Wednesday, July 17, 2013
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
A better offer may put Billy Lyell back in the ring.
After Lyell rejected a $10,000 offer to fight Willie Nelson on Sept. 28 at Packard Music Hall, Southside Boxing Club owner Jack Loew upped the purse by $5,000 and promised to put Nelson’s NABF junior middleweight title on the line.
That should be enough.
“Of course we’re interested in the fight,” said Lyell’s promoter, Pat Nelson. “I’m not going to get into terms — that’s Lyell’s personal business — but that’s generally what fights of that caliber would pay.”
Pat Nelson will meet later this week with Willie Nelson’s promoter, Steve Smith of Rumble Time to negotiate terms. They will both be in Salem, N.H., for ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”
“We’ll negotiate the bout in good faith and hopefully come to terms everybody can agree with and bring a high-caliber fight to the Mahoning Valley,” Pat Nelson said.
“I want the fight and I think it’ll happen,” Loew added.
Lyell (25-11, 5 KOs), a Niles native, has not fought since February, when he beat Rashaan Abdul Blackburn by unanimous decision in a four-rounder in Kentucky. He fought just once in 2012, falling to Jonathan Gonzalez by unanimous decision in a 10-rounder in California on Feb. 17, 2012.
Lyell has fought several top junior middleweights and middleweights, including John Duddy (who he beat in 2009), former IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester and former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Lyell recently finished his coursework for an education degree at YSU and only needs to do student teaching to earn his degree.
“His studies are the only thing that keeps him out of the ring,” he said. “It’s not lack of fight opportunities. I get more calls about Billy Lyell than any fighter I work with.”
Willie Nelson (21-1-1, 12 KOs), a Cleveland native, now lives in Youngstown and trains with Loew at the Southside Boxing Club. He’s coming off a unanimous decision victory over Luciano Cuello last month in his HBO debut.
“A win over Nelson puts him in the top 10 and a chance at another world title shot,” Pat Nelson said. “That’s all he needs — one quality win.”