This lawyer not raising the bar
It didn't take long for Wladimir Klitschko and Judd Burstein to try to make a federal case out of Klitschko's loss to Lamon Brewster. Literally. Klitschko, the former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion, last week hired Burstein, an ex-mob lawyer who has become boxing's busiest litigator not working for Don King, to press the United States Attorney in Nevada into launching an investigation into the April 10 fight in which Klitschko collapsed from two Brewster punches after apparently punching himself out in fewer than five rounds.
Although Burstein made no formal charges in a letter to Daniel Bogden, he strongly suggested Klitschko may have been drugged. That brings to three the number of excuses Klitschko has made to explain away the growing evidence he is not what people thought.
Immediately after the fight, Klitschko said he'd suffered from unusually high blood sugar, which would account for his sudden tiredness. Then the Klitschkos dismissed Joe Souza, one of the game's best cutmen, before Klitschko's brother Vitali faced Corrie Sanders, claiming Souza had covered the younger Klitschko's arms and legs in Vaseline before the Brewster fight, trapping his body heat and exhausting him in two rounds. That allegation was laughable. Now comes the implication Klitschko was drugged.
Burstein's letter pointed out the betting line fell from 11-1 to 3 1/2-1 just before the fight, and he called the shift "extraordinary." Yet one of the most knowledgeable sports book operators in Las Vegas said last week he didn't find the shift all that unusual or unexpected.
"There was a big move on the [underdog], but the people around Brewster, the Hollywood crowd, bet a lot of money," said Art Manteris, vice president of race and sports operations for
"It was obvious Klitschko was punching himself out. I told people watching the fight. You could see it coming. He was throwing so many bombs. The same thing happened in another fight of his [a loss to journeyman Ross Puritty in 1998 which he ran out of gas and quit on his stool after Round 11]."
Burstein also claimed blood and urine samples taken from Klitschko after the fight were destroyed despite Klitschko's request they be retained for further testing. Burstein called that "incredible" but in the next sentence wrote, "Of course, there are a number of possible explanations, some innocent, for what occurred." One sentence later his reasoning shifted back, as he wrote, "However, one of those possible explanations -- and an eminently reasonable one -- is that those specimens were destroyed in order to hide the truth of what happened to Mr. Klitschko." Klitschko's samples underwent postfight testing, and other than finding high blood sugar there were no suspicious substances, according to commission doctors.
Burstein alleged an all-access credential for one of the fighter's entourage also was missing, implying someone could have used it to gain "unfettered access" to Klitschko's locker room. Of course, all of Klitschko's water bottles and equipment should have been with his cornermen, and his locker room would not have been left unattended once he arrived. So what was Burstein saying, that the culprit poisoned the turnbuckles?
Burstein went so far as to cite a longtime shadowy boxing figure named Robert Mittleman, who pleaded guilty last week to fight fixing in Nevada and to trying to bribe a federal judge and an assistant US attorney in Bogden's office. What Mittleman had to do with what happened to Klitschko is difficult to fathom.
Burstein was one of the loudest employees of Shane Mosley who labeled a similar call by Oscar De La Hoya for an investigation into the honesty of the judges in the Mosley-De La Hoya fight as ridiculous. Apparently his point of view is determined by who is paying his fee.
Short jabs
New York attorney Michael Marley represents Danish promoter Bettina Pelle in the US, and their fighter, Thomas Damgaard, who is the mandatory challenger for World Boxing Association welterweight champion Jose Rivera. The WBA has ordered Rivera to fight Damgaard within 90 days from April 27 and Marley said he has sent at least three letters to King, who has Rivera under contract, to try to get an offer to him but has received no answer. Marley claims if a deal cannot be made for King to promote the fight, Pelle is ready to counteroffer to bring the match to Copenhagen. "[Rivera's manager Steve] Tankanow can say King breached their contract [which he claims], and that's all well and good, but Don King's hobby is suing people," Marley said from New York. "We're not interested in getting involved in that. There's confusion over who's calling the shots, but the WBA said he must fight Damgaard next, no ifs, ands, or buts. We don't care who promotes, but we've asked Don King to make an offer." . . . Marley was asked about the New York State Athletic Commission ruling in Rivera's case in which he did not receive 50 percent of his purse as mandated by the organization's regulations after Ricardo Mayorga failed to make weight for their title fight three weeks ago. "That's an example of the biggest problem in the sport," Marley said. "There aren't any rules. Everything is an exception to an exception to an exception. The bottom line was New York wanted another Don King show, so they didn't want to enforce their own rules." . . . Pelle's father, Mogens, was accused by Mittleman of being involved along with him of fixing at least one fight in Denmark for Danish heavyweight Brian Nielsen. Pelle denied the charge that he was involved in paying a $40,000 bribe to Mittleman and heavyweight Thomas Williams to dump a fight against Nielsen four years ago . . . It is widely believed Mittleman is cooperating with federal officials investigating the operation of Las Vegas promoter Bob Arum. Arum's office was invaded by the FBI several months ago and a number of associates working out of his offices are being investigated for fight fixing, phony medical records, and questionable financial transactions with foreign fighters.
Huge upset
In an upset, the International Boxing Federation granted King an exemption to stage an Andrew Golota-Chris Byrd rematch despite the fact Byrd has a mandatory defense against Jameel McCline pending. McCline refused to step aside, so King petitioned the IBF for the exemption and it was granted. If King agrees to pay Byrd his contractual minimum, the fight could be made by July 10 . . . De La Hoya said at a news conference last week that after he's done with Felix Sturm and Bernard Hopkins he's done with boxing. "Hopkins and that's it," he said. Sure . . . Old friend Bill Caplan reports from the West Coast that producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney studios will make a film on the rise of young Dmitriy Salita and his relationship with New York trainer Jimmy O'Pharrow. The fighter moved to Coney Island when he was 9 after leaving Russia and was regularly beaten up in his neighborhood. That led him to the gym and O'Pharrow, who turned him into a Golden Gloves champion and now an undefeated 17-0 pro prospect promoted by Arum . . . Top-rated Kassim Ouma will fight for the vacant IBF junior middleweight title June 5 on Showtime against No. 2 ranked Verno Phillips . . . A team of 10 New England amateurs will leave next week for London to fight at the Fisher Club in the second annual Pender-Downes Challenge Cup. Five Boston fighters, Matt Ryan, Pat Long, Deshawn Parris, Billy Traft, and Tony LaMonica, will be among the 10. Anyone interested in donating to help them get to London can call 617-972-1711 or e-mail coachGregg@bostonboxing.com.
Ouma was set to challenge undisputed champion Winky Wright, but Wright chose to sign for an immediate rematch with Mosley and the IBF reacted by stripping him of the title. Ouma won a unanimous decision from Phillips three years ago Ouma was set to challenge undisputed champion Winky Wright, but Wright chose to sign for an immediate rematch with Mosley and the IBF reacted by stripping him of the title. Ouma won a unanimous decision from Phillips three years ago
