Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Local bantamweight hopes King can secure title fight

Jack Frissina wants one thing for his son, Pete: a world title.

The man he believes can get that for him?

Don King.

So last week, Tarpon Springs' Pete Frissina signed with boxing's biggest and most recognizable name. Which leads to the question when King is involved: Is that good or bad? "It's a great thing for us," said Jack, Pete's trainer and manager.

Frissina is No.2 and No.3 in the WBO and IBF bantamweight rankings, respectively. But publicity in the 118-pound division is hard to come by.

A year ago, the Frissinas trumpeted their new contract with promoter Vlad Warton and Millennium Events, which they hoped would lead to riches and title fights.

But unable to get the four fights a year Warton promised, they went looking elsewhere and ended up in Deerfield Beach, home of King's empire.

Jack Frissina said he was pleasantly surprised by King and said King's reputation is overblown.

"I was very hesitant," he said. "I had one fighter tell me he was going to give me a blank contract and tell me to sign it and if I didn't like it to get the hell out. Well, that was partly true. He did give me a blank contract but told me to fill in the spaces and we'd discuss and negotiate from there."

Frissina said the negotiations went great. He said his son will make $25,000 more for his next title fight than he would have with Warton and the new contract is worth at least 50 percent more than the previous one.

"Then he cut Pete a nice, big, fat check just so he'd have some money," Jack said, adding that by fat, he means five figures.

Even Winky Wright, who signed with King two years ago but left after a few months because he couldn't get a fight, gave the Frissinas the thumbs up, Jack Frissina said.

King's first duty is to get Frissina (25-3-1) into the ring with WBO champion Cruz Carbajal (22-10-2). Even though the WBO flip-flopped Frissina, who was No.1, and Rafael Marquez, who was No.2, though neither had fought since the last rankings, Frissina remains the mandatory challenger for Carbajal.

"Don King has the juice to make that happen now," Jack Frissina said.

The fight is tentatively scheduled for July27 in Las Vegas, but nothing has been signed. IBF champ Tim Austin also is scheduled on that undercard and could be Frissina's next opponent if Carbajal refuses to fight. "Either way, we're looking good," Jack Frissina said. "King also promotes Austin and the WBC champ (Veeraphol Sahaprom) and would like to have a unification tournament down the road. Now we should be right in that mix."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Tarpon Springs' Manny Kindinis celebrated his 40th birthday in unusual fashion. He made his pro debut.

Saturday at the West Tampa Convention Center in front of about 800 fans, Kindinis fought 24-year-old Trampus Filbergum (also making his debut) and fared as you might expect.

He was pummelled.

But Kindinis, who was knocked down four times, went the four-round distance, losing a unanimous decision.

REVENGE?: If you can't get at the fighter you want most, in this case Roy Jones Jr., why not try the guy who prevented you from fighting him? That's what light heavyweight contender Antonio Tarver, who has a home in Tampa but trains in south Florida with Buddy McGirt, is doing.

A rematch with Eric Harding, who handed Tarver his only loss as a pro, is in the works. If signed, it could air on HBO on July20 on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Vernon Forest rematch.

Tarver, who has called out Jones repeatedly during the past year, had a chance to fight him before losing to Harding in an IBF elimination fight in 2000.

Harding lost to Jones. Tarver, a former Olympian has won another elimination fight but can't get Jones to agree to a fight.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright