Oscar De La Hoya has said repeatedly he wants to fight a rematch against Felix Trinidad, while Trinidad has long cast his sights on a rematch against Bernard Hopkins.
De La Hoya and Trinidad want those fights to avenge rare setbacks in their highly successful boxing careers.
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It now appears, however, that neither of them will get their dream fight. At least, not in the near future. Instead, boxing’s Felix-and-Oscar odd couple seems bent on stealing each other’s dreams.
De La Hoya is heading toward a big payday bout against middleweight champion Hopkins, who demolished previously unbeaten Trinidad three years ago.
Trinidad seems ready to return from retirement. But instead of taking the likely big payday against De La Hoya, he’s going directly into a bout against Shane Mosley, who has twice defeated De La Hoya.
De La Hoya-Hopkins is slated for Sept. 18, with Mosley-Trinidad tentatively set for November.
But there are obstacles. Hopkins and De La Hoya have to beat lesser opponents Robert Allen and Felix Sturm, respectively, in a boxing doubleheader June 5, to set up their showdown. And before Mosley focuses on Trinidad, he has to get past fellow junior middleweight champion Winky Wright in their March 13 title fight. Of those three matchups, Mosley faces the most difficult task against skilled veteran Wright.
Off the grill, into the fire? Whether it is due to his own charisma or a lack of it among the current crop of heavyweights, 55-year-old former champ George Foreman is getting plenty of attention from his announced intention to make yet another boxing comeback.
Visions of the dieting grill pitchman/broadcast buddy stepping back into the ring conjure fascinating images. Can’t you just see him facing rusty “Iron” Mike Tyson in a surefire personality-over-pugilism spectacle; or see him reprising his title-winning knockout of Michael Moorer against a current heavyweight kingpin such as Corrie Sanders or Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko?
Foreman’s talk of a comeback makes a mockery of the idea that he left his HBO commentator’s job to spend more time with his wife and family, as he professed earlier. But it also raises his profile just as he is about to launch his new line of big-and-tall clothing.
Legal sparring: Chicago boxing promoter Bobby Hitz has sued cruiserweight contender O’Neil Bell and a Florida promotional firm, claiming they signed a deal although Bell is still contractually obligated to Hitz.
“We have a valid contract that has not expired, and I informed them of that before they signed,” Hitz said of Warrior’s Boxing Promotions of Hollywood, Fla.
The Chicago promoter has filed lawsuits in Cook County Circuit Court against both the fighter and the Florida promoter, said Hitz’s attorney, Tracy Rizzo. One suit charges “tortious interference with contractual relationships,” she said, and the other seeks a temporary restraining order against Bell fighting for any promoter other than Hitz.
Jesse Robinson, executive director of Warrior’s, said, “We’ll have no comment on this matter.”
Hitz was negotiating for Bell to challenge World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite in a March title fight in Chicago. As a result of the lawsuits, Hitz said, the WBC has dropped Bell as the next opponent for Braithwaite and will allow the champion to fight another challenger.
Bell’s last fight, an eighth-round technical knockout over Derrick Harmon (23-4), was Dec. 19 on Hitz’s card at the Ramada Plaza Hotel O’Hare in Rosemont. Bell’s record is 22-1-1 with 21 knockouts.
Pugilistic peacock: NBC was happy enough with last year’s three-fight boxing series that it will be expanded to five consecutive Saturday afternoons this spring, from April 17 through May 15. The series, NBC’s first boxing venture in 11 years, is a partnership with Main Events promotional group and with the NBC-owned Spanish-language network Telemundo, which will telecast an hour of bouts leading into, and from the same venue as, NBC’s 90-minute boxing telecast.
Just jabs: Former lightweight champion Cesar Bazan (41-6-1) is slated to face Roberto Ortega (17-8-2) in a junior welterweight main event Friday at the DePaul Athletic Center, 2323 N. Sheffield Ave. Also on the card and Spanish-language Telefutura’s “Solo Boxeo” national telecast is unbeaten Chicago junior welterweight Al Gonzalez (13-0). . . . The Cory Spinks-Zab Judah welterweight title fight once scheduled for March 20 with Chicago as a possible site, is no longer on tap for March or Chicago. Instead, it is now part of the April 10 Las Vegas card featuring Wladimir Klitschko vs. Lamon Brewster in a heavyweight title bout . . . .. Chicago native Michael Grant returned to the ring after a seven-month layoff by stopping Charles Hatcher with a left-right combination in the sixth round Saturday in Reno, Nev. Grant, whose career nose-dived after he was knocked out by Lennox Lewis in their title bout four years ago, improved to 39-3 while Hatcher dropped to 15-6. … Polish-born Chicago heavyweight Andrew Golota (38-4), who lost to both Grant and Lewis, also wants to revive his career, this time with promoter Don King. . . . Jostling for a chance to face Laila Ali, women’s super middleweight contender Ann Wolfe and heavyweight champion Vonda Ward are set to fight each other at a compromise weight of 175 pounds May 8 in Biloxi, Miss.