By Darren S. Barcomb: Montreal’s SP Promotion has announced it still plans to go forward with its February 25th show at the Pierre Charbonneau Centre even though their three announced headline bouts have been cancelled. Originally scheduled to fight were:
• Tommy “The Duke” Morrison (48-3-1, 42 KO’s) versus Erik Barrak (3-0, 2 KO’s)
• “Merciless” Ray Mercer(36-7-1, 26 KO’s) versus Stephane Tessier (3-26-1)
• Joe Gatti (30-8, 22 KO’s) versus Walid Smichet (20-7-3, 14 KO’s)
It was a royal gala planned to showcase two former heavyweight champions and a local born former middleweight contender. Once they threw in some popular local talent, it seemed like it would be an interesting and enjoyable boxing card. Things don’t always go as planned though.
Morrison was unable to obtain licensing from Quebec’s Boxing Commission (RACJ). Mercer, Gatti, and Smichet were removed from the event without explanation, and even the certainty of the show occurring was called into question. The promoters were mum on updates and their website remained unchanged. Not exactly the best way to get a new promotion off of the ground.
Difficulties aside, SP Promotion has now announced that the show will indeed go on, just not quite as planned. The newly announced line-up is quite different, but SP hopes to still make the event a success. The new card includes:
• Eric Barrak (3-0) versus Matt Weishaar (4-1-2)
• Wayne John (4-1) versus Louis Sylvera (2-1)
• Stephane Landry (Pro. Debut) versus Francois Miville (Pro. Debut)
• Stephane Tessier (3-26-1) versus Andreiy Ivanov (4-6-0)
• Frank Cotroni Jr. (Pro. Debut) versus Eric Forget (0-1)
• Mickael Gadbois (Pro. Debut) versus James Carpio (1-0)
SP has publically stated that anyone who previously purchased a $25 or $50 ticket to the event will now get an extra complementary ticket to help make up for the scheduling changes. Also, it appears that Tommy Morrison will still be in attendance at the event. He is scheduled to be in the corner of Weishaar, whom he defeated by third round TKO in 2008.
It’s good to see that Morrison, who certainly wanted to fight, is still helping the promotion by making a guest appearance. Suddenly though, the card went from star status to local curiosity. Morrison’s continued participation leaves the door open for a future appearance if he can ever come to agreement with the RACJ over testing methods for his alleged HIV infection.
So the show will go on in Montreal on the 25th, but it will be interesting to see if the fans still come out. Perhaps the crowd will be able to see the next Tommy Morrison or Ray Mercer make his debut, but they probably would much rather see the real thing.
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