Limond laments Salita stance
by Mark Doyle, 13 October 2008
Willie Limond has revealed that his proposed bout with Dmitriy Salita on the undercard of Joe Calzaghe’s clash with Roy Jones Jr. on November 8 is off.
IBO Inter-continental lightweight champion Limond was all set to step up to 140lbs to take on the undefeated Salita.
However, the fight has collapsed due to Team Salita’s demands, principally their insistence that Limond would enter into a three-fight deal with them if he emerged victorious.
"I'm gutted we couldn't come to some sort of agreement," the Scot lamented.
"This has been going on since July, this fight has been on and off about 10 times.
"They weren't taking any risks, I was taking all the risks.
"I was willing to take c*** money in the first fight, but they wanted me to sign a three-fight deal for the same money for every single fight after that.
"I got more fighting for my EU title in Glasgow four years ago, so it just doesn't make sense.
"If they were that confident they were going to beat me, why did they need me to sign the options contract? It was a no-win situation."
Limond, who will be in action in Paisley, Scotland on Saturday night, is now hoping to put himself in a position to secure a shot at IBO lightweight champion Juan Diaz by racking up two successful defences of his own version of the title.
"Defending this title twice is not out of my capabilities, to get a fight against Juan Diaz," he argued.
"These are hard fights but I'm getting to the level where I need to be in these fights.”