Uh oh. Hope Kessler has a good excuse. He pulled out.
Kessler withdraws from super middleweight fight with Miranda
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
(Archive)
A May 24 super middleweight showdown between former unified titleholder Mikkel Kessler and brash puncher Edison Miranda imploded Tuesday when Kessler withdrew from the fight.
Miranda promoter Leon Margules of Seminole Warriors Boxing and promoter Lou DiBella, who brokered the deal on behalf of Kessler's Danish promoter Mogens Palle, both were at a loss to explain why Kessler pulled out of a fight that Showtime had already announced on its Web site.
The sides agreed to a deal March 14 and were finalizing the paperwork when, according to Margules, Kessler agent Michael Marley informed Showtime on Tuesday that the fight was off.
"I have no idea why he pulled out. He must be afraid to fight Miranda," Margules told ESPN.com. "We gave them everything they asked for. Showtime gave them everything they asked for."
Margules said Showtime, which agreed to pay $1 million for the fight and beat HBO's offer, wanted the fight so badly that it even agreed to change the date of its "Showtime Championship Boxing" telecast from May 10 to May 24 to accommodate Kessler, who felt he needed additional time to train.
"The Kessler people haven't given me an explanation," Margules said. "They're acting like we're [messing] with them. I'm outraged. If their explanation is that we didn't meet their deal points, I have their points in writing. Everything was in the contract that they asked for. They wanted it to be a 10-round fight. We gave them that because they wouldn't even discuss a 12-rounder. They insisted on all sorts of things and we gave them everything."
Among other concessions given to Kessler: The bout would not take place on Native American property or in Florida. Seminole Warriors Boxing is a Native American-operated promotional company based in Hollywood, Fla.
Also, Kessler was to be paid 400,000 Euros (approximately $600,000 U.S.) and Palle would retain lucrative television rights in Scandinavia, Germany and other territories.
"They took the fight and then they backed out," Margules said. "We had a deal in writing, and although it was not signed yet, we all said, 'We have a deal.' Showtime even had the fight on its Web site. Everything was worked out and my fighter was in camp. And then, no fight."
Margules said Marley didn't even bother to call him and that he found out from Showtime that the fight was off.
DiBella was also disgusted with Kessler and his team.
"I was dealing with Mogens Palle and Mike Marley. I should have expected no less," DiBella said. "I found this fight for Kessler at the request of Mogens and I spent a lot of time working on it. We sent them a contract reflecting everything they asked for. But then Mike wouldn't take my calls for a week and Mogens has been ill. No one ever came back with comments on the contract and then Mike called [Showtime's] Ken Hershman directly and blamed me, saying the contract didn't reflect the deal. Then Ken asked him why they never came back with comments on the contract and Mike changed his tune and said that Kessler had some other opportunity for a world title fight. Which is it?
"The way in which this was handled is preposterous. If they didn't want the fight, just say so. I made an unbelievable deal for the Kessler side but they are too stupid to see it."
Marley didn't return a telephone message or e-mail from ESPN.com seeking comment.
Miranda, who is 2-0 since moving up to super middleweight in the wake of his May 2007 middleweight title elimination loss to Kelly Pavlik, who would go on to win the title, wasn't all that surprised that Kessler withdrew.
The trash-talking Miranda had goaded Kessler into the accepting the fight in the first place.
"I didn't get my hopes up because I know Kessler is afraid of me," Miranda said. "We gave him everything he wanted to make this fight and he still wouldn't take it. In fact, the only thing we didn't give him is the opportunity to tie my hands around my back while we fought. But at this point I'm willing to even give him that because I know if I yelled 'boo' at him in the ring he'd turn and run. I said it before and I'll say it again -- he should be ashamed to call himself a 'Viking Warrior.'"
Kessler (39-1, 29 KOs), of Denmark, hasn't fought since losing his two belts via lopsided decision to Joe Calzaghe in a Nov. 3 unification fight.
Miranda (30-2, 26 KOs), of Colombia, is one of the biggest punchers in the 168-pound division. Both of his losses came at middleweight, a controversial decision in Germany to Arthur Abraham in a 2006 title bout and the loss to Pavlik.
Showtime has not decided what it will do about its May card.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
