayo (22-0, 15 KOs). It will be Diaz's first fight since he was stopped in the fifth round by Rolando Reyes in an April upset. In the co-feature, heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon (25-1, 17 KOs) fights Carl Davis Drummond (26-1, 20 KOs), who is coming off his only loss, a six-round technical decision to Ruslan Chagaev in February.
Manfredo
• TKO Boxing announced that it has signed middleweight Peter Manfredo (32-6, 17 KOs), the former super middleweight title challenger and former star of "The Contender." "We're very proud to be working with Peter as he works his way up the middleweight rankings towards a championship bout," said TKO's Chet Koerner. "He's been a world-class fighter for a long time and we're very happy to add him to our growing stable of outstanding talent." TKO could, however, face a legal challenge from former Manfredo promoter Jimmy Burchfield.
QUOTABLE
Shaw
"Hurricane Vic is building up steam and should be at full strength by the time it makes landfall in Florida on July 11. King Kong Agbeko will be sunk into a tropical depression of immense proportions when Vic finishes with him." -- promoter Gary Shaw, predicting a victory for his man, junior bantamweight champ Vic Darchinyan, when he challenges bantamweight titlist Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko next month on Showtime