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Quick Hits: Cloud-Dawson imminent?
Light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud and former titlist Chad Dawson could hook up in early 2011, Dawson promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com.
Shaw said HBO is interested in the fight that would pit two of the top 175-pounders in the world. In his HBO debut on Aug. 7, Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs) retained his title with a tight decision against former champ Glen Johnson in a hard-hitting scrap. Dawson (21-1, 17 KOs), who owns a pair of decisions against Johnson, suffered his first loss on Aug. 14. He dropped a technical decision to champion Jean Pascal when the fight was stopped in the 11th round after an accidental head-butt left Dawson with a bad cut over his eye.
Although Dawson has a rematch clause with Pascal, their contract allows them both to take interim bouts. When Pascal elected to take his by defending the title against Bernard Hopkins on Dec. 18, Shaw said Dawson was interested in taking his own.
"Chad can take an interim fight, and since Pascal is taking one against Hopkins, Dawson will also take one," Shaw said. "One thing about Chad, he doesn't care who he fights."
Shaw said he has discussed the fight twice with HBO's Kery Davis and that the network is "100 percent interested" in the fight for February or March. He said he has also discussed the fight with Don King, Cloud's promoter, with whom Shaw has co-promoted several fights.
"I think Don and Cloud will do the fight," Shaw said. "I think it's a very good fight. I think it's a fight that can re-establish Chad. In my mind, Glen Johnson won the fight against Cloud. I think he has an interesting style for Chad. Cloud will put a lot of pressure on him, and it will re-establish Chad again. We'll see what happens. I like the fight. I think it helps boxing, and boxing needs big fights. Fans don't need these guys taking on some secondary opponent."
Shaw said he plans to have more serious talks with King and HBO in the coming days.
"I've asked HBO about specific dates and the money so I can go to King to talk more seriously about it, even though we discussed it briefly," Shaw said. "Don said they're interested, and Don and I work well together."
Rafael's Boxing Blog
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.
• Heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin of Russia is scheduled to fight twice in two weeks, part of trainer Teddy Atlas' plan to keep him busy and build his experience after Povetkin bypassed a mandatory shot against champion Wladimir Klitschko. (Atlas didn't believe his fighter was ready.) Povetkin is slated to fight Teke Oruh (14-2-1, 6 KOs), who has lost two in a row, in Chekhov, Russia, on Oct. 16. He is then scheduled to fight again Oct. 30 in Germany, on the undercard of middleweight titlist Sebastian Sylvester's defense against Mahir Oral. Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) is taking the fight in Russia without the involvement of his promoter, Sauerland Event. "This is not our show, and we were not involved with the selection of this opponent," Sauerland's Chris Meyer told ESPN.com. "So far, they plan to [also] fight on our show on Oct 30."
• Manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com that he signed junior featherweight titlist Steve Molitor to a multi-year contract on Monday. Canada's Molitor (33-1, 12 KOs) made the first defense of his second title reign on Sept. 11, taking a majority decision in England against Jason Booth. Dunkin said Molitor first called him a few months ago, but nothing came of it. "Then he reached out for me again and asked if I could manage him, and he was extremely nice and I'm all for it," Dunkin said. "He's a world champion, a terrific fighter and I think he's got some good days left in him to do something in this business." Dunkin said they have not yet formulated a plan, although Molitor is saddled with a highly unattractive mandatory bout against South Africa's Takalani Ndlovu, a fighter he has already beaten twice. "Going to featherweight has been discussed, but I need to see what he really wants to do," Dunkin said. "I also need to talk to [promoter] Allan Tremblay and see what we can come up with that makes sense."
• Lightweight contender Brandon Rios has an opponent for his appearance on Top Rank's "In Harm's Way" pay-per-view card on Dec. 4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rios will face Mexico's Noe Bolanos (21-5-1, 13 KOs). It's a stay-busy fight for Rios, who is coming off an impressive seventh-round disqualification win against Anthony Peterson on Sept. 11. That victory on HBO made Rios the mandatory challenger for titlist Miguel Acosta. However, Top Rank's Bob Arum has another title path in mind for Rios, of Oxnard, Calif. Lightweight titlist Humberto Soto faces Urbano Antillon on the Dec. 4 card and, if Rios wins, Arum hopes to match him with the winner on HBO or Showtime in early 2011. "That's the fight we're really hoping for," said Dunkin, Rios' manager. "That's the plan. That's what Bob told us and that's what we're looking for." Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. faces Alfonso Gomez in the junior middleweight main event, while Nonito Donaire moves up to bantamweight to face former titlist Wladimir Sidorenko in the co-feature of the four-bout telecast.
• Promoter Lou DiBella announced the signing of lightweight Ryan "The Polish Prince" Kielczewski (8-0, 2 KOs). A 21-year-old from Quincy, Mass., Kielczewski impressed DiBella enough in his last fight, a six-round decision against Juan Nazario, to get the contract offer. Kielczewski, who finished second in the 2008 National Golden Gloves at 125 pounds before turning pro later that year, is advised by Sampson Lewkowicz, one of the premier talent evaluators in boxing, who also handles DiBella-promoted middleweight champ Sergio Martinez. "Ryan is an exciting young fighter with an all-star group behind him," DiBella said. "His combination of character, looks and legitimate ability made him a priority to sign."
• Junior welterweight Frankie Gomez (6-0, 6 KOs), a standout amateur and one of Golden Boy's most promising prospects at age 18, has been added to its Oct. 15 "Solo Boxeo Tecate" card on Telefutura at the Fantasy Springs resort in Indio, Calif. The card is filled with prospects. Eloy Perez faces Dominic Salcido in the junior lightweight main event, while featherweights Charles Huerta and Randy Caballero and heavyweights Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, the 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, are also scheduled.
