so, für mein tausendstes postings eine interesante match-up ankündigung:
Ruiz v Toney goes to purse bids
Please, James, get rid of Ruiz !
By Anthony Evans: After weeks of talks, promoters Don King and Dan Goossen have failed to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement for WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz's mandatory defence against James 'Lights Out' Toney. Therefore the fight will go to purse bids and the promoter who lodges the biggest dollar offer with the WBA will stage the bout, most probably in mid to late May.
"We've requested the WBA order a purse bid," Goossen confirmed to SecondsOut. "I had quite few conversations with Don, ranging from (James) doing multiple fights where he fights all the champions Don has to doing just the Ruiz v Toney fight. But, in end, we weren't able to come to terms."
Goossen's decision to go the purse bid route is a little surprising. When a mandatory defence goes to purse bids, the champion receives 75% of the purse while the challenge gets the remaining 25%. Yet although he hasn't held a major title in over a decade, it is James Toney who is the draw here. The former IBF middleweight and super-middleweight champion's bad boy persona and mix of masterful boxing and street-thug aggressiveness makes for entertaining fights - in stark contrast to the diabolically dreary hug-a-thons Ruiz foists on us.
But Goossen is confident that not only will he win the purse bid and that Toney will annex the WBA title, but also that he has the best heavyweight on the planet and therefore doesn't necessarily need to do a deal with King.
The Goossen Tudor boss said: "James will showcase his talents. He's the best heavyweight out there, the most exciting heavyweight out there and the most marketable heavyweight out there. When you have all these things together you have a monster capable of taking on and beating Frankenstein."
That's a reference to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, perhaps the only active big man other than Toney and Mike Tyson (if Iron Mike indeed fights again) to have made any kind of impression beyond boxing's hardcore fanbase. Goossen supports his fighter's belief that Toney is the only heavyweight on the planet who has the beating of the 6ft 8inch Klitschko, whom they have dubbed 'the Russian Frankenstein'.
According to those in the know, an eight man tournament to crown an undisputed world heavyweight champion is only a couple of signatures away from becoming a reality.
However, with Goossen and King unable to reach an agreement for Ruiz v Toney and now word that IBF champ (and King fighter) Chris Byrd is understandably unenthusiastic about travelling to Germany to face former conqueror Wladimir Klitschko in April despite a $3million offer, the tournament seems a lot less solid than most fans would hope.
***
Meanwhile, Ruiz has once again been making noises about facing a rival champion in a tournament.
The two-time WBA title-holder said: "I'm the only one calling for a heavyweight tournament because I want to be the undisputed champ. Don't embarrass me with fighters who haven't done anything. I want title belts.
"I'm leading the field and nobody can catch me. I'm tired of hearing all the negative stuff said and written about me. If I'm that bad why can't they beat me? It doesn't make any sense.
"The other champions have fights scheduled because it's easier getting fights for guys who haven't looked good in their last few fights."
Ahem.
And Ruiz, dubbed the 'Quiet Man', isn't too enthused about his next assignment, either.
"I look forward to fulfilling my mandatory obligation to the WBA, against James Toney or anybody else the WBA mandates, but it's not going to advance my career," Ruiz raged. "I want to become the undisputed champion and they (sic) don't have a belt. Truthfully, (the Toney fight) will be a fight for money, not anything that gets me closer to being the undisputed champ."
Goossen responded: "What I'd say to that is that this fight is only about money to John, because, all due respect to him - he's a tough fighter, he hasn't been able to get the respect or attention of the premier television or pay-per-view networks. The thing with James is that he backs up his talk. We respect John Ruiz but there will be no denying James Toney in this fight or in any other world heavyweight title fight James goes onto after this next fight."
zu finden unter:
http://secondsout.emojo.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=15600
gruss
C