…You just can’t stop the Grind…
* According to Dan Rafael of ESPN and other sources, the only thing standing between a Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye bout at this point is David Haye. Klitschko has allegedly given up the contractual rematch clauses that gummed things up the first time the bout was negotiated and he also agreed to a 50-50 money split, another bone of contention for Team Haye.
When Haye first arrived on the Heavyweight scene he got a lot of attention for his Muhammad Ali-like self-promotion and aggressive chasing of both Klitschko brothers. The difference between Ali and Haye, of course, is that Ali eventually faced Sonny Liston.
* Nonito Donaire has hired the infamous Victor Conte to be part of his training team. Since the BALCO scandal, Conte has made a comeback in the sporting community, working with fighters such as Andre Ward, Eddie Chambers and Welterweight prospect, Karim Mayfield.
Maybe Donaire felt insecure about his upcoming WBA Super Flyweight Interim title defense against “Tyson” Marquez….ahem.
* For those unfamilar with Hernan “Tyson” Marquez: He’s a 21-year old southpaw whose biggest win has come against journeyman, Juan Esquer. He’s also almost exclusively campaigned, one division down, as a Flyweight. His last bout was a unanimous decision loss to Richie Mepranum.
This will be the second straight Donaire opponent who is naturally smaller and coming directly off a loss…But, at least this time, he won’t be fighting a Strawweight.
* The Steve Molitor-Jason Booth fight is being postponed to mid-September at the earliest. Molitor suffered a stress fracture to his leg while training.
* Deontay Wilder, dude, time to pick up your level of competition. This pic courtesy of the Tuscaloosa News, Wilder vs. Dustin “Big Worm” Nichols from Saturday:
…ok, Grind ya tomorrow…
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