Boxing

Wright-Taylor fight is 'history' in standoff

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published January 10, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Winky Wright's proposed middleweight title fight against Jermain Taylor is off, and according to promoter Lou DiBella, most likely for good.

Monday afternoon, St. Petersburg's Wright rejected DiBella's offer of $3-million to meet Taylor, the WBC/WBA/WBO champion, this spring on HBO.

Wright promoter Gary Shaw thought DiBella's offer last week was a starting point; DiBella said it was his one and only attempt to make the fight.

"This fight is now history," DiBella said. "This fight will never happen."

HBO Sports, which declined to put the fight on the more lucrative pay-per-view, confirmed the sides have parted ways and president Ross Greenburg said it was "time to turn the page" and look for new opponents for both fighters.

HBO was willing to pay $5-million for the fight, and DiBella said another $2-million could come from the gate, meaning a $7-million pot to split, with Taylor getting $4-million or 57 percent.

Shaw thinks the pot should be bigger and not as disparate, and is willing to prove it by letting the fight go to purse bid, where he is certain he would win the rights to the fight.

"It's not enough money," said Wright, who is rated No. 1 by the WBC and IBF. "If (DiBella says) there's not enough money, then we don't need to have it."

Shaw said he'll pay Taylor the $4-million in DiBella's proposal, and Wright can have the rest of the pot. He said he could do $3-million from the gate if the fight were held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, with other factors as well making it bigger than $7-million.

But DiBella is unwilling to relinquish control since he promotes the champion.

"Winky is not worth 50-50; there's no promoter that would disagree," DiBella said. "Winky is a stinker who can't sell a ticket and except for (serious) boxing fans, no one gives a rat's a-- about him."

Wright (50-3) insisted all along he get a 50-50 cut of the proposed fight, because he was the undisputed 154-pound champion before vacating to move up to 160 pounds, where he beat legend Felix Trinidad.

He thinks he can get the same money fighting someone else, but that's debatable considering there are few big names out there.

"I can get the money," Wright said. "If they don't want to offer the right money, then move on. I'm good."

Taylor has a contract with HBO, so DiBella said his fighter will continue to make millions without Wright. But like Wright, Taylor will have a hard time finding a marquee name in a starless middleweight division.

"He's 27, those opportunities will appear for him," DiBella said. "(Wright, 34) is an old man."

Though the camps have until Jan. 30 to strike a deal, DiBella said there would be no further negotiations. He also said that while he'd rather retain the WBC title, he'd sacrifice it before going to a purse bid.

"Then he'll lose his belt," Shaw said, "and everyone will think he's an idiot. That's what everyone will think. This isn't about Lou DiBella, it's about putting the best boxing matches together. He's only hurting the sport and boxing fans. So, what 154-pounder will Jermain pick on next?"

If Taylor vacates the WBC title, Wright would be lined up with the next available highest-rated challenger: Sam Soliman, the 32-year-old Australian he defeated last month.

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:52:17]