Mark E. Ortega
UndisputedFightMag.com
November 25, 2011
Saturday night, the vacant WBO super
featherweight title left behind by Scotsman Ricky Burns will be
contested between WBO #1 Adrien Broner [21-0, 17 KOs] and WBO #6
Vicente Rodriguez [34-2-1, 19 KOs] in the opening televised fight on
HBO Boxing After Dark's split-site broadcast headlined by Saul
Alvarez's WBC 154 pound title defense against Kermit Cintron.
Broner will be heading the portion
taking place in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio at U.S. Bank Arena
against the long-odds underdog Rodriguez, who hails from Argentina.
Up until about a month ago, Rodriguez
was slated to meet WBO #3 super featherweight Will Tomlinson [17-0-1,
12 KOs] of Sydney, Australia for the vacant IBO 130 pound title, a
fight that was believed to be all but signed and sealed according to
Tomlinson manager Fidel Tukel, who was reached when it was first
announced that Burns would be vacating and moving up to fight Michael
Katsidis for the interim WBO lightweight crown.
We had the chance to catch up with
Tukel prior to this weekend's clash between Broner and Rodriguez, who
helped clarify a few things regarding the situation.
“The agent we used in Argentina gave
us a verbal confirmation that the contract was signed. We hounded
them for our copy of the contract for about three or four weeks,”
explained Tukel. “We purchased the air tickets, but realized what
was going on when we weren't getting any answers regarding the
contract. I realized they [Golden Boy] were after Rodriguez.”
Considering Tomlinson is ranked three
spots above Rodriguez, he should have been the first to receive a
crack at Broner. Tukel acknowledged that he was contacted regarding
that fight but wasn't given proper time to discuss it before it was
already a done deal with the Argentine.
“I told Eric [Gomez, Golden Boy
matchmaker] we probably would go against him but to give us 48 hours
to get back to him,” Tukel relayed in a phone interview earlier
this morning. “Before we had a chance it was already up on BoxRec
that Broner would be fighting Rodriguez.”
Though his fighter was denied an
opportunity to fight on a big stage in America, Tukel maintains that
it isn't the worst thing in the world to happen.
“Will will probably start headlining
pay-per-views on Main Event after this fight, we've been in
discussions about it for awhile. We're looking to take the torch, so
to speak, from Danny Green once he hangs them up. We are fighting a
Mexican, Allan Herrera for the vacant IBO on the undercard of Green's
next fight [against Kryzyzstof Wlodarczyk on November 30th
for the WBC cruiserweight title].”
What that means for the future
likelihood of Broner-Tomlinson is up in the air.
“If Eric Gomez offered the fight we'd
look at options for a unification. The WBO probably won't force it as
a mandatory given the way that we've been treated.”
Considering Tomlinson was ready to step
in against Rodriguez prior to him pulling out and securing the Broner
fight, Tukel gave his thoughts on Saturday's fight having seen
footage of Rodriguez in anticipation he was their next opponent.
“Rodriguez can present a massive
problem for any boxer. His overhand rights are massive. Broner will
probably stop Rodriguez in six but there's a chance he could get
caught.”
With a Broner fight not looking as
though it is on the horizon for Tomlinson, Tukel laid out his future
hopes for his undefeated fighter moving forward.
“We want to fight Mick Katsidis in
the next six to twelve months,” Tukel exclaimed. “If we want to
be considered as part of the upper echelon those are the fights you
have to take.”
Tukel explained that a Katsidis fight
would likely come at a catchweight between the 130 and 135 pound
weight classes. It would be a relatively big fight for Australia and
could do wonders for Tomlinson's marketability should he come through
the other side with a win.
There is another Australian with a
world title around his waist, that being IBF featherweight champion
Billy Dib just one division below Tomlinson. When asked if that was a
fight they would consider or even if they could make 126, Tukel made
his stance clear.
“We always joke about making 126.
We've gotten close but never made it. I think we could but it
wouldn't be the best idea in the world. If it was [Orlando] Salido or
Juan Manuel Lopez, we'd heavily consider taking the fight. As far as
Dib, out of respect we wouldn't fight him because he is a friend.
Tukel followed by expressing his
thoughts on why Dib doesn't seem to draw any exposure in Australia
despite holding a world title. His title lifting victory over Jorge
Lacierva earlier this year for instance wasn't even televised on
Australian television despite taking place there. Dib's most recent
win, a one-round KO debacle of Italian Alberto Servidei just last
weekend, did little to raise his stock as many looked at the fight as
though it were a farce.
“He has an awkward style and just
isn't very fun to watch,” opined Tukel. “When he gets in the ring
he doesn't take risks. If he fought how he sparred, he'd be one of
the more exciting fighters out there. But for some reason he fights
cautiously or scared or something and it doesn't make for good
fights. Also, Dib isn't like most Austalians in the way he carries
himself. People may be turned off by how he runs his mouth.”
If Tomlinson can keep winning, he won't
suffer from the same problems that plague Dib. He has always carried
himself with class and has a very fan friendly style, being a short
armed fighter who loves to fight on the inside. If he gets an
opportunity in America the way that Dib did years ago against Steven
Luevano, you can bet he will make the most of it. Though this weekend
won't be that opportunity like Team Tomlinson may have hoped, it
doesn't seem too far off.
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