McGee Receives "Athlete of the Year Award"

"Merciless" Mary McGee and One In A Million, Inc. President/CEO Octavius James Celebrating Mary's award

GEM Awards Honored Gary Native Along With Other Well Known Celebrities From Gary & Northwest Indiana

July 14 (Merrillville, In) - While back in his native Gary, IN last week, Octavius James visited Gary's City Hall to discuss upcoming plans between the city and "Merciless" Mary McGee. "There are big things coming up between the partnership of Mayor Rudy Clay, the City of Gary and One In A Million Inc.; these are definitely some exciting times for all involved," said James.

Merciless" Mary McGee, who is currently ranked #3 in the world in the lightweight division, has won golden gloves, two world championships and now the Gary native has staked claim to her first Gary Entertainment Music (GEM) Athlete of the Year award.

"I'm extremely happy they selected me and I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to be there in person to accept the award," said McGee, who wasn't able to make the award show due to her having a previous commitment. "It's definitely an honor to receive this award since I am from and love the city of Gary."

The 22-year old is currently unbeaten (17-0, 10 KOs) and coming off the biggest fight of her young career with a 10-round majority decision over the WBF Light Welterweight World Champion Kristy "Rose" Follmar earning the vacant WBC International Super Lightweight world championship and successfully defending the NABC Lightweight title.

WBC International and NABC World Lightweight Champion Mary McGee with her (GEM) Athlete of the Year Award.

"I couldn't make it back in time for the award show but Mary and myself were able last week to go and celebrate this incredible award," said Octavius James, C.E.O. of One In A Million Inc. "I'm just pleased to see that she is getting some huge positive recognition for all her hard work and we definitely are excited for her and appreciate GEM for honoring her for her accomplishments." James said.

The GEM awards are given to those individuals inside Gary and Northwest Indiana that have excelled inside their industry with the idea of helping motivate younger artists within music and other genres through seeing other local talent succeed in their industries on the grandest stages.

McGee will be making her highly anticipated return to the ring since defeating Follmar in a mesmerizing 10-round bout on Octavius James' One In A Million Inc.'s upcoming fight card.

Also scheduled will be Jimmy "Fight School Teacher" Holmes (18-1-2, 9 KO's), Ed "2 Fast 2 Furious" Ochoa (9-0, 8 KO's), Derrick "Superman" Findley (13-3, 8 KO's), Josh Crouch (5-0, 5 KO's) and Marcus Thompkins (4-0, 1 KO) with the location and date to be announced soon.

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http://www.oneinamillionboxing.com/

Thought of Regaining Title Consumes The Ghost

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Story by Josh Koehn ~ Gilroy Dispatch: Photo by Daisy Rosas
The closer it gets, the more Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero wants it. Climbing back to the status of champion has taken longer than Guerrero expected, but the Gilroy native, who relinquished his IBF featherweight title more than a year ago to move up a weight class and was forced to take time off due to dispute with his former promoter, says he isn't about to be preoccupied with anything but winning when opportunity knocks.

An Aug. 22 title fight against IBF junior lightweight champion Malcolm Klassen (24-4-2, 14 KOs) has Guerrero once again leaving the comfy confines of his hometown to be isolated in training. Preparing in Los Angeles for his last bout, an eighth-round stoppage of Efren Hinojosa in June, Guerrero (24-1-1, 17 KOs) will be spending the next five weeks in the mountains of Big Bear, Calif. before flying directly to Houston the week of the fight.

The plan is to "get out there in camp, work hard, work on everything," Guerrero said. "Just making those sacrifices and being prepared like I was last fight."

Trying to shake off rust in his last fight after spending just 12 rounds in the ring in more than two years - as well as silence critics after a second-round no-contest in March allowed some to label him a quitter after not continuing with a deep cut - Guerrero knows this bout, his third title shot, is a make-or-break stepping stone in his career. A new belt could set up unification bouts or possibly even bigger fights at the lightweight division.

"We were looking to get the (Juan) Diaz fight and that fell through," Guerrero said. "I have a good promotional team, management team - take care of this fight and it's all right there."
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For more information regarding the August 22nd event, please visit http://www.goldenboypromotions.com/.

