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Undefeated 154-pound titleholder Sergiy Dzinziruk is the latest fighter to rip Universum Promotions, and claims he'll never fight for the company again. He blames the promotional company for blowing the negotiations for two major fights this year and is threatening to sue them over his contract if he needs to.
Dzinziruk was supposed to fight James Kirkland, and even before Kirkland blew his own career to pieces with a gun charge, that promising fight had fallen apart. He was then in talks to face Paul Williams on October 3, and Williams will now face middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.
"When I asked Universum executives whether the fight would take place on October 3 for sure, they just nodded. 'Don't worry, everything is settled down. Just do your training,' they told me. So I started my training camp. Worked two weeks in my hometown, Brovary, and then moved to Hamburg. I'd been training for a week in the Universum gym and then this news came. I'm still shocked."
Regarding his contract:
"I consulted my lawyers and they explained that the unilateral prolongation of contract is against the law. It's violation of human rights. If Universum doesn't let me go, I'll sue them. ... I'd rather hang my self than work with the Germans again."
Dzinziruk also claims that "two well-known American companies" are interested in signing him. If I were a betting man, I'd bet one is Don King, but that's total speculation.