By William Trillo
Foto Folly: Bret "The Threat" Newton
 

As you are probably already aware by now, WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov will now be facing former Champ Evander Holyfield on October 13^th in Russia instead of unifying his belt with WBA Champ Ruslan Chagaev who has pulled up lame some 2 1/2 months before the scheduled showdown in Russia.

Is it just me or does this seem to stink of 6 day old Russian Beluga Caviar?

It was just Monday that our good friends over at Seminole Boxing sent out a press release announcing how great this Ibragimov vs. Chagaev battle was going to be and how important this first unification of a Heavyweight belt in the past decade was going to be. Seminole went on to announce where it would stand in the anal's of boxing history, first unification in Russia that was a historic event and it would draw over 14,000 fans yada yada ya......

Then in less than 72 hours reports began surfacing that not only did Chagaev pull out but a replacement has already been secured, that being Evander Holyfield, who at last check didn't crack the WBO's top 10 in rankings.

Reason for Chagaev's early departure according to those crack sites that couldn't wait to post the news...undisclosed medical reasons...nice work guys...?

Doing a little research Pound4Pound has got to the heart of the matter, or should we say belly.

According to Reuters, World Boxing Association champion Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan has pulled out of his world heavyweight unification fight with Sultan Ibragimov in October because of an upset stomach.

That's right boxing fans, Chagaev pulled out some 10 weeks early because he has a tummy ache!

I guess they don't have Alka-Seltzer or Rolaids in Eastern Europe?

Is this really the best excuse they could come up with?

Ruslan Chagaev is a seasoned fighter with some 200 plus amateur fights along with an undefeated pro record including his title victory over the giant Nicolay Valuev, and now you want me to believe he is pulling out months early because of excess gas?  Please!

I will agree there is a lot of gas being blown right now but I assure you none of it emanates from Ruslan Chagaev.

Reports are stating that the combined forces of Seminole Warriors Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, Main Events and Golden Grain Promotions, in association with Sampson Lewkowicz and Yuri Federov’s Sports Lab agreed to the sudden change in opponent.

I don't buy it. Not in 72 hours.

When is it that you could get 2 promoters to agree on anything, never mind 6...and in 3 days?

Phew!! See what I mean about that stink now?

Even Seminole Boxing Leon Margules himself said, “When a fighter pulls out of a major fight, it’s always a headache for the other fighter and the promoter.”

Even regular fight substitutions don't happen this fast. Why were six promoters in agreement so quickly this time?

Could it be that the proposed unification fight had the all earmarks that were pointing to this "historic" bout as being one of the biggest flops of all times and the best way to salvage this stinker and make it a profitable commodity was to bring an old Champion to Russia and market the beejeebers out of this once great warrior who is looking for one last shot at fame and glory?

Makes sense to me!

To the best of my knowledge broadcast rights have still not been secured, and since HBO is on record saying they will  never show a Holyfield fight on their airwaves again....well now one has to wonder.

A quick check of industry sources today including top promoters, managers and public relation people assure us that the smell of stale Caviar is wafting from one coast to the next, they all agree, something seems a tad fishy here.

I guess we could go on about how Holyfield is an unworthy title contender coming off his last performances, but considering the state of the heavies today and seeing who else has been given a shot at the various titles in the recent future...well...enough said.

It's really hard to figure out what happened over the past week to make this "Historic" unification bout dry up and blow away, but trust us to keep on top of this one until we come up with a few answers.

I do know this though, the last time someone quit a fight because of a tummy ache was when Roberto Duran quit mid fight in his rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard, claiming he ate some bad taco's before the fight that upset his stomach. Duran went on to live with that taint for the remainder of his career.

Maybe we should start calling him Ruslan "No Mas" Chagaev.


Questions Or Comments? Email Will "The Thrill" Trillo