By Rick Reeno
Sampson Lewkowicz, the promoter of heavyweight contender Magomed Abdusalamov (18-0, 18KOs), reached out to BoxingScene.com to respond to a earlier article, by Bill "Two Scoops" Emes, that pertains to the possibility of Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30KOs) facing Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20KOs) for the vacant WBC heavyweight title.
Based on the current WBC rankings - Magomed is ranked at number 4, with Wilder at number 3, Chris Arreola at number 2, and Stiverne at number 1.
Last week, current WBC champion Vitali Klitschko announced that in 2015 he would join the political race to become the president of Ukraine. The announcement has fueled heavy speculation that he might never fight again.
If Vitali vacates, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer would like to match Wilder against Stiverne for the vacant title.
“Deontay is right up there in the top two or three ratings in the WBC. With the news that we got last week, that Vitali Klitschko is going to be running for president of the Ukraine, I anticipate that he will no longer fight and that the title will become vacant. My goal is to have Deontay fight in his next fight for the WBC heavyweight championship against Stiverne. And after that go for Wladimir Klitschko, unify all the titles and then become the undisputed champion the world. That was the plan, that is the plan and I plan to do everything in my power to get it done,” Schaefer said.
Sampson is disputing the possibility of that scenario happening, stating to BoxingScene that according to the WBC's rules - Stiverne will have to face Arreola, and Wilder would have to take on the winner of next Saturday's fight between Magomed and Mike Perez.
"My dear old friend, and you know who I'm talking about, is trying to bypass everybody to get his fighter to a title. If Vitali vacates, then Stiverne will have to fight a great contender in Chris Arreola, who is ranked at number two. He has to respect his fellow promoters, like Dan Goossen, and not try to bypass everybody," Sampson told BoxingScene.com.
"I might be the man with gold chain, but I don't have a gold tooth. What I do have is a gold brain and I know how to read the WBC's ratings. You can't read them like a banking statement. This tells me that after all of our years of friendship, he never looked me in the face and mistook my gold brain for a gold tooth. Even Bob Arum called me and said 'Sampson, you don't have a gold tooth.'"
"The bottom line is this - if Vitali vacates the title, then Stiverne and Arreola will fight each other. Then Wilder will have to face the winner of Magomed and Perez - and then if Wilder wins that fight he can fight the winner of Stiverne and Arreola for the title. But you can't bypass your fellow promoters and create your own rules."