Omar Sheika’s Journey on the Road of Life

Omar Sheika will step through the ropes tomorrow night versus Roy Jones, Jr. in the role of challenger against the hometown favorite. But one thing is for certain, Omar Sheika is used to playing the familiar character, and like the song goes - “That’s just the way it is, and some things will never change.”

Sheika has made a career out of fighting on the road and unfortunately he hasn’t found the road to be a very accommodating place. The 32 year-old of Palestinian descent hails from the mean streets of Paterson, New Jersey and during the course of his 12 year professional career he’s only fought in his hometown once.

During the years that Sheika has been punching for pay and living the life of a prizefighter he’s managed to amass a career record of 27-8 (18KO), but the story behind the numbers is that six of those losses have come in the backyard of his opposition.

There was Tony Booth in England, Joe Calzaghe in Wales, Eric Lucas in Montreal, Scott Pemberton (twice) in Connecticut and Markus Beyer in Germany. So as he readies to face-off against Roy Jones, Jr. tomorrow night in Jones’ hometown of Pensacola, Florida inside what will be the unfriendly confines of the Pensacola Civic Center, it doesn’t seem to faze Sheika much.

“This is way better than fighting overseas - that’s for sure,” chuckles Sheika. “I don’t have to go across the pond. It’s here in the U.S., in Florida, so I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully there will be some Pensacola fans who will be backing me up after the fight, too.”

Sheika says that his plan against Jones will be to use his strength, aggressiveness and punching power to upset the betting favorite in front of his hometown fans.

“What I’m going to do is put him in the position where he will have to fight me,” says Sheika of Jones. “Especially with the fight being here in his hometown, I’m sure he also wants to put up a good fight. I’m sure his fans don’t want to see him running around and going in circles. Boxing fans don’t want to see that, they want to see a fight, that’s what they’re looking forward to and that’s what I’m going to make it.”


Sheika and Jones met face-to-face at the Pensacola press conference to announce their upcoming fight.

At one time, Sheika was one of the hottest young prospects in the sport. He used to dazzle national television audiences during the late 1990s’s on the now defunct USA Tuesday Night Fights series. Fighting back then as a super middleweight, he possessed blinding handspeed and electric punching power and he used that natural ability to score highlight reel knockouts. He became a fan favorite while frequently appearing on the marquee at Philadelphia’s famed Blue Horizon. After only three years as a pro he boasted an impressive record of 20-1 (13)KO. In June of 2000 he would narrowly defeat Glen Johnson at the Blue and for all intents and purposes he looked like a sure-fire future world champion.

After the win over Johnson, in what was probably his career highlight, Sheika would literally run head-long into Joe Calzaghe in August 2000 in a fiery scrap for the Welshman’s WBO super middleweight title. The fight was competitive, but it would be stopped on a cut caused by head clashes and after five rounds Sheika’s night would come to an end with him the loser on the scorecards.

Over the next five years, Sheika would fight three times for various 168-pound title belts, but each time he would come up short in dropping unanimous decisions to Eric Lucas, Jeff Lacy and Markus Beyer. The fight against Lacy was closer than the scorecards would lead one to believe and in the fight against Beyer, Sheika suffered a broken right hand.


In his losing effort against Beyer, Sheika suffered a bad break - literally -when he broke his right hand.

But in looking back over Sheika‘s career, it can be said that he was never the same fighter after the loss to Calzaghe. Since that fight his record reads a very mediocre 7-6 (5)KO. He had two fight of the year type wars against Scott “The Sandman” Pemberton in 2003 and 2004, but he came up on the losing end both times in fights that were brutal in their ferocity and intensity.

What would have been his prime years as a fighter went by quickly and in the past 3 ½ years Sheika has fought only once - a fourth round stoppage win over clubfighter Tiwon Taylor in September 2007. It was another fight in which Sheika would break his right hand. He didn’t fight at all in 2006 or 2008, but he says he is eager to face Jones, Jr. who is coming off a one-sided, beat down loss at the hands of - who else? Joe Calzaghe.

So with the fight against Jones only a day away, Sheika sees his chance for some degree of redemption.

“This fight means everything to me,” said Sheika, who has aged over the years and looks much older and heavier than he did when he was a young contender with matinee idol good looks. “To fight a legend like Roy Jones and to be able to go into the ring and hopefully beat him? It really does mean everything to me.”