CARINA "LA REINA" MORENO
GIVES INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH TO LATE GRADUATING STUDENTS IN HER COMMUNITY OF WATSONVILLE CALIFORNIA

Four-time world champion, Carina "La Reina" Moreno (21-1, 6 KO's), was asked to give a commencement speech to the late 2009 graduates of Aptos, Watsonville and Pajaro Valley High Schools. The ceremony took place at the Mello Center in Watsonville California, where Moreno gave an inspiring speech, congratulating all the students on their accomplishment, struggle and dedication to get their diploma. Students were encouraged to continue the quest for a better education.

"I feel its important that all students to get their diploma and go to college, said Carina. "To build a brighter future for tomorrow, we need to keep the next generation of students in school. It makes me feel good that I was able to give some inspiration to the students that were present. I'm hoping they will continue to better their education."

MORENO BLOWS THE WHISTLE AT THE START OF THE ROLLER DERBY MATCH BETWEEN THE SANTA CRUZ DERBY GIRLS VS THE BAKERSFIELD REVOLUTION

Carina was the honorary guest asked to blow the whistle at the start of the game between the Santa Cruz Derby Girls versus the Derby Revolution of Bakersfield. She is pictured with announcer Timothy Jordan and Lex Van Den Berghe of "Survivor" along with Steve Wozniak of "Apple" fame. Moreno took pictures with both teams after the match and was asked to try out with the Derby Girls on July 19. Carina feels that she can be a jammer for the Derby Girls with her speed and agility.

"This was a fun event," said Moreno. "There was a lot of action and the girls are really athletic. I'm looking forward to my invitation to try out for the team."

Northern NJ locals fondly recall Arturo Gatti

By VICTOR EPSTEIN, Associated Press Writer

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP)—Boxing trainer Mike Skowronski honed his skills beside Arturo Gatti at Jersey City’s Ringside Gym and said the former champ’s longtime friends never liked Gatti’s wife—who is suspected of strangling him.

Skowronski, Gatti’s one-time stablemate, sparring mate and cornerman, said Amanda Rodrigues met the boxing legend while working as a stripper in northern New Jersey and quickly became his business adviser and then his wife. Friends in the working-class area of Jersey City where Gatti paid his dues in the ring were suspicious of her motives but didn’t want to offend him by pushing the matter.

“She tried to take over—she pushed him away from everybody,” Skowronski said Tuesday. “I chose not to be around it, if you can imagine that, after being friends for 20 years. A lot of his friends did the same.”

Rodrigues, a native of Brazil, is accused of strangling Gatti with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept. Rodrigues told investigators she awoke Saturday to find her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in Brazil. But police said she was the only suspect.

“Arturo had a big heart and she took advantage of that,” said Joe Gatti, 42. “There was nobody around down there that he could trust.”

Ringside Gym is located along the rough-and-tumble Route 1 & 9 truck route that snakes across northern New Jersey from the Holland and Lincoln tunnels out of New York City. Gatti was a wiry 17-year-old when he joined his older brother Joe there in 1989.

Joe Gatti, who still lives in northern New Jersey, said the family is struggling to come to terms with his death and to handle the funeral and memorial arrangements. Gatti’s body is scheduled to be released Tuesday in Brazil.

The family had hoped to hold a service in New Jersey, but Gatti never obtained his U.S. citizenship, so they’re leaning toward an event in Montreal this weekend.

“He’s my baby brother,” Joe Gatti said by phone from his home in Wyckoff. “I got him here, I raised him and he became a champion.”

The Gattis lived on one side of Route 1 & 9 in boxing guru Mario Costa’s single-family home and ate breakfast each morning in his White Mana diner. They trained on the other side of the truck route in his second-floor boxing gym, eating dinner in the Ringside Lounge below. The blue-collar area, which is known for its truck repair yards, sometimes attracts prostitutes at night.

Regulars recalled Gatti on Tuesday as a great kid who never forgot the neighborhood.

“Everybody was his friend here,” said Nunzi D’elia, 73. “He basically grew up here. We’re taking it real hard.”

Bartender Manuel Montiro said, “He wasn’t fancy. It hurts, especially the way he died.”

Gatti considered the area home and returned often even after becoming a world champion. The bar is festooned with his fight posters and trophies.

