Boxing Insider Notebook: Jay Z, Stiverne, Santa Cruz, Mayweather, Campillo, and more
By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of August 12th to August 19th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Jay Z Enters Boxing Promoting Business
In a shocking surprise, Jay Z’s Roc Nation entered the WBO purse bid for the middleweight Championship bout between Peter Quillin and the #1 ranked Matt Korobov.
Roc Nation Sports won the rights to promote the bout with a bid of $1,904,840. He won the bid at the WBO Headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the mandatory title defense.
Golden Boy put in a bid for $1,207,000 and Top Rank put in a bid for $515,000. Roc nation was able to substantially outbid the two top promoters in the sport of boxing.
Mexican Stars and World Title Fights Added to Mayweather vs. Maidana 2
In keeping with Mexican Independence Day tradition, Mayweather Promotions has assembled a stellar undercard featuring some of this era’s most exciting boxers to co-feature on “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” on Saturday,September 13 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena live on Showtime PPV.
Featured on the four-fight pay-per-view telecast, fan favorite Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz will put his WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship on the line in a 12-round championship bout against Mexican contender Manuel “Suavecito” Roman, plus Tijuana-Baja’s pride Miguel “Títere” Vazquez defends his IBF Lightweight World Championship against Mayweather Promotions’ rising star Mickey “The Spirit” Bey. In the opening bout on pay per view, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo returns to the ring against James De La Rosa in a 10-round bout.
Showtime will also present a live 10-round Jr. welterweight bout between John Molina Jr. and Humberto “La Zorrita” Soto on “Countdown Live” (SHO, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) immediately preceding the Showtime PPV telecast.
“From top to bottom, the September 13th fight card is going to get fans out of their seats whether they are among the thousands in attendance at MGM Grand or hundreds of thousands watching from home,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president and founder of Golden Boy Promotions. “Golden Boy is proud to promote the most crowd-pleasing fighters in the sport and with Marcos Maidana, Leo Santa Cruz and Alfredo Angulo, all in action under the same roof, it’s sure to be a night that no one will forget.”
Gabriel Campillo is Looking for his Next ‘Dance’ Partner
Former World Light Heavyweight Champion Gabriel Campillo is looking for his next opponent.
He is coming off a career-rejuvenating victory over the formerly undefeated Thomas Williams on ESPN Friday Night Fights on August 1st. He stopped Williams in the fifth round of that bout.
“Gabriel Campillo, with his upset elimination-bout victory over the undefeated Williams, not only gained the right to be number two in the IBF ratings, but is also number nine in the WBC ratings,” said his exclusive promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing. “He is back and looking forward to becoming world champion once again.”
Campill has had his share of ups and downs and he has suffered losses to two of the top light heavyweights in the world, Sergey Kovalev and Andrey Fonfara. He also lost debatable decisions to Beibut Shumenov, Karo Murat, and Tavoris Cloud.
“The headlines after the Cloud fight said it was a Texas robbery in the American Bank Center. He should be 27-3 with his only losses in the last seven years against Kovalev and Fonfara,” continued Lewkowicz. “His victory over Williams shows that working with his stablemate Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez and the team from Maravilla Box has him back to being one of the best in the world. He was not supposed to win that fight, according to the experts, but he used his southpaw stance to open up a cut and then worked on it until the fight had to be stopped. He showed a level of accuracy and skill only top fighters ever reach.”
Lewkowicz says he is currently looking for Campillo’s next opponent, one that will continue the fighter’s mission to reclaim his championship.
“Gabriel has told me he feels better than he has in years and is ready for anyone. I will be looking to put him in a fight that will show the world the great tango dancer from Spain, Gabriel “Chico Guapo” Campillo, still has plenty of moves left to show.”
Mayweather Promotions Stars Return on August 30th
Mayweather Promotions closes out the summer in a big way on Saturday, Aug. 30 as they present the star-studded “Desert Showdown” featuring undefeated super middleweight contender J’Leon Love taking on the dangerous Rogelio Medina from The Pearl at Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas.
In other action, hard-hitting Badou Jack will face Jason Escalera in the evening’s co-main event. The event also features Mayweather Promotions stars Chris Pearson who takes on Steve Martinez and Ronald Gavril who faces Thomas Falowo.
“It’s great to be putting on another great card with Mayweather Promotions stars from top to bottom,” said Floyd Mayweather, president of Mayweather Promotions. “Even though we will be two weeks away from my rematch against Maidana, there is no way I would miss this. These guys all live by the motto of ‘Hard work, dedication,’ and I look forward to seeing that hard work pay off on Aug. 30.”
“The Aug. 30 fight kicks off two big weeks for Mayweather Promotions,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “With a full roster of our toughest fighters, fans at The Palm will be in for great fights from start to finish just 14 days before the biggest fight of the year.”
“We’re excited to work with Mayweather Promotions and Showtime for another exciting boxing event at The Pearl,” said Billy Conn, Vice President of Entertainment and Special Events for the Pearl at Palms Resort and Casino.
Bermane Stiverne Honored by Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame
WBC Heavyweight Champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1) was honored by the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (NBHOF) at its annual awards dinner in Las Vegas.
Sitverne was presented a special achievement award for becoming the first Haitian-born World Heavyweight Champion.
“It felt great to represent Haiti,” Stiverne said, “but what was really felt amazing was to receive it amongst legends like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Roberto Duran, and Floyd Mayweather.”
“I had the honor to meet Evander Holyfield, the talented actress and host of the night, Rosie Perez, and Roberto Duran,” Stiverne noted. “It’s really funny how I used to watch these icons when I was a young kid.”
“I’m very happy Bermane is getting the recognition he deserves,” Stiverne’s manager Camille Estephan (Eye of the Tiger Management) added. “We’ve all worked hard to get him to this point but this isn’t our destination point. He’s gong a lot further. He has the WBC belt, the same one held by Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and so many other great heavyweights. Someday, we want Bermane talked about in the same way. We can’t wait for his next fight so he can make a major statement.”