Certainly a win over Jones, even in his current diminished state, would do wonders to revive what remains of Sheika’s floundering career. If nothing else, it would represent a symbolic victory for a fighter that never realized what everybody once saw as awesome potential and it would place a big win over a big name on his record.


Sheika has always fought on the road and regardless of the locale, he always comes to fight and give the fans their money's worth.

“I really do have a point to prove,” admits Sheika. “Boxing is now all about who you’re in there with and it’s all about big names. It doesn’t get any bigger than Roy Jones. For me, this is like the original ‘Rocky’ movie and I’m here to do the same thing that Rocky did.”

Sheika is eight years younger than Jones and he saw the same weaknesses in Jones when he fought Calzaghe as the rest of the world did. Sheika feels that his opportunity will come in exposing Jones’ age.

“You know, Roy still has some of the same skills now as he did before,” said Sheika. “But I don’t think he has the same skills to the same level that he did before. So what I’m going to do is use that to my advantage. I just have to fight my fight and get myself into the best shape I can possibly get into. I need to go in there and do what I do best and I’m injury free and healthy, so I believe I can walk away with victory easily.”

For the road weary Sheika, tomorrow night could be his one last chance to somehow make amends for all that has gone wrong over the years. His has been a sporadic career, that in some ways, seemed over just as it was really beginning.

“Opportunities happen and things happen in life,” explains a pragmatic Sheika. “Things happen in life and I really do think that things are meant to be and whatever happens - happens for a reason.”


March 2009

Kendall Holt: "I Don't Back Down, I Lay Backs Down"

Kendall Holt claims he can't wait to meet up with Timothy Bradley in Montreal on April 4th.

WBO jr. welterweight titlist Kendall “R-Rated” Holt is never short for words and as he prepares for his April 4th unification fight against WBC belt-holder Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, he isn’t lacking for anecdotes and metaphors.

“Everything’s goin’ real good,” says Holt, a Paterson, New Jersey resident. “I’m gonna’ rain all over the desert. I’m happy this fight is happenin’ and unification is another dream I’m tryin’ to accomplish. Let me tell ya’ - I can’t wait to have that WBC belt wrapped around my waist.”

The 27 year-old Holt, who typically makes for fights that are explosive, interesting and or controversial is eager to lay it all on the line against Bradley in a fight that will take place inside the cavernous Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

“Tim Bradley will be a real good fight and he’s a real good fighter,” says the fast talking Holt. “He’s gonna’ come at me, he’s gonna’ want to put on the pressure, he’s gonna’ wanna’ come inside. He’s just gonna’ make it a real good fight.”

Holt has been a professional since 2001, has a record of 25-2 (13KO) and is coming off a December split-decision win over Bernard Hopkins’ nephew Demetrius. Holt is of the opinion that once the bell rings, any strategy that he and Bradley have formulated could go straight out the window.


Holt is a man that fought hard to win the WBO title belt and he is enjoying the trappings of fame the title has brought his way.

“When it’s time to fight it really don’t matter about strategy,” Holt said. “Once you get in there and you lettin’ those fists fly and the leather fly, it really doesn’t matter. I expect, no matter how many rounds it go, I expect it to be a tough fight ‘til the end.”

Asked about Bradley, Holt said the press conference that was held in Montreal last month helped shed some light on his opponent’s way of thinking.

“I think Timothy Bradley got a couple things confused in there,” said a somewhat bemused Holt. “He said I have no heart and I hope he doesn’t come into the fight believing that, because if he does believe that, he’s already beaten his self.”

Even though Holt has been a pro for a few years longer than Bradley, has faced a better grade of competition and is arguably a more explosive puncher he is currently the slight betting underdog. But whatever the case, Holt says training is going well and that he’s simply going to do what he does best in the fight that will be the main event of a Showtime Championship Boxing telecast.

“I come to knock everybody out and I expect to knock everybody out," proclaims a confident Holt. “I’ve got a lot of speed, I’ve got a lot of power and I don’t back down, I lay backs down.”


March 2009

Timothy Bradley in a Fight for Respect

Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley is always in phenomenal physical condition and he will need to be when he meets up with Kendall Holt in Montreal, Quebec.

With his 140-pound title unification fight against WBO belt-holder Kendall Holt only 2 ½ weeks away, WBC titlist Timothy Bradley is beginning to get into a fighting mood.

Always a well-spoken and classy representative of the sport, Bradley says he’s going to make Holt pay for his trash talking ways when the two come face-to-face in Montreal’s Bell Centre on April 4th.