Costa cherished the champ’s final amateur boxing trophy Tuesday, laughing about the time he found a bruised and battered Gatti eating cheeseburgers and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches at White Mana the morning after a big fight in Atlantic City. Gatti had starved himself to make weight for the bout and said he’d been dreaming of the diner for days.

“What hurts is that he was by himself when he died, with nobody to protect him, because he was loved by so many people around here,” Costa said Tuesday.

Everyone has a Gatti story at Ringside. Costa likes to remember the starry-eyed teen who followed him around when he visited Montreal, begging for a chance.

Ricky Roman, 32, remembers sneaking away to neighborhood basketball courts with Gatti so the tough Canadian could break out the boxing gloves and give the local kids a shot. Gatti was small, but powerful. He also had “heavy hands,” boxing lingo for knockout power.

Skowronski, 38, of Passaic, remembered Gatti as a prankster with a penchant for pulling down the shorts of other boxers. He also recalled how hurt the teenage Gatti was by his father’s death in 1987. It was a source of strength for a boxer renowned for his courage, who was always trying to measure up to his old man’s exacting standards.

Skowronski said he would play soccer with Gatti when they were teenagers, even though he hated the sport, which is a big deal in the champ’s native Italy and childhood home of Quebec.

“I loved him,” Skowronski said. “I’d stand in the net and play goalie.”

Mayweather still quiet on injury, but ready to go

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

Although Floyd Mayweather Jr. still isn’t saying exactly how he injured his ribs training for his comeback fight, he has plenty to say about nearly everything else.

Mayweather kicked off the publicity campaign for his Sept. 19 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on Tuesday by dismissing those who believe Manny Pacquiao is boxing’s best overall fighter, ripping Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, and confirming an improved relationship with his father.

Yet the undefeated former pound-for-pound king still won’t give specifics about his abrupt injury last month, which forced the fight’s postponement from July 18 and immediately led to suspicions of skullduggery.

Many boxing observers speculated Mayweather wanted time to line up a big-money bout with Pacquiao for his first fight since December 2007. Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) insists he was injured in a “freak accident” in training, but won’t say much else.

“Believe me, it wasn’t a small guy that done it, but it didn’t even come from sparring,” Mayweather said. “When it happened, I tried to work through it. I was sparring for a while, but then it happened again. I said, ‘You know what, I can’t try to be a superhero. I’ve got to take time off and let it heal.’ I’d never tell exactly what happened. I just had a rib injury.”

Others wondered whether Mayweather thought he needed more time to prepare for the veteran star Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs)—or even whether Mayweather was disappointed by reportedly lackluster ticket sales for the fight, which Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer insists wasn’t the case.

Marquez, who’s training in Mexico City, believes Mayweather’s story about the injury, saying he used the extra time to take his children on vacation.

“I’m sure that there’s solid evidence,” Marquez said through a translator. “There should be some paperwork from the doctor, and I’m sure he presented the paperwork that was needed. I was calm. I’m fine. Things happen for a reason.”

Mayweather confirmed discussions with Arum and Top Rank about facing Pacquiao, but didn’t specify whether they occurred before or after the rib injury. Mayweather ripped Arum for demanding a 50-50 split of the purse for Pacquiao, the undersized Filipino star whose recent run of electric victories has elevated him to boxing’s top echelon.

“If he wouldn’t be so greedy, that fight would happen,” Mayweather said of Arum, his own promoter until Mayweather bought out his contract to promote himself.

Mayweather resumed training two weeks ago, but has limited himself to basketball and calisthenics. He plans to get back in the boxing gym this week.

He’s also spending more time with Floyd Mayweather Sr., the respected boxing trainer who molded his son into a champion before a furious family split several years ago. A family friend got the Mayweathers together for dinner this summer, and the two are back on friendly terms.

“He’s teaching his oldest grandson how to box, and that’s a good thing,” Mayweather said. “He’s coming to the birthday parties of his granddaughters. He’s spending more time getting to know his grandkids. My kids are the future of the Mayweather family and of the Mayweather brand. I feel our family is stronger if we stay together.”

Mayweather, Marquez and their promoters curiously won’t reveal the exact weight limit for the fight, saying only it’s a welterweight bout—which could mean anything from 141 pounds to the 147-pound class limit. De La Hoya claimed the mystery is designed to get people to watch the weigh-in on Sept. 18.

