
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 11, 1994                   TAG: 9404110067
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BIG DEAL AHEAD FOR WHITAKER

Pernell Whitaker of Norfolk, earned $1.75 million for his latest World Boxing Council welterweight title defense. Now comes the big money. Whitaker is guaranteed $18 million by HBO for four fights, promoter Dan Duva says.

The fights must be against other champions, such as International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Felix Trinidad or World Boxing Association champion Crisanto Espana, with two exceptions. The current non-champions on the list are Julio Cesar Chavez and James "Buddy" McGirt.

McGirt, who won Saturday night on the card on which Whitaker easily outpointed Santos Cardona at the Scope, would appear at the top of the list to be Whitaker's next opponent in September or October.

Whitaker, however, said, "He still doesn't deserve a rematch because of the excuses."

Whitaker won the WBC 147-pound title from McGirt March 6, 1993. But McGirt and his manager, Al Certo, both maintain McGirt would have beaten Whitaker if he hadn't had an injury to his left shoulder.

"It was his choice to fight," said Shelly Finkel, Whitaker's co-manager. "After he lost, he should have just said, `I want a rematch.' "

Despite Whitaker's stance, Finkel said, a Whitaker-McGirt rematch "at this moment appears the most likely fight to happen."

Keywords:
BOXING

by CNB