“Kendall Holt is known for trash talking,” says Bradley who has an undefeated record of 23-0 (11)KO. “I’m known as the nice guy, but you know, I’m not going to have him disrespect me and my craft and what I do. I’m a world champion and he needs to respect me just like I respect him. But you know, in this case, that’s not the case.”

Bradley still seemed somewhat irked, but not totally rattled by Holt, who ranted and raved at their press conference in Montreal last month.

“I don’t have nothin’ against trash talking - it’s part of the business,” explains Bradley. “It’s part of gettin’ inside each other’s head and we’ll definitely see come April 4th and you’ve gotta’ come watch. It’s going to be fireworks in the ring and all that trash talking goes out the window and we'll do our trash talking with the fists.”

Bradley, who goes by the nickname “Desert Storm” is now in the heavy phases of his preparations and is already within easy striking distance of the 140 pounds he will have to scale in the big fight against Holt.


When the two belt-holders met up last month in Montreal, Holt (left) did most of the talking.

“I’ve been in training for 11 or 12 weeks already and we’ve got another few to go,” said Bradley. “I still have a lot of time to prepare and I’m ready right now to fight twelve rounds. Sparring and preparation is going well, I’ve been running a lot and I’ve just been very focused.”

While Holt has been busy assaulting him with harsh words outside the ropes, Bradley says he is expecting a similar assault inside the ropes.

“I’m expecting a slugfest. I expect myself to be coming forward and to make the fight happen and I expect Kendall Holt to be trying to counterpunch. In the later rounds I expect a big shot, a big shot over the top where I end the fight.”


March 2009

Writing Quality Content

Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 will give you some idea on what is the importance of writing quality content on your blog. Some bloggers have a problem with the idea of optimizing a blog for search engines. They argue that rather than writing for search engines a blogger’s sole focus should be that they write quality content for humans. I personally don’t see that writing for humans and search engines have to be mutually exclusive things in my opinion both can be achieved without compromising either. Some bloggers argue that if you write for humans that SEO looks after itself. To some extent I agree with that if you do write quality content that others like you will find that they link up to your site (a key in SEO), Content is the King, if you provide quality content then you will get regular readers and many of those will copy a summary (or sometimes the complete article) into there blogs plus linking back to you. Good content may sometimes get renowned bloggers linking to you which will drive traffic and will give your site more weight due to there high PR. However some bloggers argue that incoming links from other sites is just one part of climbing the rankings in Search Engines (an important part but not the only one). There are other factors that come into play also and I believe that by knowing them and naturally incorporating them into your blogging you can increase your chances of being found by readers in Google, Yahoo and MSN. Of course - some people become a little obsessed with SEO and forget the human reader, don’t fall for this trap and keep a balanced approach and you’ll benefit both from traffic from the search engines as well as a loyal readership who keeps coming back for more quality content. The importance of good quality content has been emphasized here at Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 blog. Writing quality is always going to be a somewhat subjective issue, but I think most bloggers can look back through their archives and get a pretty accurate idea of how the quality has trended over time Growth in quality is natural as you will become more knowledgeable about your topics and as you learn about blogging and writing in general. Take a look back at how your quality of writing has improved and I think you will be encouraged to keep going and see what happens. There are all kinds of link generating systems out there but in my opinion the best way to get links to your blog is to write quality content that people will want to read. You can solicit links with others or sign up for different link building programs or even buy text links on other sites but the cheapest and probably safest approach is to build inbound links in a natural organic way as others link to your quality content. So, the best strategy to get your site rank high on the contest like Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 contest is the quality of your content.

