Tweet
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - I’m a big fan of Lou DiBella.
I’m equally fond of Andre Berto.
But when I read their names in stories concerning a welterweight title bout against Selcuk Aydin now mandated by the World Boxing Council, I cringe a little.
Because they couldn’t be more wrong.
Aydin, for those unaware, is an unbeaten 26-year-old Turk ranked second by the WBC among contenders for the title belt Berto’s kept with four defenses since mid-2008.
And when DiBella claims “nobody knows” him, he’s not stretching the truth.
His list of foes is familiar to just the hardest of the hardcore, he’s fought all but two bouts in either Germany or Turkey and his most recent win – a June 5 split decision over Jo-Jo Dan – was close enough that his own promoter, Ahmet Öner, conceded “we were on the lucky end.”
So if you’re arguing an Aydin fight won’t cover Berto’s next boat payment, I won’t quibble.
But when Lou contends that’s reason enough to simply ignore WBC rule, it’s time to throw a flag.
For at least a couple of reasons.
On the small scale, the nose-thumbing toward a championship requirement is more than a mite nervy from an incumbent who’s not made a mandatory defense in 19 months. [Click Here To Read More]
I’m equally fond of Andre Berto.
But when I read their names in stories concerning a welterweight title bout against Selcuk Aydin now mandated by the World Boxing Council, I cringe a little.
Because they couldn’t be more wrong.
Aydin, for those unaware, is an unbeaten 26-year-old Turk ranked second by the WBC among contenders for the title belt Berto’s kept with four defenses since mid-2008.
And when DiBella claims “nobody knows” him, he’s not stretching the truth.
His list of foes is familiar to just the hardest of the hardcore, he’s fought all but two bouts in either Germany or Turkey and his most recent win – a June 5 split decision over Jo-Jo Dan – was close enough that his own promoter, Ahmet Öner, conceded “we were on the lucky end.”
So if you’re arguing an Aydin fight won’t cover Berto’s next boat payment, I won’t quibble.
But when Lou contends that’s reason enough to simply ignore WBC rule, it’s time to throw a flag.
For at least a couple of reasons.
On the small scale, the nose-thumbing toward a championship requirement is more than a mite nervy from an incumbent who’s not made a mandatory defense in 19 months. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment