HURTADO MAY BE FORCED TO PULL OUT OF ESPN BOUT
Diosbelys Hurtado may be forced out of his January 16th ESPN2 Friday Night Fights with “Lil” Joe Hutchinson at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. “He had his wisdom teeth pulled and we are waiting to see if he can continue,” acknowledged Luis DeCubas, manager of Hurtado. Hurtado (36-3-1, 24 KOs), the former WBA jr. welterweight champion, is moving up in weight to the welterweight division in hopes of a face-off with one of the champions at 147. Hurtado vs. Hutchinson, for the IBA welterweight title, is still penciled in as the chief support to the headline event featuring Minnesota’s local sensation Matt “The Predator” Vanda (29-0, 20 KOs) vs. world title challenger Sam Garr (33-7, 29 KOs). “Diosbelys is in tremendous shape. We have to wait and see what happens in the next day or so,” stated DeCubas to FightNews.com. Hurtado has been training in San Bernardino, California with fellow Team Freedom members Juan Carlos Gomez and Joel Casamayor.
Six-time World Champion Sugar Ray Leonard will be at the Minneapolis Convention Center in two weeks cheering on Vanda and the rest of the six-fight card of which he is the promoter. Leonard says of Vanda, “This kid has the whole package. Great skills inside the ring, combined with a true fighters heart and the willingness to mix it up anywhere, anytime and with anyone. Matt’s got all the qualities of a potential superstar”. Tickets for “The Predator’s Snow Brawl” are available at all Ticket Master locations, or by calling Ticket Master at 651-989-5151, online at www.ticketmaster.com or through Brunette Boxing (651) 779-6248.
12/31/03