Writing Quality Content

Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 will give you some idea on what is the importance of writing quality content on your blog. Some bloggers have a problem with the idea of optimizing a blog for search engines. They argue that rather than writing for search engines a blogger’s sole focus should be that they write quality content for humans. I personally don’t see that writing for humans and search engines have to be mutually exclusive things in my opinion both can be achieved without compromising either. Some bloggers argue that if you write for humans that SEO looks after itself. To some extent I agree with that if you do write quality content that others like you will find that they link up to your site (a key in SEO), Content is the King, if you provide quality content then you will get regular readers and many of those will copy a summary (or sometimes the complete article) into there blogs plus linking back to you. Good content may sometimes get renowned bloggers linking to you which will drive traffic and will give your site more weight due to there high PR. However some bloggers argue that incoming links from other sites is just one part of climbing the rankings in Search Engines (an important part but not the only one). There are other factors that come into play also and I believe that by knowing them and naturally incorporating them into your blogging you can increase your chances of being found by readers in Google, Yahoo and MSN. Of course - some people become a little obsessed with SEO and forget the human reader, don’t fall for this trap and keep a balanced approach and you’ll benefit both from traffic from the search engines as well as a loyal readership who keeps coming back for more quality content. The importance of good quality content has been emphasized here at Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 blog. Writing quality is always going to be a somewhat subjective issue, but I think most bloggers can look back through their archives and get a pretty accurate idea of how the quality has trended over time Growth in quality is natural as you will become more knowledgeable about your topics and as you learn about blogging and writing in general. Take a look back at how your quality of writing has improved and I think you will be encouraged to keep going and see what happens. There are all kinds of link generating systems out there but in my opinion the best way to get links to your blog is to write quality content that people will want to read. You can solicit links with others or sign up for different link building programs or even buy text links on other sites but the cheapest and probably safest approach is to build inbound links in a natural organic way as others link to your quality content. So, the best strategy to get your site rank high on the contest like Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 contest is the quality of your content.

Once a Champ, Always a Fighter

Former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer pictured shortly before he retired from the ring.

It's not always easy being the former heavyweight champ of the world. For most of them, the time spent at the top is short. Sometimes it’s a rags to riches and back to rags type of story. When they’re the king of the world, the highs are exhilarating. But when it’s all over, when the title and the money and the friends are gone - things can be bluer than blue and sadder than sad.

Michael Moorer knows all about the highs and he knows all about the lows.

"Double M" had two brief runs as the heavyweight champion of the world in 1994 and again from 1996 to 1997. His two title reigns lasted a total of only 72 weeks, but during that time he went from the highs of upsetting Evander Holyfield to the lows of being knocked out by a 45-year-old semi-retired preacher named George Foreman.

By the time Michael Moorer turned 30-years-old his time holding what was once known as "the greatest prize in all of sports" would be done.

Within a very short span of time, Moorer collected paychecks that had more zeroes than most men will see in a lifetime spent working. He would go from headlining for the high rollers at Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand to grinding out nights against no-name pugs in places where the lights don’t glitter. Places like Burlington, Iowa and Concho, Oklahoma.

There were retirements and un-retirements. There were barroom scuffles. He was charged with assaulting police officers, he had issues with alcohol and there were always rumors of money problems. He’d be knocked out in brutal fashion by David Tua in less time than it takes to blow your nose.


Freddie Roach and Michael Moorer as they appeared back when Moorer was one of the top heavyweights in the world.

His last fight would come 13 months ago, a first-round knockout win against a no-hoper, in of all places, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Michael Moorer won his last six fights, four by knockout. He fought as a pro for exactly 20 years until one day he just stopped. And then he disappeared.

So some who are a little newer to what the great fight writer Hugh McIlvanney calls "The Hardest Game" were questioning who the big man was. Who was the big man in Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym with the towel draped over his thick shoulders? Who was the man with fists that looked like ham-hocks hanging from tree limbs? Who was the man with the size 16 shoes and dark eyes that looked as though they could still stare a hole in any heavyweight?

He simply showed up, practically out of the blue, to the doorstep of one of the most famous boxing gyms in the world. It’s near the corner of Vine St. and Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood, California. He said he wanted something to do. He looks much the same as he ever did. He still has the bald head, the menacing manner and he still has the tendency to be a bit mercurial.

The cramped and stuffy gym, located above a laundromat, next to a Stop & Shop and across the street from a Social Security Administration office is likely not the place the 40-year-old Moorer thought he would find himself 12 long years after he last held a heavyweight title belt. But here he is and he seems happy to be back with his old mentor in Roach and a key part of the big events that are coming up with Roach’s protégés Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao.


The Wild Card Gym is one of the most famous boxing gyms in the world and it has become a beacon in the night to fighters from around the globe.

He didn’t want to tell the story of what brought him here, all the way to California from Florida.

He once had so much money, way back in 1997, that when he trained out here with Roach for the rematch against Holyfield, he rented a Beverly Hills estate to live in at a cost of several thousand dollars per week. The rent was a mere pittance back then - he made $8 million for the fight.

"I just decided to come out here to California," explains the soft-spoken Moorer. "I wanted to come out here and be a part of Freddie’s team to try and further my career in boxing as a trainer. As you know, I’m retired from boxing and I wanted to learn from the master, in Freddie, so to speak."

