Woods vs Cloud Will Take Place on 8/28 on US Soil
By Terence Dooley
Clinton Woods will have to travel to the USA for his IBF light-heavyweight contest against Tavoris Cloud. Tallahassee.com has revealed that Cloud’s promotional backers, Richie Boy, won the rights to the contest after tabling a $191,000 bid for the fight. Woods’ promotional outfit, Dennis Hobson’s Fight Academy, put forth a $119,000 offer for the contest.
The bout is set to take place on the 28th of August, with the Seminole Hard Rock resort and casino a possible venue.
Dennis Hobson believes that he put in a solid bid for the title shot, he is also convinced that Woods, a former IBF title holder, will be able to go to the USA and take the IBF belt, claiming that his fighter stands a very good chance of winning the fight under the stewardship of new trainer Glyn Rhodes, who has rejuvenated Woods.
Woods will be itching to go out there and prove the doubters wrong, there had been hopes of staging the fight in Jersey, a first for the island, or, failing that, making it possible for Woods to go for the title before his adoring Sheffield fans.
Instead, Woods has to go out to the USA; he will be bolstered by the stirring recent effort of fellow countryman, and the UK’s only world titleist, Carl Froch, who defeated Jermain Taylor in the USA back in April.
Woods is 42-4-1 (24), and has the scalps of Glen Johnson and Julio Cesar Gonzalez tucked under his belt. Woods has further reason to impress, he put in a tame effort against Antonio Tarver in 2008, an unusually subdued Clinton failed to perform throughout that fight, however, he has pushed that loss into the past; Clinton has since beaten the competent Elvir Muriqi, and looked good in doing so.
Cloud is 19-0 with 18 KO’s; he won this opportunity by stopping the aforementioned Gonzalez in the tenth round last August.
Ring rust may be a factor, both men have been relatively inactive, Woods, though, is chomping at the bit, seeking to put the Tarver loss behind him, he will give it everything he has, and more. The likeable Woods won his first world title by defusing the hard hitting, and then-undefeated, Rico Hoye over five glorious rounds.
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