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Tavoris Cloud signs with Don King, pulls out of Johnson fight

Tavoris Cloud won't be getting into the ring with Glen Johnson on April 10.

Tavoris Cloud won't be getting into the ring with Glen Johnson on April 10.

In a very disappointing bit of news, BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno reports that light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud has withdrawn from his April 10 fight with Glen Johnson, claiming a hamstring injury. In "unrelated news," Cloud has signed with Don King, meaning a legal battle is on the horizon.

Cloud was fighting for Richie Boy Promotions, but allegedly their contract is not valid. Though Cloud's injury is the official reason he's pulling out of the fight, Reeno says that everyone is blaming King for the cancellation of the fight, but they're probably the exact people you'd expect would blame King, i.e. those that are burned by Cloud signing with DKP.

As for Cloud signing with King, that's a whole other ball of wax. Everyone has their feelings on Don King and I'll leave all that out of it, but the fact is he's just not much of a promoter anymore. If Cloud had wanted to sign with a big dog promoter, I'm sure Top Rank, Golden Boy or DiBella would have been more than happy to talk turkey with him, and they are all far more active as fight promoters than King is these days. Look at what's happened to Devon Alexander's development under King. The fact that he holds a world title is pure talent, really, and he's getting his first HBO main event on Saturday. But it's been a long, frustrating road for Alexander, and his team has not been shy about their feelings for King's poor steering of Alexander's career.

Cloud (20-0, 18 KO) is 28 years old already. I know that's not old, but it's not exactly young for a guy with 20 pro fights, either. And he is very talented, a machine of a fighter who has an entertaining style and could be a real TV star with the way he goes about his business once the bell rings.

But Cloud also sat on his mandatory for a year while knowing full well he wasn't going to get a fight with Chad Dawson, who then held the IBF belt that Cloud now has. Cloud won it against Clinton Woods in August, and has sat out since then, too. The fight with Woods was Cloud's first in 12 months.

I'm also not saying that King won't be a better political promoter than the guys with whom Cloud was working. He probably will be. But overall, Don just doesn't get many TV dates anymore, and his stable of fighters is pretty lacking. That could be a strength if he used his limited crop to really focus in on a few guys (Alexander, Cloud, Joseph Agbeko, etc.), but he hasn't proven that he'll do that.

Still, King isn't looking to vacate, at least not now. Right now, they're asking for a medical extension.

For more on the situation, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com has quotes from Lou DiBella that will lead plenty to believe the injury is a sham.

To replace Cloud-Johnson as the co-feature to Andre Berto-Carlos Quintana on April 10, HBO is already trying to set up a featherweight battle between junior featherweight titlist Celestino Caballero and Indonesian Daud Yordan. That's a very suitable replacement, and the winner would be right in the hunt as HBO starts focusing in on the featherweights, putting heavy stock into Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa in particular.

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why?

this is a real shame, both Cloud’s injury and his signing with King. wtf?

"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"

by lcollins1 on Mar 2, 2010 11:58 PM EST reply actions  

I’m not pretending to know anything about what King offered, what Cloud might have been offered from anyone else, but on the surface signing with King is putrid. The people at DKP have always been friendly in the past but facts are facts, and Don is maybe the No. 5 promoter in the United States now, behind Top Rank, Golden Boy, DiBella and Goosen Tutor.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by SC on Mar 3, 2010 12:05 AM EST up reply actions  

I'd put him behind Gary Shaw as well

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 9:22 AM EST up reply actions  

Yep. Gary just slipped my mind.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by SC on Mar 3, 2010 1:37 PM EST up reply actions  

Just when you think the handling of Cloud can't get any worse ...

… he goes and signs with Don King. Amazing. How much does this guy hate his own career?

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on Mar 3, 2010 9:45 AM EST up reply actions  

wtf indeed. Why would you want to go with King and not fight anyone of note…

by waldo47 on Mar 3, 2010 2:22 AM EST up reply actions  

Of all the upcoming fights on the schedule, I would have rated this one as the most likely to deliver Fight of the Year type action. This is a real downer.

TheBoxingBulletin.com

by A.F. on Mar 3, 2010 1:23 AM EST reply actions  

Yeah, I’m now just hoping the fight gets saved for later in the year. Johnson doesn’t know how to back down and Cloud’s whole game is backing guys down. It had explosive written all over it.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by SC on Mar 3, 2010 1:44 AM EST up reply actions  

It will either happen eventually

Or they’ll strip Cloud, and frankly, Cloud isn’t worth a pile of beans without that belt.

If Cloud gets stripped anyway, we’ll probably end up with Johnson-Cleverly for the vacant belt, which could also be a great fight.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 9:24 AM EST up reply actions  

That said

If there’s one thing Don King is great at, it’s getting the sanctioning bodies to bend their rules a little to keep his fighters from getting stripped and/or near the top of the rankings.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 9:36 AM EST up reply actions  

i for one would love dkp to get a nice stable of fighters again, he put on the best cards in the history of the sport. don is old though and carl is nearly as ambitious as him.

as for cloud. i dont see him having a problem getting on tv signing with king. showtime will be glad to have him. hbo has no clue who he is yet.

