- Ray Austin/Wladmir Klits-KO’d???: Tomorrow’s scheduled Heavyweight Championship Fight between Wladimir Klitschko, (47W-3L, 42KO’s) and Ray Austin (24W-3L-4Dr, 16KO’s), appears to be on the rocks as the Klitschko camp tried to change a few rules in the eleventh hour. In the preliminary phase of the negotiations it was agreed upon by both parties that the IBF would decide exactly who would handle officiating and scoring judge duties. It was also established that Austin would use Reyes gloves while Klitschko would use Grant gloves. So much for those plans. During a rules meeting after the final weigh in today team Klitschko revealed that they had selected a different commission to oversee the fight rather than the one previously instated. As if this wasn’t enough, the continuation of the ‘bombshell’ was that Austin, according to the newly instated commission, would not be able to use the gloves both parties originally agreed to and that despite Don Kings initially agreed to request that the judges not be from the U.S. or Europe to ensure equality, this would also be changed and addressed by the new commission. Don King was infuriated at the last minute shift despite the past agreed arrangement, and responded by saying “for some reason, the Klitschko camp is afraid of Austin using Reyes gloves, and I don’t know why”. He then added, “What is Wladimir so afraid of that he can’t even agree to a coin toss to get us past this issue”? The Klitschko camp declined all efforts by Don King and the Austin camp and unless they agree to live with the new guidelines, the fight is off. If all goes well, the two fighter’s will square off on in Manheim, Germany, 445pm Est on Saturday afternoon.
- The latest in the Floyd Mayweather Jr./Oscar De La Hoya comes from the De La Hoya camp. Oscar seems to find the words of Floyd to be a supreme motivating factor. Oscar’s words to the media recently were pretty clear and uncut as he stated “Floyd disrespected me, he’s worst than even Ricardo Mayorga, and I’m gonna shut his mouth and take his title”. He then went on to say that he and Freddie Roach are “watching tons of Mayweather video tapes of previous fights”, and that he “will be using Shane Mosley and a few other speed fighters for sparring sessions to combat Mayweather’s speed”. Oscars game plan appears pretty defined and it’s hard to envision anything less than a career defining performance from him in the megafight on May 5th. For the first time in a long time things are pretty quiet from the Mayweather camp. At the Las Vegas stop there was a huge surprise on hand as Floyd Mayweather Sr., (former trainer of ODH), appeared set and ready to roll with his son for the fight after being declined in his request to receive $2M to train Oscar. Some may speculate as to what this recent ‘quiet-nature’ may conceal, but it’s safe to say that Floyd has done all the talking he needed to do to promote the fight and now he’s adding the finishing touches to an already polished skill set. Only time will tell. (Noteworthy news: When recently asked of his opinion on this upcoming megafight, Diego “Chico” Corrales told reporters that he thinks “What Oscar De La Hoya is going to do to Floyd Mayweather is gonna be criminal so don’t be surprised if he gets arrested”. Interesting coming from a man who Mayweather destroyed years ago, but in the eyes of some, these words could be a desired prophecy on the brink of being fulfilled.
