Team Montiel: The Offer For Jayson Velez Was Insulting

By Jake Donovan

Featherweight contender Jayson Velez is seeking an opponent for a planned appearance on the undercard of Miguel Cotto’s return to the ring, which takes place October 5 in Orlando, Florida. Boxingscene’s Miguel Rivera reported earlier Tuesday afternoon that Fernando Montiel was sought as an opponent, but that the former three-division champ was disinterested in the fight .

“[M]y promoter is working on the opponent and I hope to have something official in the coming days,” Velez said, referencing Cotto as the featherweight fights for Miguel Cotto Promotions. “They were working on Fernando Montiel, but now we are looking for another opponent. It seems he did not want to fight.”

Montiel and his handlers acknowledge that they were in fact approached about taking the fight. They confirm that the offer was rejected. It’s the part about not wanting to fight Velez, however, with which his team takes considerable issue.

“With all due respect to Miguel Cotto Promotions, we didn’t reject the fight because Fernando doesn’t want to fight him; we turned it down because the offer was insulting,” clarifies Oswaldo Kuchle, Montiel’s promoter. “Fernando makes good money in Mexico, due to his high ratings on Mexican TV.”

Montiel (50-4-2, 38KO) has won titles in flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight, but has struggled in his quest to capture a championship in a fourth weight class. He has won six of his last seven bouts since his 2nd round knockout loss to Nonito Donaire in Feb. ’11, which ended his run as a bantamweight titlist.

His most recent win – a 3rd round knockout of Jaderes Padua this past June in Ixtapa, Mexico – was widely celebrated by his countrymen in commemorating the 50th win of his illustrious career.  There’s still more work to be done, as the 34-year old remains in the hunt for a title shot at super bantamweight or featherweight.

The next stop on Montiel’s journey could very well come against Velez, or so insists his handlers. Promociones del Pueblo is prepared to present a counter offer in order to make the fight happen, with Televisa to televise the event rather than such a fight be left in the dark.

“We are open to fighting Jayson Velez, but want it to be the biggest opportunity for both fighters,” insists Kuchle. “We want to offer Velez three times the amount we were offered from Cotto Promotions, to come fight us in Mexico on October 5.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox