"Get Out the Bounty,” Another WBC Mess

Written By Dr. H. Lecter, Phd
 

The Boxing2006/Pound4Pound.com "Stinkometer" has been picking up some strange smells lately from the WBC side of the heavyweight title picture.

First, James Toney announced he is fighting Sam Peter this Sept 2nd in Los Angeles. Then, WBC Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman sends out a press release days later stating, "In six weeks I will free myself from my mandatory by avenging my loss to Maskaev so that I can move ahead and unify the heavyweight titles..."  

Got a can of air freshener anyone?

Didn't Jose Sulaiman and the WBC announce officially after Toney and Rahman fought to a draw in March of 2006, that Maskaev would be the mandatory and then Toney would fight the winner for the WBC crown?

So why would Toney, who has a guaranteed shot at the title, a shot against a guy he knows he can beat if he comes into the ring in reasonable shape, why would he risk that "freebie" by taking a fight with a boxer who has the “baddest” one punch KO power in the world?

Equally as puzzling, why would Rahman, who was told by the WBC after the Toney fight he would have to face James if he beat Maskaev, think he would free himself from "my mandatory" by fighting Maskaev?

Phew. What a stink.

To "clear the air," Boxing2006/Pound4Pound.com contacted Jose Sulaiman on the situation. 

Mr. Sulaiman replied:

Dear friend :

      Nothing is changed ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Toney is the official challenger, but he can not stay inactive when the champion is fighting ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the challenger must fight , as if he doesn’t within 6 months , he must lose positions in the ratings.   If he fights , and it is a top challenger, the fight must be a final elimination , as if he loses he will also lose his position and give it to his winner.

      I had no idea that Rahman had issued such a declaration and I wouldn’t doubt that business is coming again into the picture with a fight with Klitschko ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there must be big money for him ,,,,,,,,,,,,, I don’t know .   But one thing is sure , the WBC´s position is that Toney, beating Peter of course , continues being the official challenger.

Best regards …………..  JOSÉ Sulaimán

If Sulaiman's answer raised more questions than answers for you, join the club.

What we do know from Jose's email is that James was coming down to the wire on his 6-month or lose-your-rating-rule, so a fight had to be made promptly. Mid-September would put him over the limit. Why he chose Sam Peter of all people remains a mystery, although I think we all agree, IF James gets himself in shape, he has a great shot at getting by the Nigerian Nightmare & earning good bucks in a so-called "stay-busy" fight.

As to Rahmans puzzling statement that a victory over Maskaev frees him from his mandatory, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

Sniff...sniff...Is that Bob Arum we smell? (Why does someone always seem to blame Bob when boxing emits an odor?) Well, fans, in this case, here's why?

In Sulaiman's response to our email, he said something interesting, albeit cryptic:"...I wouldn’t doubt that business is coming again into the picture with a fight with Klitschko ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there must be big money for him ,,,,,,,,,,,,, I don’t know."

There are two interesting things here. One, Sulaiman says, "I don't know." He's the president of the sanctioning body that governs the belt Rahman currently is borrowing and HE DOESN'T KNOW? Last time Jose didn't know, fans, I believe it had something to do with Jose Luis Castillo coming in to his fight with Diego Corrales overweight.

That aside, Sulaiman did hint at the real driving force here -- and in all of boxing -- "big money.” This brings us, of course to Mr. Arum. It gets complicated, so follow us through another of boxing’s little scheming labyrinths.

In his 40-plus years in boxing, Arum has always made money, gobs of it.  If an arena roof caved in and landed on top of two fighters Bob Arum was promoting, no matter what else ensued, Arum would walk out of what was left of that building with money in his pocket.

With that in mind, let's backtrack to Arum's entry into the heavyweight division. There was a time, when Arum promoted some of the biggest heavyweight fights in history, including his very first venture into boxing promotion in March of 1966, a heavyweight title fight in Toronto between Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo. He stopped promoting the top heavies in April of 1995, when George Foreman defeated Axel Schulz by majority decision in a bout for the "prestigious" International Boxing Federation Heavyweight Title.

Flash forward now to August of 2005. The mandated fight between WBC champ Vitali Klitschko and No. 1 challenger Rahman went to purse bid after negotiations broke down. Don King, then Rahman's promoter, was confident he could outbid Klitschko's promotion team K2, but Arum, who had no connections to either fighter, pulled a backdoor play.

