Tito didn't show up for weigh-ins yesterday for his boxing match against Dana White today. LOL Oh the saga!
ORTIZ PULLS PUNCHES
Fighter No-Shows Weigh-Ins for Boxing Showdown Today With UFC Promoter White
By Loretta Hunt (loretta@thefightnetwork.com)
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz failed to appear yesterday to weigh in for an exhibition boxing match scheduled to take place today at noon at the Ultimate Fighter Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ortiz’s intended opponent, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, did step onto the scales and recorded a weight of 197 pounds, an allowable one-pound differential to the 196-pound limit set by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Ortiz would have been required to weigh in at 205 pounds for the three-round, three-minute stand-up bout.
The no-show was just another turn in what has become a mixed martial arts attraction paralleling what one could see in pro wrestling’s World Wrestling Entertainment storylines.
A disgruntled Ortiz, 32, has publicly stated he’d asked the boxing bout be added when he renegotiated his contract with the UFC organization in 2005. Prior to taking the helm of the UFC, 37-year-old White has acted as the dynamic fighter’s manager. The pair has both publicly vocalized their differences, but had agreed to leave it in the ring after the promoter-fighter showdown.
The bout had already been postponed once late last year when the NSAC intervened claiming it had jurisdiction to oversee it.
On March 5, the NSAC had voted 3-1 to allow the exhibition bout. World-renowned boxing referee Jay Nady has been assigned to officiate, says NSAC Executive Keith Kizer; while the venue’s resident Octagon had been removed and replaced with a boxing ring for today’s event. Kizer had watched White spar one week ago and gave final approval that day. Both applicants had agreed that no head gear would be worn* and to use standard 10 ounce gloves, says Kizer.
“I’m not going to recommend this bout to the Commission again,” Kizer said today. “I’m very surprised Mr. Ortiz didn’t show up without as much as a phone call. It was a waste of me and my staff’s time.”
Kizer says that White had told him he’d received a voicemail from Ortiz two days prior saying he would “let him off the hook” but believed that to be pre-fight banter and that the bout was still on. Kizer says no disciplinary action will be pursued.
Spike TV has been documenting both participants’ preparations for the bout that was to have been broadcasted on the Internet with the majority of the proceeds going to charity. The cable channel still plans to air the documentary at a later time.
Neither White nor Ortiz could be reached for comment.
* Correction made from first post.
POSTED -- 03/24/07
Anything I post- is my opinion!
AI
