Killa’s world fight will be here in April… Whittaker to get World Title shot

Charles Whittaker is set for an April title fight in Cayman, battling world junior middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage, and will meet this week with Minister for Sports Mark Scotland to hammer out details.

The match has been endorsed by US super-promoter Don King and is likely to be staged in an outdoor George Town arena, as Whittaker goes into training for the IBF title in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s going to happen,” Whittaker told iNews Cayman yesterday. “You see what the promoter is saying, although I don’t want to wait ‘til April to fight, so I may do something smaller in March just to put me in the same frame with Bundrage.

“We are supposed to meet with [Mr Scotland] this week and I’m ready to go,” he said.

Mr Scotland said he and Whittaker had spoken last week and would sit down in the next few days to look at possible venues and discuss what the fighter needed.

“We haven’t met yet, but will meet this week,” Mr Scotland said. “We want to see how big a role we can play. If anything, we would facilitate it because Charles is quite adept at staging the match.

“He’ll have to speak to us if he wants to use a government venue, but this is what we want to do. It’s what we’ve been doing,” he said, to aid local boxers, “putting in the gym and supporting Kendall, who has great promise.”

Training at the new Dalmain Ebanks Boxing Gym by Truman Bodden stadium, 21-year-old Kendall Ebanks on Sunday won the light-heavyweight Golden Gloves title in Florida.

Whittaker told iNews “we are looking at”, setting an April match date. “I’ll be talking to the premier and Minister Scotland.”

Bundrage, known as “K9”, has been the IBF junior middleweight champion since his August 2010 five-round victory against Cory Spinks, son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks  and nephew of former light heavyweight champion and heavyweight king Michael Spinks.

The boxer, 38, has complained, however, of being largely sidelined since, fighting only a single match in St Louis against contender Sechew Powell.

Promoter Don King recently promised to rectify the situation, however, naming Whittaker as Bundrage’s opponent-after-next.

“I think Cornelius is just a wonderful guy. He’s going to be fighting on March 17th and then I want to put him in with the guy from the Cayman Islands, Charles Whittaker, and then I want to put him in his mandatory — the winner of January 28th when Cory Spinks and Sechew Powell fight for the elimination for the number one spot,” King recently told Max Boxing.com.

“I’ll beat him,” Whittaker said yesterday, “He and King are frustrated. I may put on something in March. It won’t be a world title for me, but he’ll be defending his title and it’ll put me in the same frame with him.

“I know Bundrage. We were talking to him before and I like him, He’s a Christian. He’s a good guy and I hope to see him. I’ll root for him in March,” he said,  but in the ring, he vowed to triumph.

“It’s exciting, but I have to stay sharp,” Whittaker said, describing ”light sparring” recently in the Philippines and elsewhere.

“I’m off to Florida next week to take care of some business, but as soon as I’m back, I’ll go into training camp. It’ll be in about a week, and no later than 1 February.”

Mr Scotland said only that the fight was likely to be at “an open-air place for seating”, listing Truman Bodden Stadium, Camana Bay — “where they had the Jazz Fest” — and Pageant Beach among the possibilities.

“You’d have to build a ring and then get a cover on it,” he said, acknowledging the potential for international exposure: “You make your returns”, he said, on the TV rights, not so much on ticket sales.”