MISSISSAUGA, ON – (Tuesday, October 2, 2012) There once was a time when a champion boxer took pride in defending his title against the best available opponent.
Undefeated cruiserweight sensation Denton Daley (7-0, 4 KO’s) yearns for those days.
After a devastating 4th round TKO of former amateur standout Jason Douglas on September 8th at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Daley was supposed to get a crack at reigning Canadian Cruiserweight champion Ryan Henney on United Boxing Promotions’ December 1st show.
Henney, however, back-tracked his way out of a verbal commitment to fight Daley, citing inadequate time to train.
Don Macdonald, of United Boxing, Daley’s promoter, then went calling to the NABA’s Canadian Cruiserweight champion, Chris Norrad, but was rebuked by Norrad’s camp for December 1st as well.
“I can’t imagine holding a title, and then refusing to defend it against the best challenger available,” Daley said.
“Where’s the honor with these so-called champions?”
“I’m old-school. There’s no way I could look myself in the mirror if I ducked a bonafide contender. If I disappeared at the first sign of a legit challenger, I’d at least have enough pride to give the belt up, and not just continue on as if nothing happened.”
According to Macdonald, in the wake of Daley’s demolition of Douglas, as well as the thrashing he gave former Canadian Cruiserweight champion Frank White this past May, Daley’s predicament is nothing less than an injustice.
“Denton Daley is the only one in the Canadian Cruiserweight picture who can not only put people in the stands, but also fight at a world-class level.” Macdonald said.
“Over 5000 people witnessed Denton destroy Douglas with their very own eyes at The Hershey Centre, and countless more saw the beating on Sportsnet.”
“But unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s tough to get ahead on merit alone. The bottom line is Denton looked too good destroying guys who gave everybody else in the division nothing but problems.”
“These guys are looking at what’s left of Douglas and White and running for the hills.”