Shaw said HBO is interested in the fight that would pit two of the top 175-pounders in the world. In his HBO debut on Aug. 7, Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs) retained his title with a tight decision against former champ Glen Johnson in a hard-hitting scrap. Dawson (21-1, 17 KOs), who owns a pair of decisions against Johnson, suffered his first loss on Aug. 14. He dropped a technical decision to champion Jean Pascal when the fight was stopped in the 11th round after an accidental head-butt left Dawson with a bad cut over his eye.
Although Dawson has a rematch clause with Pascal, their contract allows them both to take interim bouts. When Pascal elected to take his by defending the title against Bernard Hopkins on Dec. 18, Shaw said Dawson was interested in taking his own.
"Chad can take an interim fight, and since Pascal is taking one against Hopkins, Dawson will also take one," Shaw said. "One thing about Chad, he doesn't care who he fights."
Shaw said he has discussed the fight twice with HBO's Kery Davis and that the network is "100 percent interested" in the fight for February or March. He said he has also discussed the fight with Don King, Cloud's promoter, with whom Shaw has co-promoted several fights.
"I think Don and Cloud will do the fight," Shaw said. "I think it's a very good fight. I think it's a fight that can re-establish Chad. In my mind, Glen Johnson won the fight against Cloud. I think he has an interesting style for Chad. Cloud will put a lot of pressure on him, and it will re-establish Chad again. We'll see what happens. I like the fight. I think it helps boxing, and boxing needs big fights. Fans don't need these guys taking on some secondary opponent."
Shaw said he plans to have more serious talks with King and HBO in the coming days.
"I've asked HBO about specific dates and the money so I can go to King to talk more seriously about it, even though we discussed it briefly," Shaw said. "Don said they're interested, and Don and I work well together."
Rafael's Boxing Blog
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.
• Heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin of Russia is scheduled to fight twice in two weeks, part of trainer Teddy Atlas' plan to keep him busy and build his experience after Povetkin bypassed a mandatory shot against champion Wladimir Klitschko. (Atlas didn't believe his fighter was ready.) Povetkin is slated to fight Teke Oruh (14-2-1, 6 KOs), who has lost two in a row, in Chekhov, Russia, on Oct. 16. He is then scheduled to fight again Oct. 30 in Germany, on the undercard of middleweight titlist Sebastian Sylvester's defense against Mahir Oral. Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) is taking the fight in Russia without the involvement of his promoter, Sauerland Event. "This is not our show, and we were not involved with the selection of this opponent," Sauerland's Chris Meyer told ESPN.com. "So far, they plan to [also] fight on our show on Oct 30."
• Manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com that he signed junior featherweight titlist Steve Molitor to a multi-year contract on Monday. Canada's Molitor (33-1, 12 KOs) made the first defense of his second title reign on Sept. 11, taking a majority decision in England against Jason Booth. Dunkin said Molitor first called him a few months ago, but nothing came of it. "Then he reached out for me again and asked if I could manage him, and he was extremely nice and I'm all for it," Dunkin said. "He's a world champion, a terrific fighter and I think he's got some good days left in him to do something in this business." Dunkin said they have not yet formulated a plan, although Molitor is saddled with a highly unattractive mandatory bout against South Africa's Takalani Ndlovu, a fighter he has already beaten twice. "Going to featherweight has been discussed, but I need to see what he really wants to do," Dunkin said. "I also need to talk to [promoter] Allan Tremblay and see what we can come up with that makes sense."
• Lightweight contender Brandon Rios has an opponent for his appearance on Top Rank's "In Harm's Way" pay-per-view card on Dec. 4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rios will face Mexico's Noe Bolanos (21-5-1, 13 KOs). It's a stay-busy fight for Rios, who is coming off an impressive seventh-round disqualification win against Anthony Peterson on Sept. 11. That victory on HBO made Rios the mandatory challenger for titlist Miguel Acosta. However, Top Rank's Bob Arum has another title path in mind for Rios, of Oxnard, Calif. Lightweight titlist Humberto Soto faces Urbano Antillon on the Dec. 4 card and, if Rios wins, Arum hopes to match him with the winner on HBO or Showtime in early 2011. "That's the fight we're really hoping for," said Dunkin, Rios' manager. "That's the plan. That's what Bob told us and that's what we're looking for." Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. faces Alfonso Gomez in the junior middleweight main event, while Nonito Donaire moves up to bantamweight to face former titlist Wladimir Sidorenko in the co-feature of the four-bout telecast.
• Promoter Lou DiBella announced the signing of lightweight Ryan "The Polish Prince" Kielczewski (8-0, 2 KOs). A 21-year-old from Quincy, Mass., Kielczewski impressed DiBella enough in his last fight, a six-round decision against Juan Nazario, to get the contract offer. Kielczewski, who finished second in the 2008 National Golden Gloves at 125 pounds before turning pro later that year, is advised by Sampson Lewkowicz, one of the premier talent evaluators in boxing, who also handles DiBella-promoted middleweight champ Sergio Martinez. "Ryan is an exciting young fighter with an all-star group behind him," DiBella said. "His combination of character, looks and legitimate ability made him a priority to sign."
• Junior welterweight Frankie Gomez (6-0, 6 KOs), a standout amateur and one of Golden Boy's most promising prospects at age 18, has been added to its Oct. 15 "Solo Boxeo Tecate" card on Telefutura at the Fantasy Springs resort in Indio, Calif. The card is filled with prospects. Eloy Perez faces Dominic Salcido in the junior lightweight main event, while featherweights Charles Huerta and Randy Caballero and heavyweights Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, the 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, are also scheduled.
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