Matt Korobov’s manager has informed a rival site that the middleweight contender has negotiated a release from his promotional contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. The Russian-born Korobov (27-1, 14 KOs) hopes the release enables him to land big fights in either the middleweight or super middleweight divisions. The decorated amateur is ranked at middleweight by the WBO (No. 9), WBC (No. 10) and IBF (No. 12). “Matt is now a promotional free agent,” said Mike Borao, Korobov’s manager. “Bob [Arum] called me a couple weeks ago and offered a fight against [WBO] 168-pound champion Gilberto Ramirez. That bout was quickly accepted by Matt, but Top Rank came back a short period later and said, to their surprise, Ramirez didn’t want the fight. Top Rank is a tremendous promoter, but besides Ramirez didn’t really have anyone for us to fight within their stable. To their credit, Bob was very honorable and we were able to work out a release.” Korobov, 34, went 300-12 as an amateur before he signed with Top Rank amid a lot of fanfare in 2008. The southpaw’s lone loss as a pro came against Ireland’s Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs), who won their WBO middleweight title bout by sixth-round TKO in December 2014. Korobov was winning that fight on all three scorecards when it was stopped in Las Vegas (50-45, 50-45, 48-47). “Matt was such a highly accomplished amateur,” Borao said, “and with only one loss as a pro, I believe there are lots of opportunities for Matt between 160 and 168 pounds. I’ve been speaking to promoters about some exciting possibilities. I think some potential big fights out there for Matt are Billy Joe Saunders, Chris Eubank Jr. and Jermall Charlo. “But the biggest opportunity by far is Triple-G. I think that bout is realistic, particularly because nobody is lining up to fight Gennady. He’s a beast, so I don’t really blame them. Whoever he fights, I think Matt has a great chance this year to finally meet the high expectations placed on him as a result of his outstanding amateur career.”
Do you think the failure to make this fight happened influenced him to request his release? I'm kind of bummed. I would have liked to see that one happen. I...don't really care who he signs with. That isn't something I pay a lot of attention to.
ya i dont really care who he signs with either...but if he says hes looking for fights at 160-168 he might be wise to hook up with al...hell have some options i dunno if not getting ramirez fight caused him to ask for release...but im sure it played apart...sounds like a general disappointment in being able to lock down a good fight...im curious as to why ramirez rejected? does ramirez fear good technical guys? does he fear southpaws?
ramirez hasn't exactly been active himself. hopefully korobov gets to be more active now. either thrive or flop on his own accord, not wither on the vine.
People treat this guy just like they did Mark Breland, or even Howard Davis. Unfairly so, in all three cases. There are plenty of factors outside of things under Korobov's control that helped limit his professional career, so far.
im still real curious as to why ramirez didnt want that fight? too risky in his opinion? is zurdo scared to death of lefthanders?...i dont think there are many on his resume...especially in the last couple of years....
one cannot deny korobov's skill. his stamina on the other hand... zurdo was lucky to get past vlasov.
