Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa Wants Dmitriy Salita

By Darren Nichols

01/08/2007

Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa Wants Dmitriy Salita

Is the Star of David Ducking El Gato?

BoxingTalk:  Yaseen, how do you feel the event turned out for you and the fans this past weekend?

Yaseen Malnik:  When I told you it was going to be fireworks, it was FIREWORKS!!!  Franky [Figueroa] and Ubaldo [Hernandez] went back and forth, and they stood toe to toe, both exhausted going into the twelfth round. In the last round Figueroa showed that he was a champion, by digging deep and knocking out Hernandez.  You couldn’t have written a better script for a fight.  You had 1600 people on the feet throughout the whole fight, ending spectacularly with Figueroa knocking Ubaldo through the ropes.

BoxingTalk:  I know Francisco “El Gato” Figueroa had an exciting 12th round stoppage over Ubaldo Hernandez.  What do you do with El Gato now?

Yaseen Malnik:  El Gato and I feel that the best fight in his career now would be to fight Dmitriy Salita.  I’ve been trying to put this fight together, Lou Dibella agrees to this fight, but Dmitriy has been ducking Franky.  They have to meet though because there is no other place for them to go.  Salita wants to fight David Torres, but that’s a meaningless fight because they’ve both fought nobodies.

BoxingTalk:  I’m hearing now that David Estrada had his big win this past weekend, that a fight has been signed for him to face Andre Berto.  Is this true?

Yaseen Malnik:  Yes, on September 29th on the undercard of the Pavlik-Taylor fight.  It would be for the IBF #1 spot.  Estrada has the determination and desire that I’ve never seen before.  He’s like a possessed man.

BoxingTalk:  Your boy Abi Santizo had another 1st round knockout.  Is he the real deal?

Yaseen Malnik:  I think he’s the real deal.  He’s 25 years old, nobody is going to outwork him, he’s built like a horse, and he starts out fast, which is not like how most Mexican fighters start out. I don’t see anyone who can step in his way.  He’s one of the strongest fighters I’ve seen.  He’s relentless and he has got great skills.  I really think he’s the real deal.

BoxingTalk:  What big plans does the Seeno Group have in store for boxing fans in the near future?

Yaseen Malnik:  Ishe Smith return to the ring in late September.  But what I really want to get out there to all the boxing fans is the fact that I’m trying to get Franky and Dmitriy in the ring together.  Franky has agreed to it, Lou DiBella has agreed to it.  HBO has agreed to put it as a main event on Boxing After Dark, so it really is up to Dmitriy.

 

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