Many forget that before he won his heavyweight titles he was a murderous puncher at 175-pounds. In 1988, he would become the first man to ever hold the newly created WBO light heavyweight title and over the course of two years he made 9 title defenses. Before he fled to the land of the big men he racked up a record of 21-0,21 KOs and no light heavyweight in the world wanted to step into a ring and face him.

Hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward, who brought Moorer along as a young pro, still calls him, "The most awesome puncher I think I have seen at 175-pounds. The man could make mountains crumble."

Before he won the title from Holyfield, the young Moorer, who had a penchant for violence and gory movies, once told a reporter, "I want to break a cheekbone, to see what it looks like pushed in."


When he was young and on top of the world, Moorer was in the company of Evander Holyfield and Don King in Las Vegas.

Steward created a monster with Moorer. The young fighter, born in the Bronx, New York but raised in Monessen, Pennsylvania lived in a room in the basement of Steward’s Detroit home.

"I taught him how to shave so as not leave razor bumps on his neck. But in the end we ended up arguing about everything," said Steward, who is known to everybody as an all around good guy. "We argued over all the little things, and in the end it just became too much for us to work together anymore."

After the painful break-up with Steward it would be Georgie Benton, Lou Duva and finally Teddy Atlas that would eventually prod a sometimes passive, sometimes nasty Moorer to win his heavyweight titles. After some of the same problems with Steward reared their head with Atlas, Moorer eventually hooked up for a short stint with Roach.

Now a decade removed from his greatest accomplishments in the ring, Moorer has no illusions about where he finds himself at this point in his life. He has no pretensions and he’s appreciative when people recognize him and ask him how he’s doing. He can be as measured with the comments about his personal life as he was in the ring with Holyfield when he became the first southpaw heavyweight champion in boxing history.

When he was the champ he once complained that people didn’t take the time to get to know him. He would eventually give up trying to make them understand his complex personality. He was hard on the outside, but seemingly fragile on the inside.
Moorer only held the titles he won from Holyfield for a short time - 28 weeks - before he met the ancient but still dangerous George Foreman in 1994 on a cool November night in Las Vegas.


Moorer faced George Foreman in his first title defense and his title reign ended in a huge upset.

Moorer laid a tattooing on Foreman with right jab after right jab and he won every round. But unexpectedly, in the 10th, Foreman connected with what HBO blow-by-blow man Jim Lampley called, "An unbelievably crimson right hand shot."

Moorer dropped to the floor as though he were cut off at the knees with a machete. As he lay there, splayed out on the canvas, an overhead camera zoomed in on Moorer’s face and it showed the blood welling up in the little space between his lips and nose. Meanwhile, Lampley screamed into his microphone from just a few feet away, "It happened! It happened!"

Michael Moorer, only 26-years-old, would be counted out by referee Joe Cortez.

All these years later, Moorer has matured and he is pragmatic about where he finds himself. After some struggles in his personal life, in which his own grandfather sued him for money, Moorer says, "I guess what’s important is that I’m here today and that’s the main thing."

He is acting in the official capacity of what he terms "Freddie’s first assistant." Moorer will be working with all of Roach’s fighters - including fellow southpaw and the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter, Manny Pacquiao - whom he escorted last weekend to a public event with the mayor of Los Angeles.


Along with Roach, Moorer is helping to work the corner of the world's best pound-for-pound fighter - Manny Pacquiao.

"I’m living out here in L.A. now," explains Moorer the understudy. "But I still have a home in Florida and that’s where my children are, where my family is. I plan to be out here for a good while, but I’ll go back and forth between here and Florida to see my family. But the long term is that I’ll be here, at the Wild Card. I’m working with all of the fighters, amateur and pro here at the gym. I’m here to be part of the team, to help Freddie and to point out things that I see that maybe the other guys don’t."

While Manny Pacquiao’s training camp for his May date versus Ricky Hatton is just getting underway, Moorer has been working with the young British sensation, Amir Khan who will fight Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday night in Manchester, England.

Moorer is an active participant in the sessions with the fighters in the gym and whether he’s standing inside or outside the ropes, he has the instant respect from the fighters as they know that he has been there and done that.

Some, however, may find it curious that Moorer is training fighters. For it was Moorer who sometimes had to be pried from his Caesars Palace hotel room to come downstairs and train for the first fight against Holyfield. Teddy Atlas had to (on more than one occasion) confront Moorer, almost coming to blows, in order to get him motivated enough to collect his $5 million purse.


