By Mark Vester
During a recent appearance on BoxingScene.com's official audio show, Leave It In The Ring Radio, promoter Lou DiBella discussed Alfredo Angulo decision to turn down an offer of $750,000 dollars to move up in weight for an HBO televised fight with WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
As previously published on BoxingScene in several reports, Angulo turned down the offer of $750K and countered with a demand for $1 million dollars. Angulo's promoter Gary Shaw tried his best to convince his fighter to accept the deal, but Angulo refused to go down any lower than $900,000.
DiBella thinks Angulo has to be crazy to turn down that kind of deal. As part of the deal to fight Martinez, HBO guaranteed Angulo another televised fight at his normal weight of 154-pounds [if he lost to Martinez].
"I think he's out of his mind and I think that the guy that he actually hurt was himself. Those kind of pay days, with world champion who is a pound for pound fighter, they pop up very often, and also he had been guaranteed by HBO, another opportunity at 154 if moving up didn't agree with him and Martinez beat him," DiBella said.
"The fighters themselves, turning down major opportunites for the biggest money of their careers, and sitting there acting like they're somehow big enough where they can determine who the hell they are going to fight, and turn down opportunities that an old-time fighter would have accepted on two weeks notice - it's mind blowing to me."
