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Former welterweight titleholders Joshua Clottey and Carlos Quintana both have their eyes on major fights, so they've agreed to go through each other to try to get there.
Clottey and Quintana have agreed to meet Dec. 5 in a scheduled 10-round fight at a maximum contract weight of 149 pounds at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., representatives for both sides told ESPN.com on Monday.
The fight will open the HBO broadcast headlined by middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's much-anticipated defense against Paul Williams.
"The winner probably will be in line for a nice payday and a much bigger fight," said Carl Moretti of Top Rank, which promotes Clottey.
Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), a 32-year-old from Ghana living in New York, is coming off a split decision loss to welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto on June 13, a fight many believed Clottey won.
Clottey had won a vacant 147-pound title in August 2008 when he claimed a nine-round technical decision against former undisputed champ Zab Judah. However, Clottey never defended his title, instead relinquishing it in order to facilitate the major fight with Cotto.
"I think it's a great fight for us. Quintana is a good name for Josh to fight," manager Vinny Scolpino said. "It sets him up for a bigger fight maybe in February or March. Hopefully, Josh will come off this fight with a win and get a big fight. This will definitely be a good, good fight."
Quintana (26-2, 20 KOs), 32, of Puerto Rico, won a title in February 2008 when he won a unanimous decision to hand Williams his only career defeat. However, Williams knocked out Quintana in the first round to regain the belt in the immediate rematch four months later.
Quintana rebounded with a fourth-round knockout of journeyman Joshua Onyango in October, but hasn't fought yet this year.
Like Clottey, Quintana also has a loss to Cotto, although a far more lopsided one. Cotto dominated Quintana en route to a fifth-round knockout when they met for a vacant title in 2005 at Boardwalk Hall.
Lou DiBella, Quintana's promoter, announced an Oct. 24 card last week in Puerto Rico, which was supposed to feature Quintana and fellow former titlist Kermit Cintron in separate bouts. However, DiBella said with the Clottey fight coming together, Quintana was off the card.
"Carlos has accepted the fight with Clottey and the contracts are being sent out. It's a good, tough fight between two tough fighters," said DiBella, who used to promote Clottey. "I think it's a very competitive fight with an interesting contrast of styles. Quintana is a skilled boxer. Clottey is a guy nobody knocks out that is extremely strong and durable. It's a tough fight between guys who are both among the best welterweights in the world."
Clottey's camp and HBO had hoped to match him with Cintron, but Cintron elected to remain on the Oct. 24 card and face Juliano Ramos. Another option for Clottey was former junior welterweight titlist Kendall Holt. But he declined because he has other options and didn't want to move up in weight.
Clottey had originally agreed to a Dec. 26 fight with welterweight champ Shane Mosley, but the fight was scrapped when HBO changed its mind about going with a fight telecast the day after Christmas. To make up for the about face, HBO agreed to put Clottey in the televised Pavlik-Williams co-feature.
Quintana is a left-hander, but Scolpino said he is not concerned about that.
"Josh handles southpaws very well. It doesn't bother him. He just does what he has to do in the ring," said Scolpino, pointing out that Clottey owns wins against lefties such as Judah and Shamone Alvarez.
As for Quintana's chances?
"It depends which Quintana shows up," Moretti said. "If he shows up ready, it's a difficult fight for Clottey. If he doesn't, Clottey is a handful for anybody and he has shown he can handle southpaws."
should be a really good fight, but i expect Clottey to win...
Clottey and Quintana have agreed to meet Dec. 5 in a scheduled 10-round fight at a maximum contract weight of 149 pounds at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., representatives for both sides told ESPN.com on Monday.
The fight will open the HBO broadcast headlined by middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's much-anticipated defense against Paul Williams.
"The winner probably will be in line for a nice payday and a much bigger fight," said Carl Moretti of Top Rank, which promotes Clottey.
Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), a 32-year-old from Ghana living in New York, is coming off a split decision loss to welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto on June 13, a fight many believed Clottey won.
Clottey had won a vacant 147-pound title in August 2008 when he claimed a nine-round technical decision against former undisputed champ Zab Judah. However, Clottey never defended his title, instead relinquishing it in order to facilitate the major fight with Cotto.
"I think it's a great fight for us. Quintana is a good name for Josh to fight," manager Vinny Scolpino said. "It sets him up for a bigger fight maybe in February or March. Hopefully, Josh will come off this fight with a win and get a big fight. This will definitely be a good, good fight."
Quintana (26-2, 20 KOs), 32, of Puerto Rico, won a title in February 2008 when he won a unanimous decision to hand Williams his only career defeat. However, Williams knocked out Quintana in the first round to regain the belt in the immediate rematch four months later.
Quintana rebounded with a fourth-round knockout of journeyman Joshua Onyango in October, but hasn't fought yet this year.
Like Clottey, Quintana also has a loss to Cotto, although a far more lopsided one. Cotto dominated Quintana en route to a fifth-round knockout when they met for a vacant title in 2005 at Boardwalk Hall.
Lou DiBella, Quintana's promoter, announced an Oct. 24 card last week in Puerto Rico, which was supposed to feature Quintana and fellow former titlist Kermit Cintron in separate bouts. However, DiBella said with the Clottey fight coming together, Quintana was off the card.
"Carlos has accepted the fight with Clottey and the contracts are being sent out. It's a good, tough fight between two tough fighters," said DiBella, who used to promote Clottey. "I think it's a very competitive fight with an interesting contrast of styles. Quintana is a skilled boxer. Clottey is a guy nobody knocks out that is extremely strong and durable. It's a tough fight between guys who are both among the best welterweights in the world."
Clottey's camp and HBO had hoped to match him with Cintron, but Cintron elected to remain on the Oct. 24 card and face Juliano Ramos. Another option for Clottey was former junior welterweight titlist Kendall Holt. But he declined because he has other options and didn't want to move up in weight.
Clottey had originally agreed to a Dec. 26 fight with welterweight champ Shane Mosley, but the fight was scrapped when HBO changed its mind about going with a fight telecast the day after Christmas. To make up for the about face, HBO agreed to put Clottey in the televised Pavlik-Williams co-feature.
Quintana is a left-hander, but Scolpino said he is not concerned about that.
"Josh handles southpaws very well. It doesn't bother him. He just does what he has to do in the ring," said Scolpino, pointing out that Clottey owns wins against lefties such as Judah and Shamone Alvarez.
As for Quintana's chances?
"It depends which Quintana shows up," Moretti said. "If he shows up ready, it's a difficult fight for Clottey. If he doesn't, Clottey is a handful for anybody and he has shown he can handle southpaws."
should be a really good fight, but i expect Clottey to win...
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