On the night they won the title from Holyfield, Teddy Atlas and Moorer were an inseparable and unbeatable tandem.

But all of that, was of course, a long, long time ago.

"That was then and this is now," says Moorer of the old days. "What I can do now, it’s good for the fighters. Because I can stand back and see things they are doing, or not doing, that they aren’t even aware of. That way we can help them correct it and if I happen to notice something a guy is doing wrong we can get him to correct it right then and there and that’s what it’s all about."

While Michael Moorer will likely never be remembered as one of the great heavyweight champions of boxing history, he will always be remembered as a fighter. In the second encounter against Holyfield, he was knocked down five times. At one point during the night, in a bout that saw him unravel slowly, as Moorer struggled to his feet he punched the canvas with his gloved fist. He cursed at himself under his breath and shook his head in disgust at why he kept going down.

But one thing you’ll notice about Michael Moorer is that he got up back then and it seems like he’s on his feet again now. He’s still here.

And like he said, that’s the main thing.


March 2009

Don King Still in the Mix

Don King may be down, but he's not out. While he's no longer the biggest promoter in boxing he's still out there hustling. He is pictured above with Marco Antonio Barrera.

Don King might be 76 years-old and he might not be as active as a promoter as he once was, but he says two things are going to happen real soon.

The first will be Saturday night in Manchester, England where King finds himself with his fighter, Marco Antonio Barrera, who will meet the young British sensation Amir Khan at the Manchester Evening News Arena.

Speaking from England on Wednesday, King was in a positively giddy mood.

“I’m oh so happy to be here in the U.K.,” bellowed King. “And I’ll tell you now, Marco Antonio Barrera is looking exquisite and although Amir Khan is a terrific young fighter we’re going to take him out. Frank Warren called me a couple of months ago and asked me if Barrera would want this fight and we didn’t hesitate for a second. Yes, yes and yes is what we said! Now we’re here and the time is counting down!”

Although many are already writing Barrera’s fistic obituary, King says they’ll have to stop the presses and do a re-write if they think one of Mexico’s greatest ever fighters is going to lose.

“Marco is going to do it, you know what I mean?” said King. “Marco is going to rise to the occasion. He is a great fighter and the most important thing that I see is that he’s got that flame in his eye and that fire in his belly again. He has the intensity to be resurrected from the dead. Many people think, and Frank Warren is one of them, who think that Marco is old and too long in the tooth.”


Many think Marco Antonio Barrera has been backed into a corner, but he and King see things differently.

King claims that the age discrepancy between Barrera, who is 35, and Khan who is 22, will only make the fight more interesting and Barrera’s victory that much more impressive.

“It’s going to be a war,” promises King. “It’s going to be something that everybody in the world can wonder and say ‘Wow!’ It is going to be a great, great extravaganza and it’s a fight that the boxing fans of the world can’t afford not to buy! But victory will be ours. Viva Mexico! This is a sensational event and Marco Antonio Barrera will knockout Amir Khan.”

The second thing King said would and could happen (as long as a satisfactory deal can be worked out) is about the story that ran on Wednesday regarding a possible “Polish Fight of the Century” between Tomasz Adamek and another of King’s fighters - Andrew Golota.

“That would be a blockbuster of epic proportions,” said King. “But first we’ve got to get Andrew Golota healthy and healed and then we can talk. He is injured right now and Andrew won’t be ready to fight again for a while. You call me back in a couple of months and we’ll have more news for you on that. But that is a fight, between those two Polish superpowers, that would be like two planets colliding! I don’t know what would be left of my wonderful country of Poland after the dust settled. Ha! Ha! Ha!”


King is open to making a fight between two of Poland's favorite sons, Tomasz Adamek (left) and Andrew Golota.

The exact nature of Golota’s injury could not be confirmed as of this writing. But in a fight against Ray Austin in China back in November, Golota was knocked down and he landed awkwardly. As a result, he could not continue and the fight was stopped in the first round. At the time it was thought that Golota damaged his shoulder.

However, sources have told this writer that the shoulder is not the problem now, but that Golota has bone fragments in his right hand that are causing him a great deal of pain. The shoulder has responded well to treatment and physical therapy. Golota is scheduled to undergo surgery within the next few weeks and by the end of May he should be ready to get back into training if all goes well.


March 2009