Todd duBoef, the president of Arum's Top Rank, flew to Chicago to enter a surprise bid. When the envelopes were opened, guess who won? Top Rank bid $12,000,001, beating out King's $11 million, and K2's $10.7. (Anybody know what the dollar was for -- a tip from Bob to Todd for flying in his place?)

Conniving Arum undoubtedly figured if he promotes Vitali, he gets a foot in the door for the highly marketable champ AND, since K2 includes brother Wladimir, he'd get his mitts on the other Ukranian fighter. It is fair to say that when Bob Arum enters a building, he goes through the penthouse door. Or, in this case, so he thought.

But while Arum is a master at controlling events, he has yet to outbox the all-time pound-for-pound king. "Mr. Fate," which now stepped in. Suddenly, the oft-injured Vitali has to cancel, one thing leads to another and in typical alphabet soup fashion, Rahman somehow winds up with the WBC belt -- without having to beat anybody! More intriguing is that Arum, who jumped in with both feet to grab Vitali, is now stuck promoting Rahman, a household name only in his own house, maybe.

The WBC names Toney the No. 1 challenger and on the surface, it appears Arum has lucked out, because Toney at the time was still a good draw. Ah, but "Mr. Fate" still had his gloves laced on.

Toney shows up looking like he swallowed Jose Luis in one gulp...Rahman follows trainer Thell Torrance's instructions and doesn't throw his best punch, his right hand...and after 12 excruciating rounds on a free, HBO preview weekend broadcast seem by many millions, the fight is a gaping yawn of a draw.

Now, because of more maneuvering and malarkey, Arum gets Rahman-Maskaev to promote. Without going directly inside Arum's mind (what a frightening thought), you can rest assured this is NOT what Arum envisioned when he bid for Vitali. How on earth do you promote THIS loser fight. AND WORSE: it's on HBO pay-per-view. Yes, that IS Don King you hear laughing his ass off in the background. Rahman-Maekaev, PPV! All HBO has to do to bury Arum is insist on Dominick Guinn fighting Audley Harrison again on the undercard!

So if you play by the rules, Arum must promote this stinker. But of course the word "rules" is not in Arum's personal dictionary, and the WBC is a Mexican-based sanctioning body, so English is its second language. "Rules? Que es eso?"

Arum knows the ONLY money fight in the heavyweight division begins and ends with Wladimir Klitschko. So Arum has Rahman issue his declaration of mandatory independence (pre-holiday spirit?) from the WBC, knowing the WBC, which is still recovering from bankruptcy, will not want a drawn out court battle when they could be collecting a hefty sanctioning fee for Rahman-Klitschko...Starting to get the picture? Getting a whiff of a new, strangulated "ruling" coming from the WBC soon freeing Rahman from Toney?

 Ah, but in the end there is justice, even in the world of boxing.

As Boxing2006/Pound4Pound reported before everyone else on June 17, Wladimir had decided to fight Shannon Briggs on Nov. 11. Arum, who probably doesn't like us at Boxing2006/Pound4Pound (can't imagine why), and so didn't read our report, starts maneuvering for a Rahman-Klitschko fight, only to get sucker-punched by K2 -- payback time anyone, for outbidding them on the original Vitali fight?

So here is what Arum, who walked in the penthouse door only to find himself in the outhouse, is left with: Rahman says he wants to unify the titles. If Briggs beats Klitschko, which is entirely possible, Arum has his choice of promoting Rahman-Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs, or Rahman-Lyakovich. Those are ESPN Friday Night Fights, fans. As for the other title holder, 7-foot Nikolay Valuev, who is co-promoted by King and would be more than acceptable to Arum, forget it. King has plans to milk the dubious champ for two or three soft fights before he lets him face somebody like Rahman who would beat him. And, of course, screwing Bob Arum is King's second favorite past-time, second only to doing same to his fighters.

That, in the humble (but always right) opinion of Boxing2006/Pound4Pound, is the behind-the-scenes scenario which began with Rahman defying the WBC with his declaration, and Toney risking all for Peter.

As for Rahman, it looks like he has won his independence after all -- from making money! Jose? Well you know Jose. He'll take off his shoes, put his Dr. Scholl's freshened feet up on his desk and wait for it all to shake out from the money tree -- right onto his lap, as it always somehow does.

You gotta love boxing.