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Pastimes : Boxing: The Sweet Science -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TomKing who wrote (3709)	5/11/2001 5:43:19 PM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10489

Can any of you guys believe this? Good Lord.... Rahman inks deal with King by Flattop Several sources have told Fightnews that promoter Don King has signed WBC/IBF heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman this morning in New York City to a lucrative package worth $25 million. The breakdown is $15 million for a multi-fight deal with an addition signing bonus and incentives of $10 million. King's goal is to unify the heavyweight division like he is currently doing in the middleweight division. Rahman is expected to fight on the August 4 John Ruiz vs Evander Holyfield WBA championship card in China, then face the winner for the undisputed crown. Eric Bottjer, matchmaker for Cedric Kushner Productions said, "We have been told Rahman signed a contract this morning with Don King in New York. We have no comment." Bottjer indicated that Rahman is still under contract to Kushner. Meanwhile, a source with the Showtime network confirmed the signing and indicated the deal with King will "change the strategy" from the previous plan of having Rahman face Mike Tyson. Tyson advisor Shelly Finkel is traveling and unavailable for comment.

To: TomKing who wrote (3709)	5/11/2001 11:59:40 PM
From: mr.mark	Respond to of 10489

from secondsout.com.... Weigh-in Results: Trinidad 159¼ / William Joppy: 158¾ May 11, 2001 - Patrick Kehoe: Felix "Tito" Trinidad Jr., 39-0 (32), tipped the scales today at 159¼ pounds as he seeks to become a world champion at a third weight, since reigning at welterweight and jr. middleweight. The defending WBA middleweight champion William Joppy came in a shade lighter at 158¾. Both fighters - known to be "gym rats" - appeared to be ripped and ready for their 12 round middleweight title eliminator on Saturday night. The champion is not ready to buy into all the pre-fight Trinidad hype. Such renowned fighters as Roberto Duran are quick to point out that though Trinidad currently reads as a 3-1 favourite to win the bout nothing can said to be obvious about the contest going in. Duran told the media he thinks that Trinidad should not recklessly go for a knockout, but only if he lands as effectively as he did on Fernando Vargas last time out. And Duran cautioned that Joppy is a stronger fighter than Vargas and anyone with 24 KO's over 34 fights cannot be underestimated. A stern William Joppy had this to say: "I think he's a little overrated. I want to show he doesn't belong in the ring with me." One might put this down to pre-fight bravado, as Joppy told SecondsOut in February that he considers Trinidad a serious threat. "Oh, definitely Trinidad is great. Ya, you right... he's best when you don't move - when you're right there in front of him. But I am gonna give him angles and do what Oscar [de la Hoya] did and that's box him... But I ain't gonna be runnin' from him... I'll box the hell out of him!" Of course the nearer the battle the greater the need for bracing bravado. As Felix Trinidad, 28, moves up to middleweight, the issue of his having been dropped 5 times as a welterweight and once against David Reid and Fernando Vargas at jr. middleweight won't go away. Though it should be pointed out though he's been decked Trinidad has never really been hurt in the ring as a professional. The question now is will moving up one more division put him into the path of punches his chin can't absorb? Joppy has been suggesting all week that his overall physical strength and punching power can stop the Puerto Rican star. For his part Trinidad believes he's clearly the superior puncher and expects Joppy to try to move and catch him on the counter with big punches. The winner of the Pay-Per-View bout has a date on September 15th, at Madison Square Gardens, with WBC/IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, of Philadelphia, who is set to try and tie Carlos Monzon's middleweight record for title defenses at 14. At Friday's weigh-in Joppy, 30, showed his confidence and a sense of being in his comfort zone - the middleweight division: "I'm not going in there looking for a knockout. I'm going to be smart about it. Once I feel him out and see he can't handle my strength, I'll exploit it."