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The old saying is that when it rains, it pours. Such is the case in the recent developments surrounding the proposed middleweight title bout between undisputed champion Jermain Taylor and top rated challenger Ronald "Winky" Wright.
In a story published by the St. Petersburg Times on Monday, it was first revealed that Wright fired promoter Gary Shaw. The sudden dispatch of Shaw came on the heels of finalizing contracts for a June showdown between Wright and Taylor, scheduled for the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Shaw was able to convince HBO to pay $6.5 million for the fight.
Reports quickly surfaced of a backdoor meeting between HBO's Ross Greenburg, Wright, Winky Promotions partner Chris Lighty and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. Neither Shaw, Taylor promoter Lou Dibella nor Jim Wilkes, Wright's advisor, knew anything about the meeting. Shortly afterwards, Wilkes resigned as Wright's advisor.
"That's where everything blew up," Shaw said. "Ross Greenburg told Winky that the money HBO put up was for a 50-50 split. That's an outright lie and that is part of the litigation that is going on right now. That was never the case. The split was 55-45, and Lou DiBella can tell you that."
DiBella feels the blame lies more with Wright, rather than HBO or Greenburg.
"I was shocked when Wilkes and Gary called me," DiBella said. "I don't believe he scheduled a meeting with Schaeffer, Winky and all them. The most important thing was to make the fight. Why would Ross do anything to jeopardize the fight from happening? I think he (Greenburg) got sandbagged. [details]
In a story published by the St. Petersburg Times on Monday, it was first revealed that Wright fired promoter Gary Shaw. The sudden dispatch of Shaw came on the heels of finalizing contracts for a June showdown between Wright and Taylor, scheduled for the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Shaw was able to convince HBO to pay $6.5 million for the fight.
Reports quickly surfaced of a backdoor meeting between HBO's Ross Greenburg, Wright, Winky Promotions partner Chris Lighty and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. Neither Shaw, Taylor promoter Lou Dibella nor Jim Wilkes, Wright's advisor, knew anything about the meeting. Shortly afterwards, Wilkes resigned as Wright's advisor.
"That's where everything blew up," Shaw said. "Ross Greenburg told Winky that the money HBO put up was for a 50-50 split. That's an outright lie and that is part of the litigation that is going on right now. That was never the case. The split was 55-45, and Lou DiBella can tell you that."
DiBella feels the blame lies more with Wright, rather than HBO or Greenburg.
"I was shocked when Wilkes and Gary called me," DiBella said. "I don't believe he scheduled a meeting with Schaeffer, Winky and all them. The most important thing was to make the fight. Why would Ross do anything to jeopardize the fight from happening? I think he (Greenburg) got sandbagged. [details]