Top heavyweights Deontay Wilder and WBC champion Bermane Stiverne are eager to face one another after months of trash talk, but Golden Boy Promotions and Don King Productions have failed to reach an agreement. They insist they're close however, causing the postponement of two purse bids.
According to Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, the money is no longer an issue.
"Don made an offer. I'm not gonna say the offer but the proper protocol is to give me a site and a date and that's what I am waiting for," De La Hoya said.
"He didn't tell me when and where the fight would be. We're OK with the money. But we want to get the fight done this year. Without a site and date, what would keep Don from just changing things? So without a site and a date in a contract we have no deal whatsoever."
The two sides reportedly do not want the fight to go to a purse bid because Roc Nation Sports, headed up by rap star Jay Z may outbid the other two as they did for a middleweight title bout between Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin and Matt Korobov.
The fight had been previously put off because of injuries to Stiverne's hand and shoulder that he sustained during a defense of his belt against Chris Arreola. Stiverne's camp says the champ is healthy now, and angling for a December bout.
"Bermane is in camp and getting ready," Stiverne's manager Camille Estephan said
"His injuries have subsided. He had a hand injury and a bit of a shoulder problem. The shoulder and hand have healed completely. We want to fight in December. That is goal. He is 100 percent now. We want to fight this year. We just need to get a date."
While waiting for Stiverne to heal, Wilder took a stay-busy fight against Jason Gavern, whom he knocked out in Round 4 of an August 16 bout. The win improved Wilder's record to 32-0-0 with all 32 victories coming by way of knockout.
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