By Rick Reeno
In a recent article by Bernard Fernandez, Kassim Ouma's co-promoter J Russell Peltz blamed a late night lifestyle and lack of proper training for Ouma's shocking loss to 4 ½-1 underdog Roman Karmazin last week on HBO's Boxeo De Oro telecast. There were rumors going around on the night of the fight that Ouma may have been sick with the flu. Peltz has put the flu rumors to rest.
Peltz said that Ouma did not train properly for the fight and did not take Karmazin serious. Ouma was staying out late with friends and traveling for events instead of training for his upcoming fight with a very dangerous opponent.
"I think Kassim thought he was Superman. I think he had questionable out-of-the-ring activities in the weeks leading up to the Karmazin fight. He was training in Florida, but he took time off to fly in for the Gatti-Mayweather fight in Atlantic City. He also flew in for Live 8. Even in Las Vegas, he had 25 people in his hotel room every night. He was staying out late. I tried telling myself that it'd be all right, that Kid Gavilan used to party before every fight. But 30 seconds into the first round, I could tell that Kassim wasn't himself." said Peltz
While very dissapointed over the loss, Peltz feels that Kassim will regain the title by next year.
