According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, IBF Light Heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud will defend his crown on December 17th in Miami, Florida against former Super Middleweight title challenger Fulgencio Zuniga.
“I’m not familiar with Zuniga, but my prediction is we gonna win the fight,” Cloud told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “All I heard about the fighter is he a tough fighter, been in some title fights and he comes to fight. We taking him serious like any other fight.
“Those other guys turned it down. They demanded a lot of money, but Don King made a very fair offer,” Bonanni said. “Zuniga took the fight. He was offered the fight and stepped up to the plate. He has a big guarantee with Don if he wins. This is a tougher fight in my opinion than if we fought Otis Griffin anyway. Zuniga is a proven veteran. He’s nothing to be sneezed at and we are training as such.”
“We tried everyone in the light heavyweight division [in the IBF rankings] who was available and there were no takers,” Said Cloud’s trainer Al Bonanni. “We’re training for Zuniga and we’ll be ready to go at it on Dec. 17. I’m very happy Cloud is fighting. We want to stay busy.”
“Everything’s coming together now,” Cloud said. “I had promotional problems in the past [before signing with King] and all of that has been taken care of. It’s good to be right back in the ring. I’ve been rusty as a nail when I’ve fought and I’m still performing on a world class level. It is good to be back in the ring before the year is out.”
Cloud’s goal is to take care of Zuniga and then look for a major fight in the division. He mentioned lineal champion Jean Pascal, fellow titleholders Beibut Shumenov and Jürgen Brahmer and top contenders Chad Dawson and Nathan Cleverly.
“After I take Zuniga out, I’m looking for any of those guys, wherever,” Cloud said. “Pascal, Dawson. Shumenov? We will knock him out in [his home country of] Kazakhstan or wherever he want to meet at. Cleverly, Brahmer. Tell them all to put the money up. I’ll come to their hometown and knock them out.”
