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Jon hits back at Khan’s claims
Jon Thaxton moved quickly today to counter claims that he was being greedy after the much-anticipated showdown with Amir Khan collapsed again.
The Norwich fighter turned down a £100,000 purse to fight Khan - but claims that was nothing compared to the fee the rising star of British boxing was offered.
Purse bids for the fight, which would have put Thaxton's British lightweight crown and Khan's Commonwealth title on the line, were due to have been submitted to the British Boxing Board of Control yesterday.
But the ring posts moved on Tuesday when Thaxton received an out-of-purse offer to take the fight - an offer he turned down.
That was followed by an offer that went the other way, from Thaxton's promoter Mick Hennessey to Khan, worth an estimated three times more - and one which was also turned down.
The end result is that once again the biggest domestic fight on the calendar is on the back-burner.
Khan's promoter Frank Warren claimed Thaxton was in danger of pricing himself out of the fight by demanding too much money and said the counter offer from Thaxton's camp was “not enough, just not viable”, adding: “Amir Khan is the star, he is the one that all the investment has been in”.
Thaxton would have ended up with around £30,000 for his efforts, but yesterday insisted the financial side of the deal was not his prime consideration.
“I am not a greedy man,” he said. “They said in one newspaper they made me an offer of £300,000; that is rubbish.
“They didn't make me that offer, it was nowhere near the offer. I said, 'let's go to purse bids and see the best bid win'.
“If he (Khan) had done that he would have got more money, I would have got more money - but the bottom line is it is not about money, it is about winning that Lonsdale belt outright, that is my dream, my ambition.”
Thaxton's manager, Neil Featherby, added: “It is nothing to do with money.
“Yes, they did make an offer outside of the purse bids. They could have offered whatever they wanted - it was more due to the fact that we were much happier for it to go to purse bids. Whether it was Mick Hennessey, Frank Warren or AN Other who won it, we were happy to fight under those conditions; the Boxing Board of Control would be the mediator. That was the only route we wanted to follow. It might even have been for less money, who knows.
“At the end of the day it was not about money, it is about having control of the bout and I wanted my promoter to have control so I fought under a Hennessey banner.
“I think you will find Mick Hennessey offered Amir three times the money Jon was offered by Frank Warren and you have to ask why did they turn that offer down.”
While disappointed that the fight will not now go ahead, Thaxton is still optimistic that the big two of the British lightweight scene will meet some day, possibly on a European stager where Thaxton is number one contender for Yuri Romanov's title.
“You can never say never,” said Thaxton. “This fight was big - in three fights time the fight might even be bigger. I really do hope it will happen, for my sake and the British public's sake.
“He has dodged me, and while he can run he can't hide,” said Thaxton. “He said he will fight me, but how old does he want me to be? I am 33 now - does he want me to be 35, 36, 37? Does he want me to be in my 40s, because I won't be around much longer.
“I feel he has let himself and his team down. He has made himself look bad and has taken a big fight away from the British public. He has bottled it.”
http://www.jonthaxton.co.uk/news_9th_january_2008.html
Jon Thaxton moved quickly today to counter claims that he was being greedy after the much-anticipated showdown with Amir Khan collapsed again.
The Norwich fighter turned down a £100,000 purse to fight Khan - but claims that was nothing compared to the fee the rising star of British boxing was offered.
Purse bids for the fight, which would have put Thaxton's British lightweight crown and Khan's Commonwealth title on the line, were due to have been submitted to the British Boxing Board of Control yesterday.
But the ring posts moved on Tuesday when Thaxton received an out-of-purse offer to take the fight - an offer he turned down.
That was followed by an offer that went the other way, from Thaxton's promoter Mick Hennessey to Khan, worth an estimated three times more - and one which was also turned down.
The end result is that once again the biggest domestic fight on the calendar is on the back-burner.
Khan's promoter Frank Warren claimed Thaxton was in danger of pricing himself out of the fight by demanding too much money and said the counter offer from Thaxton's camp was “not enough, just not viable”, adding: “Amir Khan is the star, he is the one that all the investment has been in”.
Thaxton would have ended up with around £30,000 for his efforts, but yesterday insisted the financial side of the deal was not his prime consideration.
“I am not a greedy man,” he said. “They said in one newspaper they made me an offer of £300,000; that is rubbish.
“They didn't make me that offer, it was nowhere near the offer. I said, 'let's go to purse bids and see the best bid win'.
“If he (Khan) had done that he would have got more money, I would have got more money - but the bottom line is it is not about money, it is about winning that Lonsdale belt outright, that is my dream, my ambition.”
Thaxton's manager, Neil Featherby, added: “It is nothing to do with money.
“Yes, they did make an offer outside of the purse bids. They could have offered whatever they wanted - it was more due to the fact that we were much happier for it to go to purse bids. Whether it was Mick Hennessey, Frank Warren or AN Other who won it, we were happy to fight under those conditions; the Boxing Board of Control would be the mediator. That was the only route we wanted to follow. It might even have been for less money, who knows.
“At the end of the day it was not about money, it is about having control of the bout and I wanted my promoter to have control so I fought under a Hennessey banner.
“I think you will find Mick Hennessey offered Amir three times the money Jon was offered by Frank Warren and you have to ask why did they turn that offer down.”
While disappointed that the fight will not now go ahead, Thaxton is still optimistic that the big two of the British lightweight scene will meet some day, possibly on a European stager where Thaxton is number one contender for Yuri Romanov's title.
“You can never say never,” said Thaxton. “This fight was big - in three fights time the fight might even be bigger. I really do hope it will happen, for my sake and the British public's sake.
“He has dodged me, and while he can run he can't hide,” said Thaxton. “He said he will fight me, but how old does he want me to be? I am 33 now - does he want me to be 35, 36, 37? Does he want me to be in my 40s, because I won't be around much longer.
“I feel he has let himself and his team down. He has made himself look bad and has taken a big fight away from the British public. He has bottled it.”
http://www.jonthaxton.co.uk/news_9th_january_2008.html
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