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Coleman In A Fighting Mood
IBF #5-rated contender Tim "Pitbull" Coleman (18-1-1, 5 KOs)
was in a foul mood at the weigh-in for tomorrow night's
ESPN2 Friday Night Fights broadcast from the deck of the
Boulevard Pool at ultra-luxurious The Cosmopolitan of Las
Vegas.
Coleman will face Sonora, Mexico's Sergio Rivera (16-6-2, 10
KOs) in an eight-round bout on the undercard of the Carlos
Molina vs. Allen Conyers main event.
The Baltimore native Coleman had originally been scheduled
for the main event in a fight for the mandatory right to
face champion Zab Judah, however, on short notice,
higher-rated contender Lamont Peterson exercised his right
to face Cayo instead and pushed Coleman out of the fight.
That's what's got him a little upset.
Cayo unexpectedly pulled out of the bout with an injury. A
fight against Peterson was then offered to Coleman, who
turned it down flat.
"I don't like Lamont Peterson," he hissed after weighing in
at a trim 142.5 lbs. "I'm not taking this well at all.
Refusing the fight against Peterson was karma. He pushed me
out of a fight, so I turned him down and pushed him out of
one right back. It's more than just a Baltimore vs.
Washington DC thing between me and him. I don't like him at
all."
Coleman says the opportunity to fight for a mandatory world
title shot was a lifelong dream of his, one he was already
in deep training for when he learned he wouldn't be fighting
Cayo after all.
"Camp was going great until I found out I wasn't fighting. I
went to Wales to train and everything. After I found out, I
backed off for a while, but then I went and did strength and
conditioning work at Bobby Rimm's gym in Manchester and got
good sparring with European champ Brian Rose. I'm in perfect
shape."
Rather than stay inactive while he waits for his turn to
fight for the title, Coleman says he'll keep busy. "I love
boxing, but this is a business and I need to make a living.
My promoters have promised me another fight after this. I'm
not waiting for Lamont Peterson or anybody else."
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