SHOWTIME Bantamweight Tournament in the Works; Sans Donaire and Montiel?
by The Boxing Bulletin on Aug 3, 2010 11:06 PM EDT
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by Corey Erdman
While SHOWTIME's Super Six World Boxing Classic has not yet exploded onto the general sports scene the way everyone involved had hoped, it has sparked quite the trend within the world of boxing.
In May of this year, HBO went so far as to produce a vignette narrated by Max Kellerman promoting the idea of a tournament pitting the top junior welterweights against one another, before any number of promoters and fighters balked at the idea altogether.
However, it seems the network with recent experience in organizing these types of parties is getting the construction paper and glitter out for another set of invites.
Recent reports have suggested that SHOWTIME is attempting to organize a second six-man tourney at bantamweight, involving IBF champion Yohnny Perez, Joseph Agbeko, Vic Darchinyan, Abner Mares, Nonito Donaire and unified WBC and WBO champ Fernando Montiel.
"My understanding is that they're looking to put on another Super Six," said Frank Espinoza, who manages Mares and Perez, in speaking with The Boxing Bulletin. "It's a very hot division. As far as I've heard, that's the plan."
While no outlet has refuted claims of the tournament being discussed, there have been rumblings that Top Rank CEO Bob Arum does not want either Donaire or Montiel to be a part of the proposed tournament.
"(Bob) Arum didn't want to put Fernando Montiel in. I also spoke to Montiel's co-promoter, Fernando Beltran, and he wasn't interested in putting him in either," said Espinoza. "I'd love to make it a Super Six, but if it's only a Super Four, these four guys are all going to come to fight."
Even without the inclusion of Donaire and Montiel, fans would get a Fight of the Year candidate rematch between Agbeko and Perez (already scheduled for November 6), and an action lover's dream bout in Mares vs. Darchinyan somewhere near the same time frame.
"This is what the fans want, this is what the promoters want, and this is what TV wants," added Espinoza.
The latter and the former are certainly true, but how many promoters want this remains to be seen.
Corey Erdman is a host and producer at SIRIUS 98, and a freelance boxing writer formerly of The Sporting News' The Rumble. Follow him on Twitter: Corey_Erdman@Twitter
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Maybe Showtime saw our tweets in May...
No? Not likely, yeah…
Too bad about Donaire and Montiel. Their participation would be necessary to crown a top dog in the weight. I’d love to see Hasegawa get into the mix as well. A tourney would be a good way to showcase the little guys, so why not involve a few more fighters (assuming you can get their promoters/managers/etc to agree)…
I would have liked to see Hasegawa in there as well, but I wonder if he could have committed to a 6 man tournament given it could end up spanning well over a year by which time making 118 might be impossible for him.
TheBoxingBulletin.com
Apparently, he made weight for the Montiel fight without struggling as much as he has in the past.
Hasegawa has often said he wants to fight abroad (in order to increase his exposure), and involvement in this type of tournament would be a great way to do so. Should Montiel be involved, it would be added incentive.
I think he outgrew the 118 pound division quite a while ago, but he may be motivated to stay there for a bit longer if the right opportunity arises. A tournament could just be that opportunity.
by RingwalkNIPPON on Aug 4, 2010 5:23 AM EDT up reply actions
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