Marquez has never fought at more than 135 pounds, only moving up from 130 recently. Mayweather says he’s already close to 147 pounds, meaning the few extra pounds won’t be tough to lose.

Although Mayweather Promotions is closely aligned with Golden Boy, Mayweather also needled two Golden Boy partners during the conference call.

He blasted Sugar Shane Mosley as a cheater for using steroids, which Mosley says he did unwittingly. Mayweather also speculated De La Hoya “was just in it for the payday” when he lost to Pacquiao last year.

If Mayweather saw irony in a fighter whose self-proclaimed nickname is “Money” warning of the dangers in fighting solely for paychecks, he didn’t acknowledge it. Mayweather, whose camp has denied problems with the IRS over unpaid taxes, insists he’ll reclaim his spot atop the sport, starting next month.

“The biggest fight in boxing isn’t Mayweather vs. Marquez,” Mayweather said. “It’s Mayweather vs. anybody.”

Gatti death: Lawyer asks for release of wife

By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—The Brazilian wife of Arturo Gatti asked to be released from jail, where she is held on accusations she strangled the former boxing champion with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept.

Her lawyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday he petitioned a court to release Amanda Rodrigues while the investigation continues. Celio Avelino expects the court in Recife to rule on Wednesday at the earliest.

Rodrigues told investigators she awoke Saturday about 6 a.m. to find her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in Porto de Galinhas, a seaside resort in Pernambuco state. She then called police, which Avelino said indicates her willingness to help authorities.

But police said she was the only suspect and they are certain she killed Gatti in their apartment where they and their 10-month-old son arrived for a second honeymoon last week. The boy was unhurt and was in the care of Rodrigues’ family.

Police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva told the AP the death may have even been premeditated and Rodrigues may have encouraged Gatti to drink excessively so she would be able to overpower him later.

“He was very drunk and that made it easier for her,” Saraiva said. “He was sleeping when she did this. She waited for the moment when he was drunk enough for her to do it.”

She also said Gatti’s body was released to his brother and it was her understanding the body would be flown to Canada on Wednesday.

Rodrigues told police she had a fight with Gatti after dinner on Friday and he pushed her to the ground, resulting in minor injuries to her elbow and chin. Witnesses also reported to police the couple fought and Gatti was drunk.

Police said Gatti had marks on his throat, indicating he was strangled, and a knife wound to the back of his head. They displayed a bloodied, white purse strap that was found near Gatti’s body, along with a small steak knife.

Saraiva said she could not confirm if Gatti was first strangled and then cut with the knife, or the opposite.

Chuck Zito, an actor and close personal friend of Gatti, said he spoke with Gatti a few weeks ago, and the boxer told him the couple was “probably going to get a divorce.”

Zito and Gatti met 13 years ago, when Zito was with Pamela Anderson and Raquel Welch at an Oscar De La Hoya fight. Gatti wanted to meet Welch, and the two men struck up a close relationship. Zito ended up accompanying Gatti to the ring for several of his most notable fights.

Zito said Gatti met his wife at the strip club Scores in New York and that Gatti’s friends tried to talk him out of marrying her.

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in New York contributed to this report.

Super middleweight tourny designed to crown champ

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Ken Hershman knows his plan is ambitious, a six-man super middleweight round-robin tournament designed to crown a single champion. He also understands that if he pulls it off, it could go a long way toward reviving the sport of boxing.

The tournament, featuring two current champions, two former middleweight champions and two up-and-coming U.S. Olympians, was announced Monday at Madison Square Garden. It will begin this fall and conclude with a seeded semifinals and championship in early 2011.

“The beauty of this is that at the end, there’ll be one winner,” said Hershman, the senior vice president in charge of boxing at Showtime. “He’ll be the best in his weight division.”

Hershman began putting the concept together in May, first pitching the idea directly to the fighters: WBC champion Carl Froch, WBA titleholder Mikkel Kessler, former middleweight champs Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor, and former Olympians Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

Then Hershman went to their five promoters and, in a sport where it’s difficult enough to get two sides to agree on a fight, managed to get all five to sign a contract.

“It was an interesting process and not one I relish repeating,” Hershman said. “But they all believe firmly they can win the tournament and … that eliminated all the nonsense.”

Eliminating the nonsense is precisely what boxing fans want.

