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Forget it Hamed's trainer says fight with Ayala won't happen
Posted: Tuesday May 23, 2000 07:08 PM
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A bout between WBA bantamweight champion Paulie Ayala and WBO featherweight champ "Prince" Naseem Hamed apparently is off. Lester Bedford, Ayala's promoter, told a fight crowd Friday in Fort Worth that a deal for the fight was 90 percent done, but Hamed's trainer Emmanuel Steward told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Monday the fight would not happen. He said the high-profile matchup was mentioned to him a couple of weeks ago, but nothing concrete was discussed. "I was not even contacted about it," Steward said. Top Rank president Bob Arum said the deal had been worked out with Hamed's camp, but Steward turned it down. "We agreed on numbers, contracts, everything," said Top Rank vice president Todd Deboef. "We're really disgusted we took time out of our day and accommodated, and they backed out. To turn down Paulie Ayala is a joke." Ayala would have been in line for the biggest payday of his career, about $600,000, to fight Hamed. He would've needed to put on several pounds to fight as a featherweight, but said he would have gladly done so for the chance at another title and so much money. The featherweight limit is 126 pounds, eight more than the bantamweight limit. "I had nothing to lose and everything to gain," Ayala said. "I don't think I would have stayed at featherweight, but to beat him would have been something." Top Rank's Bruce Trampler said Ayala might now fight in a rematch against David Vazquez, possibly on a June 17 fight card at Los Angeles. Ayala won a unanimous decision over Vazquez in Fort Worth on Feb. 20, 1999.
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