Shaw Reacts To The WBC Pascal/Hopkins Vote “Boxing Needs To Live By The Signed Contracts”
By William Trillo
As soon as I received the press release from Golden Boy announcing the WBC had voted that Jean Pascal must give Bernard Hopkins an immediate rematch I called promoter Gary Shaw to get his reaction as it is his fighter, Chad Dawson, who would be left standing in the wings if the WBC ruling takes place.
A calm Shaw told me, “We have a contract with Yvon Michel and Jean Pascal and it states that if they wanted to have an interim fight they could, but then they would have an automatic rematch with Chad Dawson. I’ve always dealt with Yvon Michel as a gentleman and I believe he will continue to be a gentleman and deal with me likewise.
Whatever the WBC ruled, that’s up to them. It doesn’t affect my legal contract with Yvon Michel and Jean Pascal. In the contract it says that even if Pascal is stripped of his title, he will fight us in a rematch. So, if they strip him, then they (the WBC) have stripped their champion, but he still has the Ring belt. However, how ironic is it that Golden Boy owns the magazine that owns the Ring belt.”
Shaw then reflected on the Pascal/Hopkins fight saying, “Look, Hopkins got knocked down twice and there is nobody that says for sure Hopkins won that fight, they say it was a close fight. Now the fight Pascal had with Dawson wasn’t close but Chad had him out on his feet in the 11th round, but of course they pulled the shenanigans and the Doctor stopped the fight.
But at any rate, we have a contract with Pascal, and we hope they will do as we would, and honor that contract. I am sure Golden Boy has spoke with Michel many times, but in the end we hope that Michel will realize he has a valid contract with us and will honor it and fight Chad Dawson next. I know why they want to fight Hopkins next, it’s because he is an old man that will be a year older, so in the last time Bernard went down twice, maybe this time he will go down four times.”
In closing Shaw made it clear, “In boxing it’s about time we live by the contracts we sign.”
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
