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I don't know if you guys have heard, but incase you didn't, Richard Schaffier's brilliant idea of basically getting rid of the other lightweights who really won't accomplish much more, will go through a tourney to get a title shot at the Marquez/Diaz-Campbell/Funeka match.
If you read the wililams-wright is finalized article:
So this will probably be an 8-12 man tournament. Here are the match ups I would like to see for April 18th:
-Edwin Valero vs Antonio Pitiula for the Vacant WBC lightweight belt 12 rounds: Would be the main event of the card and it's an interesting match up. Pitula, who KOd Jose Armando Santa Cruz in 6 rounds, is the best person Valero will ever have fought and his KO streak could very well come to an end. Worthy of being the main event of the card.
-Julio Diaz vs Michael Katsidis: This match up was originally discussed for 4/17 on ESPN 2 FNF fights, but if you push it back it becomes an excellent part of the card. Julio Diaz would win this imo.
-Joel Casamayor vs Jesus Chavez: Interesting fight to test how much both these past their prime men have. Casamayor, who was KOd by Marquez, deserves another shot to rebuild his way back up. Jesus Chavez has had an actually pretty worthy and successful comeback so far. Chavez's camp turned down a Robert Guerrero fight for 3/7, but this could be the better fight for them.
-Jorge Barrios vs David Diaz: This would be another slugfest between not so talented guys, but entertaining and gutsy fighters.
This would be the PERFECT versus card. It's a cheap card in which a lot of fights will be televised. Versus would be a god if they picked this up. Also on 3/17, instead of having Diaz-Katsidis, you could have Jose Armando Santa Cruz vs Carlos Hernendez in a bye type match up. The fight wouldn't have to happen, but it'd be a good warm up.
Then after the 4/18 card, the winner's can fight on the undercard to Marquez-Campbell.
So this has the potential to be an amazing amazing idea. Not only do we get good lightweight match ups, but it would also make BOXING ON EVERY WEEKEND UNTIL MAY 2ND. How awesome is that? Let's hope Versus is interested.
Golden Boy promotes lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and his challenger, former titlist Juan Diaz, who will meet in a major fight Feb. 28 (HBO) in Diaz's hometown of Houston.
Nate Campbell, who owns two belts, defends them against South Africa's Ali Funeka on Feb. 14 (HBO). Campbell will be a free agent after the fight and has talked to Golden Boy about a deal.
Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz
Golden Boy is interested in organizing a lightweight tournament with the finalist getting a crack at the winner between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz.
So while the obvious fight would be the Marquez-Diaz winner against the Campbell-Funeka winner, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is looking further down the road in an effort to line up potential challengers. He'd like to have several of the lightweights Golden Boy promotes, and perhaps open it up to others as well, involved in an eight-man tournament with the winner claiming a jackpot on top of his purse. The winner, he said, would also be in position to challenge for a title.
"What we would like to do, and what [matchmaker] Eric [Gomez] is working on, is there is a group of lightweights we would like to match up in an elimination tournament with a jackpot at the end. We would do quarterfinals, semifinals and a final and put together a tournament using fighters like Jorge Barrios, Michael Katsidis, Joel Casamayor, Jesus Chavez, [Carlos] Hernandez, some of those names," Schaefer said. "Besides the jackpot to the winner of the tournament, he'd be in line to get some sort of title shot or get into a big fight, for example, with the winner of Marquez-Diaz. I wouldn't rule out Nate Campbell either, but I don't want to speak for a fighter I don't have."
Schaefer admits several of the fighters are in the late stages of their careers but he believes "they're exciting and the winner could come out as a serious challenger to either Campbell or the Marquez-Diaz winner. We'd like to do it over about six months. I want to talk to ESPN or Versus about [televising] it."
Nate Campbell, who owns two belts, defends them against South Africa's Ali Funeka on Feb. 14 (HBO). Campbell will be a free agent after the fight and has talked to Golden Boy about a deal.
Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz
Golden Boy is interested in organizing a lightweight tournament with the finalist getting a crack at the winner between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz.
So while the obvious fight would be the Marquez-Diaz winner against the Campbell-Funeka winner, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is looking further down the road in an effort to line up potential challengers. He'd like to have several of the lightweights Golden Boy promotes, and perhaps open it up to others as well, involved in an eight-man tournament with the winner claiming a jackpot on top of his purse. The winner, he said, would also be in position to challenge for a title.
"What we would like to do, and what [matchmaker] Eric [Gomez] is working on, is there is a group of lightweights we would like to match up in an elimination tournament with a jackpot at the end. We would do quarterfinals, semifinals and a final and put together a tournament using fighters like Jorge Barrios, Michael Katsidis, Joel Casamayor, Jesus Chavez, [Carlos] Hernandez, some of those names," Schaefer said. "Besides the jackpot to the winner of the tournament, he'd be in line to get some sort of title shot or get into a big fight, for example, with the winner of Marquez-Diaz. I wouldn't rule out Nate Campbell either, but I don't want to speak for a fighter I don't have."
Schaefer admits several of the fighters are in the late stages of their careers but he believes "they're exciting and the winner could come out as a serious challenger to either Campbell or the Marquez-Diaz winner. We'd like to do it over about six months. I want to talk to ESPN or Versus about [televising] it."
Schaefer is working to arrange a lightweight title tournament April 18 in Texas that will include Michael Katsidis and Edwin Valero, among others.
-Edwin Valero vs Antonio Pitiula for the Vacant WBC lightweight belt 12 rounds: Would be the main event of the card and it's an interesting match up. Pitula, who KOd Jose Armando Santa Cruz in 6 rounds, is the best person Valero will ever have fought and his KO streak could very well come to an end. Worthy of being the main event of the card.
-Julio Diaz vs Michael Katsidis: This match up was originally discussed for 4/17 on ESPN 2 FNF fights, but if you push it back it becomes an excellent part of the card. Julio Diaz would win this imo.
-Joel Casamayor vs Jesus Chavez: Interesting fight to test how much both these past their prime men have. Casamayor, who was KOd by Marquez, deserves another shot to rebuild his way back up. Jesus Chavez has had an actually pretty worthy and successful comeback so far. Chavez's camp turned down a Robert Guerrero fight for 3/7, but this could be the better fight for them.
-Jorge Barrios vs David Diaz: This would be another slugfest between not so talented guys, but entertaining and gutsy fighters.
This would be the PERFECT versus card. It's a cheap card in which a lot of fights will be televised. Versus would be a god if they picked this up. Also on 3/17, instead of having Diaz-Katsidis, you could have Jose Armando Santa Cruz vs Carlos Hernendez in a bye type match up. The fight wouldn't have to happen, but it'd be a good warm up.
Then after the 4/18 card, the winner's can fight on the undercard to Marquez-Campbell.
So this has the potential to be an amazing amazing idea. Not only do we get good lightweight match ups, but it would also make BOXING ON EVERY WEEKEND UNTIL MAY 2ND. How awesome is that? Let's hope Versus is interested.
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