January 8, 1999
CAN GOLOTA SURVIVE THE "THUNDER"? On January 30, 1999, heavyweight contender Andrew Golota (32-3, 27 KO's) will battle former WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion Jimmy Thunder (33-9, 26 KO's) in a 10 round co-feature bout on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" program. The main event that evening will feature Michael Grant (28-0, 20 KO's), the fighter recognized by many boxing insiders as the future of the heavyweight division, who will challenge Ahmad Abdin in a 12 round contest for the vacant NABF crown... This is not the first time that Grant and Golota have appeared together on a fight card. On March 15, 1996, in a program entitled, "Night of the Young Heavyweights," Grant destroyed Corey Sanders (TKO 2), while Golota diamantled Danell Nicholson (TKO 8). Ironically, Bally's Park Place, host of the January 30 fight card, also hosted the March 15, 1996 card... Thunder's bout with Golota will be his first since upsetting two-time world heavyweight champion "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon on April 7, 1998 (W 10)...
1999: SECOND COMING OF GOLOTA? Should Golota defeat Thunder, expect him to participate in a major heavyweight showdown sometime in 1999. No opponents have been chosen, but Mike Tyson's name has been whispered as a possibility; however, Dino Duvas has stated that he intended to make a "major fight involving Golota as soon as possible"...
BACK TO WORK: WBC heavyweight champion Len-nox Lewis (34-1, 27 KO's) will begin training camp next week in the Poconos, NY. Lewis has been training feverishly in Toronto, Canada for the past few weeks. Insiders report that this is the most focused that Lewis has been since turning pro... This week former WBA welterweight champion Ike "Bazooka" Quartey (34-0-1, 29 KO's) will return to his Pensacola, FL training camp to prepare for his February 13, 1999 showdown with WBC welterweight champion Oscar de la Hoya. Quarterly has been training doggedly in Ghana since the cancellation of their originally scheduled November 21, 1999 bout. In fact, he is reportedly in better shape now than he was in November...
JUDAH TO OPEN SHOW: On January 16, 1999, USBA-interim junior welterweight champion Zabdiel Judah (18-0, 13 KO's) will battle Wilfredo Negron in a bout for the vacant IBF-interim junior welterweight title. The 12 round bout will open the Mike Tyson-Francois Botha pay-per-view broadcast...
"PRETTY BOY" FOR CHAVEZ? Discussions are underway for a possible Spring 1999 bout between WBC lightweight champion Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather Jr. and WBC #1 ranked junior lightweight contender Jesus Chavez (26-1, 17 KO's)... Main Events expects to receive an official decision regarding Chavez's immigration problems within the next few months...
MISCELLANEOUS
David Tua's (32-1, 27 KO's) victory over Hasim Rabman on December 19, 1998, earned him the IBF's #1 ranking. Although Rabman filed a protest with the IBF contesting the result of the bout, Dino Duva expects the IBF will make the right decision and provide Tua with the #1 ranking." Duva added that he intends to match Tua against the IBF heavyweight champion when the IBF mandatory defense date arrives in the late summer... Heavyweight Michael Moorer (39-2, 31 KO's) will return to the ring in Spring 1999. Moorer is recovering from shoulder surgery... Arturo Gatti (29-4, 24 KO's) will rest for the next few months to recover from his December 12, 1998 epic war against Ivan Robinson (27-2, KO's), but will return to the ring in Spring 1999...
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