John Ruiz will defend the WBA heavyweight title against Evander Holyfield in the United States instead of China. Promoter Don King said on Wednesday he received a letter from a TV channel stating it was concerned about sending 100 people to China in the wake of a travel warning issued by the state department after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
King said the fight, to be televised, will be either on November 24 or December 15, at a site to be determined. He mentioned Atlanta, Boston, the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, and Las Vegas as possibilities.
Based on the uncertainty that exists and the advisory issued by the state department on international travel we decided the prudent course was to not travel overseas at this time, said Ross Greenburg, President of the TV channel. We told Don that we would like to telecast the fight on November 24 from a US site. I am very disappointed, King said in a telephone interview. Hopefully, I'll put a fight on there in the future.
King added that the great wall international sports media company would get the telecast free of charge. Great Wall was to co-promote the fight, which originally was scheduled for August 5, but was called off because of a neck injury to Ruiz.
Bureau Report