By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com reported earlier that unbeaten featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (11-0, 9 KOs), a gold medal in the the 2004 Olympics, signed a promotional deal with Don King. More information on the deal has come in.
In March, Ahmet Öner, CEO of Arena Box, based in Germany, made a deal with promoter Gary Shaw to co-promote some of his stars in the United States, including Gamboa and undefeated heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis (11-0, 7KOs). Several sources have told BoxingScene that King's long success with pushing heavyweights, was one of the reason that Öner made a decision to head over to DKP, hoping the veteran promoter will bring along Solis in the heavyweight ranks.
King has a dozen, maybe more, heavyweights under contract with his company, including WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter. Solis will see action on the undercard to Peter-Vitali Klitschko on October 11 in Germany. King will become the exclusive American promoter for Gamboa, Solis and other Arena stars. The layout of the deal appears to be a similiar agreement to the one that Arena previously made with Shaw.
Attorney Tony Gonzalez, who works with the veteran promoter, was unable to reveal specific details of the deal due to ongoing negotiations. He told BoxingScene that more information would be revealed in the coming days.
"There are certain things that need to be finalized," Gonzalez said. "Once everything is finalized, the information will come out. They are very close [to a deal]."
Gamboa is fighting on HBO as part of their October 4 televised triple-header. The HBO date was secured for Gamboa by Shaw. The upcoming date is one of several televised appearances in America that were secured by Shaw for the young prospect. Shaw was one of the first to confirm the news of Gamboa heading over to King. According to one source, King already contacted HBO to advise the network that he now promotes Gamboa in America, a piece of news that Shaw had also been advised of.
"I heard the same thing, that Ahmet Öner [Arena Box head] made a deal with Don King for Gamboa. I did everything right by the kid. I put him on HBO. I'm putting him on HBO again in October," Shaw said.
The deal comes as to a surprise to many in the boxing industry, considering Shaw's close ties with Showtime and his ability to land dates for Gamboa on HBO and ESPN. Back in March, Öner seemed to be very pleased to be working with Shaw.
“I get along very well with Gary Shaw. He is exactly the partner I have been looking for," said Öner. "I saw some of his shows and liked what I saw. He came to visit me in Hamburg and we had a long and very good meeting. He's got excellent TV dates in the USA, and I've got excellent fighters – it just fits! I think we complement each other very well and I am convinced that we will be a strong team and have a major impact in the future.”
The deal puts King back in the playing field after many in the game were beginning to write him off. A few weeks ago, King signed former three-division champion Marco Antonio Barrera, another move that nobody in the industry saw coming.