The primary complaint for years has been that there are too many champions in too many weight divisions, and that the best don’t want to fight each other. Greed has often taken precedence over interesting and exciting fights, alienating those fans that are left.

As mixed martial arts booms in popularity, boxing languishes behind.

“Boxing is still successful,” promoter Dan Goossen said, refusing to believe the sport is in jeopardy. “But what we haven’t done is grow the business.”

Fellow promoter Lou DiBella believes the “World Boxing Classic” will help.

“This is what’s going to get us back together, what’s going to get us back on the map,” he said. “There’s not going to be a bad fight in this tournament, the best are fighting the best.”

Unlike a traditional single elimination tournament, each fighter will be guaranteed three bouts and earn points based on their decisions. A victory will be worth two, including a bonus point for a knockout, and a draw will earn one point. The four boxers with the most points will advance to the semifinals.

While dates and locations have not been confirmed, the first group of bouts is set. Dirrell will fight Froch for his WBC title, while Kessler defends his WBA title against Ward and Taylor fights Abraham.

“It happened so fast,” Taylor said. “I was wondering what I was going to do next, and I got a phone call saying this tournament was coming. I couldn’t wait to sign.”

Some talented fighters didn’t get that chance.

Among those who aren’t involved are IBF champ Lucian Bute, who is scheduled to fight Librado Andrade this fall, WBO champion Karoly Balzsay and top contender Allan Green.

Hershman would not reveal what contingencies are in place should a fighter get hurt, fail a drug test or drop out for some other reason, but he acknowledged that Bute or another top super middleweight could conceivably end up in the tournament.

“If you have eight, at some point it becomes so unwieldy and long, and you run the risk of collapsing on top of itself,” Hershman said. “We expected we would go to six and one would say no, but everybody said yes, and we were done.”

The fighters give the tournament a global flair, while their resumes give it credibility.

Kessler (41-1, 38 KOs) might be considered the favorite. The hard-hitting Dane’s only loss came in 2007, when he waged a slugfest with unbeaten champion Joe Calzaghe.

Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) made headlines earlier this year when he rallied to knock out Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) with 14 seconds left to defend his title. Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) was born in Armenia and now fights out of Germany, and will be moving up from middleweight after vacating his 160-pound title over the weekend.

While the tournament isn’t designed to pit Europe versus America, that’s how many fans will view it. Taylor was a 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) won the bronze medal in 2004, and Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) won gold for the U.S. in Athens.

“It has nothing to do with Europe and America,” Froch insisted. “It’s the best fighters in the world. It just happens to be where we come from.”

Mayweather says money dispute foils Pacquiao fight hopes

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather Jnr declared himself fit to fight after a rib injury delayed his comeback but says money demands have foiled a possible showdown with Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather dismissed Pacquiao's claim to the world pound-for-pound throne Mayweather vacated by retiring in December of 2007, saying, "It's like a T-Bone steak. After I eat all the meat off the steak, they throw him the bone."

Mayweather, 39-0 with 25 knockouts, will fight Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, 50-4 with one draw and 37 knockouts, on September 19 after this Saturday's planned date was scrapped over an injury whose origin Mayweather kept secret.

"It didn't come from sparring," Mayweather said Tuesday. "Freak accidents happen in training. It was just a freak accident.

"I tried to work through it but then it happened again and I'm like, 'I can't be a superhero. Take a little time off.' I healed. Now I'm ready to rock and roll. I can't wait to get back out there."

Mayweather will fight for the first time in 21 months, since a 10th-round stoppage of England's Ricky Hatton, who was flattened in the second round last May by Filipino star Pacquiao.

Interest is great for a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown but Mayweather said the bout is unlikely because Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum seeks a 50-50 split of profits rather than a 60-40 break in Mayweather's favor.

"He wants a 50-50 split. That's never going to happen. If Bob Arum wasn't trying to be so greedy, that fight would happen," Mayweather said. "It still is a business even if it is a sport."

Mayweather's past two fights, with Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya, enticed 3.5 million US pay-per-view purchases, said Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer, while Pacquiao "did a little bit more than half of that" against the same foes.

"It's difficult for Floyd to say it should be 50-50 because it really shouldn't be 50-50," Schaefer said. "Both fighters have a certain market value and they should get compensated accordingly."

While Mayweather said he has no grudge against Pacquiao, he neither has any great desire to fight him if the price is not right.