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

.

by sonofapsycho on Mar 3, 2010 8:30 AM EST reply actions  

DKP is a career ruiner at this point

Joseph Agbeko and Juan Diaz are the closest things to success stories, and Diaz had a good built in home fanbase. However, look at the other guys for whom he’s the main promoter or recently was the main promoter:

Steve Cunningham (Marketable, great personality, has been involved in some wars, but has made no real efforts to try to promote him)
Guillermo Jones (fought once a year for past 5 years)
Devon Alexander (been sitting on his belt forever)
Cory Spinks (same)
Nate Campbell (not his last couple fights, but the bankruptcy and all that was in part due to King)
Daniel Santos (fought once a year for past 5 years)
Luis Perez (fought once a year for past 5 years)
Kali Meehan (stuck on a #1 contender spot for 2+ years and just getting his eliminator)
Bermane Stiverne
Ricardo Mayorga (who’s gone to MMA rather than continue to fight under the contract)
Luis Collazo (fights once a year)
Travis Simms (sat out for three years during his prime to get out from the contract)
Elio Rojas (titlist can’t even get a TV spot or a home fight)
Paulus Moses (same)

All of these guys fight maybe once a year? And some of them should have names by now but really have none.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 9:35 AM EST up reply actions  

HBO was ready to put him on TV on 4/10. Bob Arum’s getting boxing in Cowboys Stadium and Yankee Stadium (with Joshua Clottey and Yuri Foreman, no less) while Don is excited because he’s “back” in Vegas at the Treasure Island Casino. Only in America!

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by SC on Mar 3, 2010 1:39 PM EST up reply actions  

made some points but others just reek of just plain dislike for king.

Devon Alexander – unification fight with urango next, last fight was title win vs witter, in august. not that long ago. hardly been a champion “forever”

Cory Spinks – who gives a shit really? nobody outside of st. louis thats for sure. he would be nowhere near a champion if it wasn’t for king.

campbell – blaming his bankrupsy on king? that a stretch to say the least. going to blame his weight problems on him as well? how about his quit job and ass kicking by bradley? kings fault for sure.

santos – refused many fights including a unification fight martinez and a fight with mayorga. then got his ass kicked by yuri foreman of all people. blame king for that too?

mayorga – past his prime limited brawler but still got big money fights with shane, tito, dlh and ppvs with vargas. not too bad.

Kali Meehan – lol your love affair with this no talent is well known. nobody else gives two shits about him.

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

.

by sonofapsycho on Mar 3, 2010 10:04 AM EST reply actions  

I don't care one way or the other, but your points reak of being

the dreaded incorrect.

Devon Alexander – His career has been mishandled. Let’s not go crazy here. 7 months is a reasonable (if slightly long) turn around time, but getting where he got…. that took a while. No one seriously argues that his career hasn’t been mishandled.

Cory Spinks – Was for a time legitimately top 3 at 154. King made him good at boxing? Some sanctioning body would have thrown him a belt.

Campbell – This one the bankruptcy can be blamed in part on King. Taking forever to set up his first fight post Diaz, then it getting scratched due to a poor opponent choice.

Santos – Part of that likely has to do with money which can be blamed on King in part.

Mayorga – I agree he did reasonably with him for a while. But apparently that ran out towards the end and he left boxing.

Meehan – I agree can’t box, but he had an eliminator hes sat on for 2 years. Seems sort of excessive.

by laksskal on Mar 3, 2010 12:30 PM EST up reply actions  

Devon Alexander – His career has been mishandled. Let’s not go crazy here. 7 months is a reasonable (if slightly long) turn around time, but getting where he got…. that took a while. No one seriously argues that his career hasn’t been mishandled.

yea im sure if he was thrown in too early it would have been kings fault as well.

Cory Spinks – Was for a time legitimately top 3 at 154. King made him good at boxing? Some sanctioning body would have thrown him a belt.

what the hell are you talking about? king made him good at boxing? wtf? hes a blown up welterweight who king got a title shot. hes also a guy nobody wants to watch fight.

Campbell – This one the bankruptcy can be blamed in part on King. Taking forever to set up his first fight post Diaz, then it getting scratched due to a poor opponent choice. lol @ “poor oppontent choice.”

  you have no clue what you’re talking about. he was only getting a shot a top 10 pound for pounder. but hey, who would want a fight like that? and yea yea, lets blame king as well for him not being able to handle his money…that hes earned throughout his long career.

Santos – Part of that likely has to do with money which can be blamed on King in part.

part likely, part, part, likely. jibberish

Meehan – I agree can’t box, but he had an eliminator hes sat on for 2 years. Seems sort of excessive.

and who got him his undeserved eliminator shot in the first place?

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

.

by sonofapsycho on Mar 3, 2010 12:47 PM EST up reply actions  

See my response below

He’s done well for fringe heavyweights. I’m not blaming Campbell on King, but it was a factor that played into his bankruptcy. He publicly stated that part of the reason for the bankruptcy was to get out of his DKP contract.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 12:49 PM EST up reply actions  

Santos didn't refuse the Mayorga fight

Mayorga did. Mayorga had a habit of pulling out of fights after they were already scheduled. That’s not King’s fault, but it doesn’t change the fact that Mayorga publicly said he’s moving to MMA because he never wants to fight for Don King again.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions  

And King probably deserves some credit for keeping his heavyweights in the mix

Somehow, he got John Ruiz multiple title shots, got DaVarryl Williamson and Ray Austin multiple eliminators and got Kali Meehan in an eliminator position at all, and helped keep Nic Valuev near the top of rankings. On the other hand, he’s held that belt hostage for about 7 years now. Other than Chagaev and now Haye, he’s had a piece of that belt since Wlad lost to Brewster.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions  

lol yea and im sure king is heartbroken at not having to deal with a guy like mayorga anymore.

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

.

by sonofapsycho on Mar 3, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions  

BTW, the King discussion is overshadowing the fact that

Caballero-Yordan is a great fight. I don’t know whether it’s just that Caballero’s promoters and matchmakers suck, but the guy just seems to take all comers. Lots of unheralded but dangerous opponents on his resume, and most of his fights have been in his opponents’ backyards.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Mar 3, 2010 1:40 PM EST reply actions  

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