RSSIke Quartey
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Another Fight Added to Wright-Quartey Card
This card is looking mighty impressive so far - Wright, Quartey, and Lacy are all already signed to be on the December 2nd event. Now here come two more…
Rey Bautista will take on WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Giovanni Andrade in a 10-round bout that same night.
The two were scheduled to fight earlier this year but the fight was forced to be postponed after Bautista was injured while training. Bautista actually suffered a hairline fracture of his collarbone while shadow boxing of all things.
Doctors have cleared Bautista to be able to fight and his camp has already stated that he is in heavy training for this fight.
Wright-Ouartey Was Almost in Vegas
Yes, the December fight between Winky Wright and Ike Quartey was originally supposed to be in Las Vegas. Oscar De La Hoya (Winky is with Golden Boy Promotions too in case you forgot) wanted to bring the fight to Vegas as he already had a venue and television deal all lined up.
However Winky thought differently...
Wright had strong feelings about wanting the fight in his hometown of Tampa Bay. Lucky for him, De La Hoya stopped and listened:
“I have to admit, my idea was: Okay, we’re going to take this fight to Las Vegas, to the MGM, because this is that type of fight, that type of event. And then Winky convinced me it should be here.
As a fighter, that’s when I step in and say, ‘Yeah, I understand that. Now, if I was just a promoter and only a promoter, then we’re going to take it to Vegas and make all the money in the world.”
I think it’s good to see that Winky is very focused on the fight and not on the money or anything outside of it for that matter…
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Thursday, September 21, 2006
Calzaghe vs Lacy
No, not in the ring people, not yet anyway. It’s a war of words here…
Before we get started, it’s been confirmed that Lacy will be fighting on the undercard of Winky Wright-Ike Quartey in December. An opponent has not yet been named.
Anyway, it’s been well documented that Jeff Lacy wanted another shot at Joe Calzaghe following his dismal performance in a loss to him this past spring. Lacy reminded us again that he still wants Calzaghe in an interview with Gabriel Montoya this past week.
“I want all my fans to know I’m back and I’m fresh and better then ever before so you don’t want to miss what I’ve been missing for some months now. One or two fights back and I want a rematch with Joe Calzaghe! He won the first fight and I just know I let a lot of my fans down. I want my titles back and I’m not going to stop until I do! On March 3rd Joe didn’t even fight 30 percent of me that night. He had to do what he had to do. It’s funny that a fighter can’t say timeout, I’m not up to this tonight and ask to fight when you’re up to it. Someone has to win and he did that. Now I’m fresh and ready to return and get what I really know I should have gotten the first time out. I want Joe again and I won’t let my fans down in doing so.”
Well Calzaghe caught wind of what Lacy had said and decided to respond...
“Is this guy crazy or is he still concussed?
“I can give Lacy a thousand and six good reasons why he should not get a rematch against me, because that’s the number of times I landed with punches on the night, and I can count the number of times he caught me on one hand – four.”
“Lacy will never be the same fighter again after the one-sided beating I gave him. And how can he call for a rematch when the first fight wasn’t even close or controversial? The only controversy is why his corner didn’t pull him out of the fight sooner.
“If Lacy gets in the ring with me again I’m scared I will get arrested for aggravated assault!”
Honestly, Calzaghe has permission to talk in such confidence. He absolutely destroyed Lacy, a fighter who everyone was very high earlier in the year. A lot of experts picked Calzaghe to get murdered and he certainly proved them wrong.
Calzaghe isn’t even going to mess with Lacy - He wants Lacy’s pals…
“It’s his buddies in Florida that I’m gunning for. Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver, who are both on the run from me,” said Calzaghe. “The only way I’ll get them in the ring is if a bounty hunter manages to catch ‘em!”
Well see if Calzaghe is right when fighters start picking their opponents for their first fights of 2007 in a couple of months.
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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Hatton, Wright Find Opponents
The search for a opponent is finally over for Ricky Hatton and Winky Wright…
Both fighters have had a tumultuous last few months: Hatton was robbed while visiting China, was forced to relinquish his WBA Welterweight Title in order to pursue other chances to find an opponent, and had to deal with Luis Collazo asking for a rematch every five minutes.
