“Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin vacated his middleweight world title and kissed a career-high $1.4 million purse goodbye on Thursday.
He was faced with a WBO-imposed deadline of 4 p.m. ET on Thursday to sign a contract for his mandatory defense against Matt Korobov. Quillin, who had already been given two extensions to the signing deadline, would have been stripped of his title had he not vacated.
It still comes as a surprise to many that Quillin, whose wife gave birth to their first child, a boy, about a week ago, would turn down a purse that is more than three times his biggest payday and give up his title without having another fight signed.
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| Peter Quillin vacated his middleweight world title on Thursday, and in turn, lost out on a career-high $1.4 million purse. |
“I’d like to thank WBO president Paco Valcarcel and his organization for their support throughout the years,” Quillin said in a statement. “Winning the WBO world championship was a highlight in my career and something I’ll never forget. This is a difficult decision, but in order to make the fights the fans and I want against my fellow middleweights at the top of the division, I needed to relinquish the title.
“This is an exciting new chapter in my life, and I’m looking forward to cementing my spot as the best middleweight in the world.”
Quillin’s statement rings a bit hollow because there is no obvious major middleweight fight on the horizon for him.
Fights with champion Miguel Cotto and titlist Gennady Golovkin were not possible. Only a match with fellow New Yorker Daniel Jacobs, who owns a lightly regarded secondary title and, like Quillin, is advised by the powerful Al Haymon, would be close.
About a half hour before the deadline, Arnold Joseph, the attorney for Golden Boy Promotions, Quillin’s promoter, sent a letter to the WBO informing it of the decision.
“Mr. Quillin has reviewed the middleweight landscape and is of the belief that there are other more compelling opponents for him to fight which will afford the boxing fans with excitement and which will afford him and his family more opportunities,” Joseph wrote. “Please be assured that Mr. Quillin is by no means minimizing Mr. Korobov’s talents or accomplishments. Mr. Quillin simply seeks to pursue bigger fights. Let me conclude by expressing Mr. Quillin and Golden Boy’s appreciation for your organization’s patience while Mr. Quillin worked through this decision and we look forward to our continued relationship with the WBO.”
Quillin’s decision means that the first boxing event to be promoted by Roc Nation Sports, the sports agency founded by music mogul Jay Z, will be delayed. Roc Nation Sports announced its intentions to promote boxing two weeks ago and the next day won a purse bid for the right to promote Quillin-Korobov, even though it doesn’t have promotional contracts with either fighter.
It bid $1,904,840, a dramatic overbid that easily beat Golden Boy ($1,207,000) and Korobov promoter Top Rank ($515,000). Quillin would have earned a career-best $1,428,630 to Korobov’s career-best $476,210. Korobov signed almost immediately while Quillin asked for extensions.
Roc Nation Sports planned to put the fight on Nov. 1 at the Barclays Center in Quillin’s hometown of Brooklyn, but had since notified Golden Boy and Top Rank that it would instead have been at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C., because Korobov is not licensed in New York due to a medical issue no other state has a problem with.
Michael Yormark, president and chief of branding and strategy for parent company Roc Nation, was disappointed Quillin turned down the fight.
“I’ve got $1.4 million sitting next to me,” Yormark told ESPN.com. “Do you want it? It’s puzzling that he turned down $1.4 million and gave up his belt. In order to turn down that money and give up his belt he has to be looking at a bigger opportunity. Who turns $1.4 million and gives up his belt for nothing?
“We wish him the best of luck. We like Peter a lot. We hope he’s made the right decision here, but it’s puzzling. I’m sure (Haymon) sat down and discussed this with him in detail. Peter has a team around him he listens to and we can only assume the direction he received was to pass. We wish him the best of luck and we hope he has an incredible payday in front of him because that’s the only justification for turning down $1.4 million and giving up his belt.”
Said Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti, “I’m sorry that Roc Nation Sports had to be put through this process. It’s disappointing for all of us, especially when a new player such as Jay Z wants to get involved in our sport. I hope this has no bearing on their future plans. As far as Top Rank goes, we look forward to working with them in any future endeavors.”
Yormark said Roc Nation Sports’ interest in boxing isn’t going anywhere.
