By Ryan Maquiñana
Sampson Lewkowicz outbid Top Rank to win the purse bid for Celestino Caballero’s upcoming WBA featherweight title defense against Mikey Garcia.
Lewkowicz’s offer of $440,000 eclipsed Top Rank’s number of $402,000. The bidding took place Thursday afternoon at the Marriott Dadeland in Miami, Fla., and was conducted by WBA president Gilberto Mendoza and executive vice president Jesus Mendoza.
Possible date of July 28th in Los Angeles, Panama and the frontrunner, Las Vegas.
Caballero (36-4, 23 KOs), from Panama City, Panama, has made one defense of the belt after regaining it from Jonathan Barros, a unanimous decision over Satoshi Hosono last December. Garcia (28-0, 24 KOs), from Oxnard, Calif., stopped Bernabe Concepcion in March.
Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBayArea.com). He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at norcalboxing.net or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.