WBO orders purse bid for Peter Quillin-Mat Korobov

WBO orders purse bid for Peter Quillin-Mat Korobov

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Thursday afternoon that the WBO has ordered negotiations to begin pitting their middleweight champion Peter Quillin against Mat Korobov.

That’s all fine and dandy, but Quillin (31-0, 22 knockouts) is promoted (not on paper) by Golden Boy Promotions and Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) by Top Rank. Though Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya and his former promoter slash enemy slash newfound buddy again Bob Arum have thawed their rivalry, they still have yet to negotiate a fight with one another. If the two sides cannot come to an agreement in the next 30 days, the fight would go to purse bid.

A purse bid is responsible for the only two Top Rank-Golden Boy fights of the past several years. In November of 2012, Vanes Martirosyan (Top Rank) fought Erislandy Lara (Golden Boy) to a technical draw in an IBF eliminator at 154 pounds. Almost two weeks ago, Vasyl Lomachenko (Top Rank) lifted the WBO featherweight crown against Gary Russell Jr. (Golden Boy) in a bout for the vacant belt.

Though it is nice that a somewhat meaningful bout between the two promoters is likely to happen, it is a bit underwhelming that it is happening with a fight as lightly appreciated as Quillin-Korobov. Quillin hasn’t fought a true middleweight contender in his three fights since seizing the title from Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in a competitive bout in October 2012. Many felt Quillin was lucky to escape with a win over Gabriel Rosado a few fights ago and Korobov would be another in a series of “who cares” fights for Quillin.

Korobov got his first taste of regular HBO airwaves exposure last weekend, outpointing unbeaten but unheralded Jose Uzcategui in the co-feature to Terence Crawford‘s magnificent performance against Yuriorkis Gamboa in Omaha. Though Korobov showed flashes of what made him a highly regarded prospect coming out of the amateurs and 2008 Olympic games, it has taken him a long time to get to this stage and he doesn’t appear to be ready for a fight of this magnitude. Then again, he might never be ready and it is an opportunity to strike while the iron is lukewarm.

Gary Russell Jr. and Vasyl Lomachenko is the latest fight to have taken place between GBP and TR from a purse bid. Lomachenko outpointed Russell Jr. to claim vacant WBO title.

If the fight gets De La Hoya and Arum sitting ringside next to each other to take in a fight and perhaps shake off some more of the disdain, then that would be a victory worth staging the fight.

It is also important to note that Quillin is not under contract with Golden Boy, despite the company carrying the torch for the unbeaten fighter. Quillin is just one of several fighters (including Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter) that has somehow landed this arrangement through mutual adviser Al Haymon. This is also what appears to be the central case being made against recently departed Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer in terms of him not acting in the best interests of the company while De La Hoya toiled away in rehab for several months. The company’s relationship with fighters like Quillin and Thurman predates De La Hoya’s recent bout with substance abuse. This begs the question how something like this flew under the noses of so many other high-ranking officers in Golden Boy, of which there used to be many. Perhaps this explains the recent casting off of central pieces to the company’s success in the form of firings or resignations.

Let’s hope the least we can get out of this matchup is some good vibes between the two rivals.

-Mark E. Ortega / @MarkEOrtega

-Managing editor at www.BehindTheGloves.com