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player ready...The on-again off-again rematch between Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad, which seemed on-again for June after extensive negotiations between promoters Bob Arum and Don King, is off again.
Arum declared Thursday that De La Hoya will fight Shane Mosley in June, blamed Trinidad’s father for sabotaging the rematch, and offered rare kind words for archrival King.
“None of this should reflect ill on King,” Arum said.
But King did not respond in kind. He accused Arum of pulling out of the deal and called him “coward.”
Arum criticized Felix Trinidad Sr. for “wanting to be the boss” and insisting that a 50-50 split would not be good enough for what has been touted as a potential $40 million rematch.
“He doesn’t realize that Oscar is the draw,” Arum said, comparing the situation to Evander Holyfield not being able to dictate terms of his rematch with Mike Tyson “even though he beat Tyson decisively. In this case, De La Hoya-Trinidad was a controversial decision.”
De La Hoya and Mosley will fight either June 10 in Las Vegas or June 17 in Los Angeles, Arum said, adding that De La Hoya became frustrated with the haggling by Trinidad Sr.: “This is Oscar’s call.”
Besides money, a sticking point in negotiating the rematch has been agreeing on a “catch weight,” since De La Hoya remains a 147-pound welterweight while Trinidad has moved up to 154 pounds to challenge David Reid Friday for Reid’s World Boxing Association super-welterweight title.
There remains a huge incentive to make the De La Hoya-Trinidad rematch. It’s simple economics: De La Hoya couldn’t fill 5,000 of Madison Square Garden’s 19,000 seats for his fight Saturday against Derrell Coley. It remains to be seen if Trinidad-Reid can fill 10,000 seats in the Caesars arena, and Trinidad will get $4 million to Reid’s $3 million. Meanwhile, an Oscar-Felix rematch holds the promise of a filled arena, a huge pay-per-view TV audience, and a $40 million payday for the fighters to split.
Fighter of the New Year? Paulie Ayala defends his WBA bantamweight title Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas against Johnny Bredahl of Denmark. Bredahl vowed not to be Danish pastry for Ayala, whom respected Ring Magazine voted “Fighter of the Year” in its “Fight of the Year” for his June 26 victory over previously undefeated Johnny Tapia.
“This has been my dream for years, and my dream is that I will win the title,” Bredahl said. Ayala’s reply was, “Sometimes dreams can turn into nightmares.”
Weighing in: Reid and Trinidad delivered a spirited weigh-in Thursday, taking turns thumping their chests, rolling their fists, shouting and standing tiptoe to outdo each other in posing. Each tipped the scales at 153 pounds, one pound under the limit. There remains a chance of rain for the Friday night fight, with temperatures possibly dipping into the mid-40s. But the climate seemed to improve Thursday. The outdoor arena has a canopy over the ring and ringside, and both fighters said weather would not be a factor.
Ladies not gentle, man: Christy Martin, who faces Belinda Laracuente on the undercard of the Reid-Trinidad fight, did a bit of unexpected sparring Monday. While at the Los Angeles Boxing Club for a promotional appearance for Friday’s card, Martin was knocked down by a surprise punch from Lucia Rijker, whom many tout as the best female boxer around, although Martin is the best paid.
Martin, who scuffled with Rijker afterward, with some accounts saying she floored Rijker with a counterpunch, said the tussle did not necessarily mean they would meet in the ring.
“I don’t think you should get a fight by stealing on me,” Martin said, referring to the surprise punch.
Martin conceded a fight against Rijker could be a big moneymaker, and said she learned one thing Monday: “I don’t respect her punch.”