by David P. Greisman
Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions has responded to comments made by middleweight contender Matthew Macklin — who was dubious about the injury to heavyweight Mike Perez, the cancellation of the entire May 24 card that would’ve featured Perez vs. Bryant Jennings and Macklin vs. Daniel Geale, and the subsequent negotiations between Geale and 160-pound titleholder Gennady Golovkin.
Perez and Golovkin are both promoted by K2. Golovkin had been in negotiations with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a bout in July, but Chavez wasn’t happy with the terms being offered to him by his own promoter, Top Rank, leaving Golovkin in need of an opponent.
But first, let’s recap Macklin’s conspiracy theory:
“Very strange how Chavez vs GGG fight falls through, Geale vs me is off. 24 hours later Geale [is] in talks to fight GGG in July on HBO Boxing,” Macklin wrote in a series of tweets on Sunday, which I’ve slightly edited solely for cosmetic reasons.
“All I'm saying is GGG is promoted by K2 [Promotions]. GGG needs an opponent for July with no Chavez fight. Perez also promoted by K2 on HBO Boxing. Jennings & Geale both [are] promoted by Gary Shaw. GGG is HBO Boxing’s poster boy in need of a credible opponent for his July date now [that the] Chavez fight has fallen through. My fight with Geale is off, then less than 24 hours later it's confirmed negotiations for a fight with GGG! Do the math.”
Later, he added this:
“Perez didn’t get injured. HBO & K2 pulled the plug because they didn’t want Geale (one of the very few credible opponents for GGG) getting beaten! Then they’d have no credible opponent for him for July. Perez injury is complete bullsh*t.”
Here’s what Loeffler had to say in response, writing via email to BoxingScene.com on Monday morning:
“It is inconceivable that Perez would cancel a fight just so that we would have an option for a different opponent for GGG. We have made offers to Geale before without success, so even if he is now available, there is no guarantee that we can make a fight with him.
“I am sure Mathew is disappointed that his fight got cancelled, but if HBO really wanted Geale that badly, as he suggested, they would have just changed the co-feature fight on that show, not cancel the whole show. It is unfortunate for people to speculate about an injury to a different fighter that they have no information about.
“The May 24 show was all about two undefeated heavyweights fighting for the WBC eliminator fight. The Geale vs Macklin fight was added afterwards as a good support fight. If Jennings had gotten injured, it would have had the same effect.
“We will know the extent of the injury to Perez by tomorrow and will know when the fight can be rescheduled.”
Indeed, Geale turned down an April 26 fight against Golovkin, saying the pay-per-view channel in his native Australia would’ve been showing a UFC card, taking away a portion of his audience and also a source of potential revenue.
Golovkin ended up not fighting in April following the unexpected death of his father.
Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