Wright on the other hand has had opponents dodge him left and right. He sent out open challenges to both Jermain Taylor and Antonio Margarito. What happened? Taylor opted to defend his belts against Kassim Ouma; Margarito and his camp completely ignored Wright, deciding to instead take on Joshua Clottey.
The two have finally found matches however:
Wright will take on the recently victorious Ike Quartey who defeated Vernon Forrest in an extremely controversial decision on August 5th.
Wright hasn’t fought in Florida in four years, so the bout against Quartey will be a homecoming of sorts. “Finally,” Winky told the St. Pete Times, “I get to come home.”
Hatton will be fighting Juan Urango in January of 2007. It was speculated for months that this fight might happen, especially with Hatton dropping his belt so he could move down in weight to try and grab Urango.
“I’ll be fighting Juan Urango on January 13,” Hatton told Sky Sports, “which is a little bit of a disappointment because I was hoping to fight in October or November, but that’s the only date HBO had available.”
The system is keeping Hatton down!
Junior Witter called out Hatton after his victory over DeMarcus Corley this past weekend but Hatton says that there are a few things that need to happen before that becomes a reality…
“I’m contracted to HBO for my next two fights,” said Hatton in response to Junior’s challenge, “and they’re practically done deals now. I don’t see why a little bit further down the line that if Junior makes a couple of defenses I can fight him.
“On the undercard will be Castillo. Should I get past Urango they’re lining up Castillo for me. If Junior can hold onto his belt and make a few defenses the fight against me will be even bigger.”
The consenus is right - It’s good that Hatton is being honest about his contract with HBO and the fact that he can’t take on whoever calls him out because of that. It’s better than lying about it to try and make yourself look better…
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Sunday, August 06, 2006
Forrest Conquers Quartey
Vernon Forrest earned a unanimous, albeit controversial decision Saturday night over Ike Quartey. After the fight, Quartey complained about being robbed while Forrest talked about a much-deserved title shot.
ESPN: Forrest Stands Tall
FOX Sports: Forrest wins in unpopular fashion
MaxBoxing: Forrest Gets Controversial Nod over Ike
NY Times: Forrest Announces Return With Win
Sporting News: Forrest takes unanimous decision over Quartey
Update 8/6 5:41 PM - Just some more links - a couple of them describing Lou DiBella’s blow-up at the post-fight press conference…
San Jose Mercury: Forrest, Ouma win by unanimous decisions
The Sweet Science: Vernon Forrest Wins, But A lot of People Thought He Lost
Seattle-Post Intelligencer - Forrest unanimous victor over Quartey
Eastside Boxing: Forrest tops Quartey by Disputed Decision
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Now or Never
Dan Rafael’s latest piece says it all about tonight’s main event…
Quartey (37-2-1, 31 KOs) and Forrest (37-2, 28 KOs) will meet Saturday night (10 ET, HBO) in a 10-rounder at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York in a crossroads fight, if ever there was one. Instead of “Now or Never,” the match could easily be called “Loser Go Home.”
The brightest spotlight will be on the veterans, Quartey and Forrest, who figure to land a marquee, money fight with a victory while the loser probably will be relegated to the scrap heap.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
One More Shot
For both Vernon Forrest and Ike Quartey, this may very well be their final shot at returning to elite status. Years ago, both fighters were among the cream of the crop of the welterweight division. My how things have changed since then.
Forrest and Quartey each took multiple losses, sending them on a quest to climb back up the ladder. Saturday night’s fight will result in two things: The winner getting back on the road that leads to a possible title shot; the loser - obscurity.
This weekend, both Forrest and Quartey are going up against the best fighter either of them has faced in years. Both men are in their mid-30s and need a win desperately. A loss at this stage of the game could devastate any chance to salvage either career.
How much does either fighter have left? Will Quartey target the often-injured shoulder of Forrest, and if he does, will Forrest fall apart?
Two fighters who were great welterweights are now going head-to-head in a very open junior middleweight division. Both men expect a hard fight, something neither man has been involved in for several years.
It’s hard to say who is the older fighter in the ring. Forrest has won more impressively since returning, but Quartey has faced a slightly better level of opposition. The edge in size belongs to Forrest, but experience would go to Quartey. The skill level and power is about even. Although Quartey has been down in three separate fights, he was never stopped in his career, unlike Forrest.