Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2018) – Boxing promoter Don King has been trying to finalize a fight with WBA super featherweight champion Alberto “El Explosivo” Machado for more than two months with his number two contender, Rafael Mensah.
“I’ve been dealing with Robert Diaz of Golden Boy Promotions and he seems to be a forthright person,” said King. “Since the beginning of December they have been telling me we would have an agreement to fight on January 27th after they arranged a meeting with HBO’s Peter Nelson. It has been one story after another story.”
King continued: “I had the one call with Robert Diaz and he never called me back. We kept calling him. We were supposed to go in together to meet with Peter Nelson and they said we would have a 50-50 deal, and I’ve never heard from him. Mensah has been waiting three years for a title opportunity.
“My fighter was set to fight on Jan. 27, which is what we agreed upon. But I never heard back from anyone. They are playing the con game in trying to avoid this fight with Mensah. They are trying to get under the rules and not fight my future champion. The making of the Machado-Mensah fight has become convoluted and full of intrigue and machination. This whole thing has been mysterious. We are ready to fight!”
Mensah, who hails from Ghana, is 31-0 with 23 KOs.