Mayorga pulls out of Angulo bout

Ricardo Mayorga has pulled out of his Feb. 14 match with junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo, according to Angulo's promoter, Gary Shaw.

No official word has come from the former welterweight champ's management team or promoter (Don King Productions). However, Shaw said he was contacted King broke the news to him and it was confirmed by executives with HBO, which was to televise the match as part of a triple header "Boxing After Dark" broadcast from Sunrise, Fla.

The rumor is that Mayorga suffered a training injury, but Shaw isn't convinced.

"I've heard three stories," said Shaw, who is also co-promoting Saturday's 115-pound showdown between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce. "I've heard Mayorga is overweight. I've heard he hurt his ribs sparring. And I've heard he's extorting Don King for more money."

King was not available for comment but the hall-of-fame promoter's spokesman Alan Hopper had this to say:

"All I've heard are rumors, but where there's smoke with Mayorga there's probably a beer."

Shaw was both disappointed and disgusted by the news.

"At least 'Chicken a la Farce' (Arce) had the guts to show up to the photo op we had today with Darchinyan, which is more than I can say about Mayorga, the matador who's scared of a dog."

Angulo's nickname is "Perro," Spanish for dog. Mayorga's nickname is "El Matador", despite his sometimes reckless style.

Shaw said he's searching for a late replacement for Mayorga. Junior middleweight fringe contenders Danny Perez and Daniel Edouard are among the leading candidates, if cleared by HBO.

With or without Mayorga, the HBO broadcast will proceed with the Nate Campbell-Ali Funeka lightweight title bout as the main event and the Sergio Martinez-Kermit Cintron 154-pound clash as the co-feature. Angulo would be in the third slot of the broadcast if Shaw can find a suitable opponent.