Promoter Duva speaks on heavyweight mandatories.

In the aftermath of last weekend’s disappointing IBF Heavyweight title fight, Promoter Dino Duva issued the following statement:

Still embroiled in prolonged negotiations for his fighter Samuel Peter’s twice-earned shot at the WBC Heavyweight Champion Oleg Maskaev, promoter Dino Duva, of Duva Boxing, says Saturday was a good indication of the problems with today’s heavyweight division.

“What’s going on right now in the heavyweight division is exactly what’s wrong with it. Saturday, you had a mandatory where the IBF forced Wladimir Klitschko to fight Ray Austin, who by the way didn’t win his last fight, and he turned out to be a dog,” said Duva of Klitschko’s two-round demolition. “And on the other side, you have the WBC trying to prevent a deserving mandatory challenger like Sam Peter from getting his title fight. This is what’s wrong with boxing. The two opposite ends of the spectrum. One organization forced a true champion to fight a bum mandatory, and on the other side another organization is preventing their true mandatory from fighting the champion.”

Duva says that fiascos like Saturday’s non-fight and the WBC’s attempts to hijack Peter’s title shot (in favor of awarding nearly three years retired ex-champion Vitali Klitschko the fight) are major symptoms of what is a big problem for the heavyweight division and boxing as a whole.

“I don’t blame Wladimir Klitschko for Saturday’s disgraceful spectacle because he was doing what he had to do to keep his title, but this is what gives critics ammunition to criticize the sport. Why don’t the right things get done? Samuel Peter is the most deserving mandatory in the heavyweight division in a long, long time. How about taking away people’s distaste for what happened last Saturday by forcing Maskaev to fight a real mandatory challenger?