“We will continue to look at all opportunities,” he said. “We continue to march forward. We’re in this for the long term. We’re disappointed but it’s not the end. We’re just getting started.
“This just motivates us even more. We knew we were getting into an industry we’d have to navigate through carefully. We hoped to have this first fight in November and it didn’t happen. But we’ll continue to be aggressive and move forward. We’re not going away.”
Korobov’s side was also disappointed.
“We’re disappointed that Peter Quillin didn’t respect the rules,” Moretti said. “Matt will still get his opportunity to fight for the title thanks to the WBO. We’re just really disappointed in Peter Quillin as a fighter. If he thinks that fighting Danny Jacobs for a secondary title is better than this opportunity than so be it. Why he couldn’t he have done both? If he’s that good he could have fought Matt and then Danny Jacobs. He must not have the confidence in himself, or his team doesn’t have confidence in him, that he would relinquish the title that he worked hard to earn.”
Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), 31, defended the title three times, most recently by near-shutout decision against Lukas Konecny in Washington, D.C., on April 19.
Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs), a 31-year-old Russian southpaw and a 2008 Olympian, scored a pair of seventh-round knockdowns against Jose Uzcategui en route to a 10-round decision victory in his last fight on June 28 in Omaha, Nebraska in his HBO debut.
Korobov will get a shot at the vacant title next, possibly against Billy Joe Saunders, a 2008 Olympian from England. The 25-year-old Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs) is the WBO’s next ranked contender.
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=11466721&type=story
- TO: ALL BONA FIDE PROMOTERS
- FROM: LUIS BATISTA SALAS, ESQ.
- DATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Re: WBO Jr. Featherweight Purse Bid Guillermo Rigondeaux-Chris Avalos
As per Section 11 through 13 of the WBO Regulations for World Championship Contest (www.wboboxing.com) and as promoters were not able to reach an agreement, please be advised a purse bid will be held at 10:00 AM EST on September 9th 2014 at:
WBO HEADQUARTERS 1056 Muñoz Rivera Avenue Suite 711-714 San Juan, PR 00927-5013
The minimum acceptable bid for the Jr. Featherweight Title is $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars).
The WBO President, Francisco Valcarcel, will preside.
Fotos: Joel Colón / PRBB –
Por Aleudi Rosario Cotto, Prensa OMB –
La Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) rindió un homenaje hoy al ex triple campeón mundial puertorriqueño y miembro del Salón de la Fama del Boxeo Internacional, Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gómez, en el aniversario número 37 del primer título mundial que ganó en su carrera, en San Juan de Puerto Rico.
“Queremos honrar la carrera de uno de los grandes de la historia, no sólo de Puerto Rico, sino del Mundo, Wilfredo Gómez, y hacerlo con él aquí presente. Hoy se cumplen 37 años de aquel momento, en que ganó su primer campeonato mundial como boxeador profesional y queremos recordarlo”, dijo el presidente de la OMB, el puertorriqueño Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel. “Pero además hay otros grandes acontecimientos en la carrera de Gómez que resaltamos aquí y que celebramos este año. Nosotros, aquí en la OMB siempre recordamos a nuestros grandes atletas y los honramos”, agregó.
Gómez, quien está afectado de las cuerdas vocales y no habló en el micrófono, agradeció el agasajo y compartió en la actividad junto a un grupo de ex campeones mundiales, clasificados mundiales y prospectos puertorriqueños que, junto a Valcárcel, le hicieron entrega de una correa conmemorativa de la OMB como parte de la celebración.
El 21 de mayo de 1977, “Bazooka” Gómez, con sólo 20 años y récord de 15-0-1, 15 KOs, retó al entonces campeón supergallo (122 libras) del Consejo Mundial de Boxeo (WBC), el coreano Dong-Kyun Yum, que iba a su segunda defensa y tenía marca de 50-2-6, 21 KOs. El combate fue en el coliseo Roberto Clemente y ante su gente, Gómez superó una caída a principios del primer asalto para acabar con el coreano y noquearlo finalmente en el round doce. Ahí comenzó la historia del llamado “Niño de Las Monjas” en el boxeo profesional.