"Pacquiao is a good fighter. I don't take nothing from him," Mayweather said. "He hasn't done nothing I haven't done. Where was he when I was dominating in the '90s? He hasn't called me out. I'm not hard to find.

"I ain't worried about him. With or without him, I'm comfortable. I'm happy. He don't make me (nothing). I don't chase opponents. Opponents chase me. The biggest fight in boxing is Mayweather versus anybody."

Mayweather and Arum had a bitter breakup and Mayweather said Pacquiao loses 27 percent of his paydays.

"Manny Pacquiao has the worst contract in boxing with Bob Arum right now - 27 percent," Mayweather said. "I keep 100 percent of my money. Are you serious - 27 percent? Arum tells Manny Pacquiao the same bull he used to tell me."

Marquez rallied from being sent to the canvas three times in the first round to draw Pacquiao in 2004 and lost a controversial split decision to him in 2008 but Mayweather rates Marquez a better rival than Pacquiao.

"I would have to rate him ovr Manny. For a guy to knock him down three times in the first round and he comes back to get a draw, we know who lost," said Mayweather, who has recently healed strained relations with father Floyd Snr.

Fight co-promoter De la Hoya, who lost to Pacquiao last December, said that Mayweather deserves the pound-for-pound crown, not Pacquaio.

"I'd have to go with Floyd. I felt more skill coming out of Mayweather than I did with Pacquiao," de la Hoya said. "The winner between Mayweather and Marquez is the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet."

Marquez dismissed Pacquiao as well, saying, "Mayweather is the best. He retired undefeated. When I fought Manny I thought I beat him both times."

De la Hoya tossed another dig at "Pac-Man", saying, "The fans are the ones who speak and we all know Marquez beat Pacquiao."

Japan’s Hasegawa retains WBC bantamweight title

KOBE, Japan (AP)—WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa of Japan has kept his title by stopping Nestor Rocha of the United States in the first round.

Hasegawa sent Rocha to the canvas twice Tuesday before the referee stopped the bout after 2 minutes, 28 seconds.

This was Hasegawa’s ninth title defense. He improved to 27-2, 11 by knockout. Rocha was bidding for his first world title and dropped to 21-2 with seven KOs.

In an earlier bout, Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua retained his WBA minimumweight crown with a unanimous decision over Katsunari Takayama of Japan.

Rojas claims WBC featherweight title

TOKYO (AP)—Elio Rojas of the Dominican Republic has become the new WBC featherweight champion with a unanimous decision over Takahiro Aoh of Japan.

Rojas dominated from the opening rounds Tuesday, and was never seriously challenged in the 12-round bout at Korakuen Hall. The three judges scored it 116-113, 117-111, 118-110 for Rojas.

The 26-year-old Rojas improved to 21-1-0 with 13 knockouts; Aoh fell to 17-2-1.

It was the 25-year-old Aoh’s first defense of the title he won from Oscar Larios of Mexico in March.

Police: Khan not to blame in crash with cyclist

By ROB HARRIS, AP Sports Writer

MANCHESTER, England (AP)—Preparations for Amir Khan’s first world title fight were disrupted after the English boxer was questioned by police over a collision with a cyclist while driving.

Police on Tuesday cleared Khan of responsibility for the accident, which happened Sunday night in his hometown of Bolton, near Manchester.

The 22-year-old cyclist suffered a head injury and was taken to a hospital, although police don’t believe his injuries are serious.

“Several witnesses at the scene have been interviewed,” Greater Manchester Police said. “The driver was not at fault in the collision, and no further action will be taken on this matter.”

The incident is an unwelcome distraction for the 22-year-old Khan ahead of Saturday’s WBA world welterweight title bout with Andreas Kotelnik. On Monday, Khan described his first world title fight as a career defining moment.

“I’ve got a big fight in front of me now—this is a fight that is going to catapult me to the bigger fights,” Khan said. “I need to win this fight to take me to the next level.

“This is the biggest fight at the moment—for a world title—then I can plan out where I want to go from there. There’s a lot of pressure on me and I need to win this fight to get me to the places I want to get to.”

For that, Khan needs to captivate American television audiences.

“That’s a big thing for me—more attention in America, and then I’ll go over there and fight,” he said. “Everyone’s dream is to fight in Vegas and I want to fight in Vegas.”