Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 3/7/08

1. Jose Luis Castillo was asked to weigh in yesterday after the Heavyweights, a full day before he was scheduled to weigh in. Castillio weighed 147.5, that is 7.5 pounds too much. He had as of yesterday 24 hours to make 140. More to come on this.
UPDATE: Jose Luis Castillo has officially backed out of his fight against Timothy Bradley in Cancun, Mexico. Castillo released a statement saying due to stomach pains his doctor and trainers thought it would best for him to not fight. The stomach issues were making it hard for Castillo to lose those last 3 pounds. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess. This is the 3rd time Castillo has had issues with weight. Twice against Diego Corrales he missed the 135 limit and then he missed the weight here although not officially.

2. Ronnie Shields will not be in the corner of Juan Diaz. Shields broke his leg in Cancun. Derwin Richards who trained Diaz for his fight against Julio Diaz will work the corner.

3. Ricky Hatton has officially signed with Golden Boy Promotions. This is a move we had already seen coming, glad it is official now.

4. TJ Wilson who lost on ShoBox last week, 2/29/08, to Travis Walker tested positive for marijuana. He was fined $500 and has been suspended till May 29.

5. Zahir Raheem vs. "Kid Diamond" Almazbek Raiymkulov will take place on April 18, 2008 as a lightweight title eliminator on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.

6. The IBF Cruiserweight Title Eliminator between O'Neil Bell and Tomasz Adamek will be aired live on ESPN Classic April 19, 2008.

7. Timothy Bradley became the WBC Junior Welterweight mandatory challenger to Junior Witter when he weighed in at 139lbs. Since Bradley made weight and Castillo could not and pulled out of the fight, Bradley automatically became Witter's mandatory.

8. Evander Holyfield who is a 4-time Heavyweight Champion and also the first Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion of the World will be ringside at the David Haye-Enzo Maccarinelli fight on March 8, 2008. Holyfield, who is in England promoting his autobiography, said after hearing how explosive both these fighters are he had to be ringside to see them.