Nacido el 29 de octubre de 1956, Gómez comenzó a boxear desde niño, y fue a representar a Puerto Rico en los Juegos Olímpicos de Munich, Alemania, en 1972 cuando contaba con 15 años de edad perdiendo ante el egipcio Mohamed Selim 4-1. En febrero 1974, Gómez viajó a República Dominicana con el Equipo de Puerto Rico a los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, donde se alzó con la medalla de oro. En agosto de ese mismo año, 1974, Gómez representó a Puerto Rico en el Primer Campeonato Mundial de Boxeo Aficionado efectuado en La Habana, Cuba. Allí el boricua ganó todas sus peleas por nocaut y en la final noqueó al local, el cubano Jorge Luis Romero para alzarse con la medalla de oro. Así que se cumplieron 40 años de su presea dorada en los Centroamericanos y se cumplirán 40 de la del Mundial en este 2014.
El 16 de noviembre de 1974, Gómez debutó a seis asaltos con un empate frente a Jacinto Fuentes en Panamá. Pero después de ese empate, Gómez ganó 15 peleas seguidas por nocaut (incluyendo a Fuentes en una segunda ocasión) para retar a Kyun Yum y ganar su primer título mundial el 21 de mayo de 1977.
De ese título, Gómez realizó 17 defensas exitosas, todas ganada por la vía rápida, lo que es un récord en el boxeo mundial.
El 31 de marzo de 1984 (se cumplieron 30 años en 2014) en el coliseo Roberto Clemente, Gómez retó a su compatriota Juan Laporte, entonces monarca pluma (126 libras) del WBC, y en la tercera ocasión que dos puertorriqueños se enfrentaban por un título mundial, Gómez derrotó por decisión unánime a Laporte para convertirse en campeón mundial en una segunda división.
Gómez ganó su tercera correa mundial, la superpluma (130 libras) de la Asociación Mundial de Boxeo (AMB), el 19 de mayo de 1985 cuando venció al estadounidense Rocky Lockridge por decisión mayoritaria en el coliseo Roberto Clemente.
Gómez concluyó su carrera con marca de 44-3-1, 42 KOs, títulos mundiales en las 122, 126 y 130 libras, récord en peleas mundiales de 20-3, 18 KOs y la marca de 17 defensas de su título de las 122 libras, ganándolas todas por nocaut.
Por su gran trayectoria en el pugilismo mundial, Gómez fue exaltado en 1995 al Salón de la Fama del Boxeo Internacional en Canastota, Nueva York, convirtiéndose en aquella ocasión en sólo el tercer boricua que llegaba al mismo.
En la actividad, la OMB, firme en su compromiso con los jóvenes boxeadores también, el Contador Público Autorizado (CPA), José Alberto Silva, habló a los prospectos y contendores sobre la importancia de saber manejar el dinero que generen en sus carreras. Silva, quien trabaja con varios peloteros de las Grandes Ligas, cuenta entre sus clientes peloteros con el ex lanzador de las Mayores, Javier Vázquez.
Los ex campeones mundiales que estuvieron en la actividad fueron Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón, Wilfredo Vázquez, Samuel “El Torbellino” Serrano, Alfredo “Salsero” Escalera, Alex “El Nene” Sánchez, Ángel “Cholo” Espada, Juan Manuel “Juanma” López, Rafael Del Valle, Manuel Alejandro Siaca y Julián “La Mosca” Solís. También los contendores César Seda Jr., Jesús Rojas, Víctor Bisbal, Thomas Dulorme, Rey Ojeda, así como los prospectos Félix Verdejo, que cumplió 21 años el lunes, Prichard Colón, John Karl Sosa, Emmanuel De Jesús e Israel Vázquez, entre otros.
De parte de la OMB, dijeron presente, además de Valcárcel, los miembros del Comité Ejecutivo Luis Batista Salas, José Izquierdo, Manuel Marrero Hueca, Alberto Rodríguez, Luis Pérez y Adolfo Flores Monge, así como árbitros, jueces, entrenadores, manejadores y promotores.
http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/OMB_homenaje_a_Wilfredo_G_mez_en_PR.php
