Boxingscene.com reports that an HBO tripleheader featuring top rated fighters looks imminent for 27 November. Boxing promoters were frustrated recently when the broadcasting company crossed off a number of fall dates previously reserved for boxing events. As a repair measure, HBO offered to combine various fights – originally set for different cards – onto one card, featuring boxers promised HBO dates.
The main idea considered is an HBO tripleheader featuring Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5, 37 KOs) defending his WBO/WBA lightweight titles against Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs) in a main event. Co-events would involve WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto defending against WBC mandatory challenger, Selcuk Aydin, and super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero opening up the show against a yet-to-be-determined contender.
While the card itself has the makings of a great fight night, the biggest problem would fall on the financial terms for Andre Berto. Berto caused a stir in the boxing world recently when he rejected the WBC mandate that he fight Aydin, saying that the interim champion was not a financially suitable opponent. Berto’s promoter, Lou Dibella, said that Aydin was a “nobody,” and that they would rather face being stripped of their WBC title than fight Aydin.
At the same time, both Berto and Caballero were guaranteed spots on a 2 October card. But because neither had finalized opponents, their fights were pushed back to the later date of 18 December. HBO recently vetoed that date, positing 27 November as an alternative.
Boxingscene.com contacted Lou Dibella with regards to the potential card, in which the promoter said: “There are a number of options being discussed, but there no absolutely, unequivocally, no deal for Berto to fight there. Any deal would have to be approved by Berto and his manager [Al Haymon].”
Berto took a lot of criticism recently due to his tendency, according to some, to inflate himself and demand large paydays to which he may or may not be entitled. The problem is an ongoing one with fighters, but it is impeding professional progress and has many fuming.
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