A Messy Situation for Drian Francisco
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 12 Jul 2013
Drian Francisco will be facing the toughest opponent of his twenty six fight career tonight at the ?Fight Capital? of the world. The heavy handed Filipino pugilist will square off against another hard hitter in Chris Avalos at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas and as a headliner of tonight?s installment of ESPN?s Friday Night Fight.
This is the most important fight of Francisco?s career. This is a make or break fight for him - literally. Francisco?s future depends on this fight, a fight that will unfold a turn of events for the 30 year old fighter from Sablayan, Mindoro.
Francisco?s contract status is still in limbo. One inside source from the industry describes it as ?a big mess.?
He ditched and left his longtime stable and manager, Elmer Anuran?s Saved by The Bell Promotions, and flew under the radar to join Justin Fortune?s batch of fighters in Los Angeles.
Anuran insists that Francisco has still a valid and live contract with him and that Francisco cannot sign with any other promotional company because of this.
Francisco?s fight against Avalos tonight is under the banner of Top Rank Promotions, the boxer was cleared by Anuran for this fight, after talks and discussions with Top Rank?s Bob Arum. But Anuran affirms that this only applies to this fight alone and out of consideration to Arum and he reiterates his earlier stand prior to this discussions that he intends to file a law suit against Francisco for breach of contract.
Francisco in the meantime claims that he was made to sign a contract extension under pressure and believes that it will carry no weight in the U.S. where he plans to continue his career that was stalled because of issues with his contract, his former stable and his new team.
Francisco has been training hard at Fortune?s gym since he arrived here in March, he informed me that he was supposed to fight in May and in June, both of which got moved to tonight?s bout. He patiently trained while his new team irons out his current situation.
But was everything ironed out prior to tonight?s fight? I have been informed by a reliable source that another fighter has been on ?stand-by? for weeks until yesterday just in case Francisco would not be able fight Avalos. This is because of certain uncertainties regarding the Francisco?s status. Top Rank, according to my source, was still having second thoughts on Francisco and his current position even during the fight week.
Recent calls and text messages to discuss this with Francisco proved futile. He has been ignoring my attempts to reach him and other questions about his fight. I hate to think that this is because of my last column where I critiqued the latest actions of his trainer. I hope not.
Francisco and Avalos officially went through the weigh-in ceremonies yesterday in Las Vegas. Both met the weight requirements for tonight?s bout, which, for all intents and purposes, makes it official.
Francisco has no other options but to win tonight, Top Rank will not waste time on him if he fails miserably against Avalos. A lawsuit is also waiting for him if he returns to the Philippines in case he loses according to Anuran. All his hard work, his recent decisions about his career and his sacrifices away from his family ride in this fight. He cannot let this issue and other things count as a factor against a very dangerous Avalos, whose only two defeats came via Split Decisions.
And I know that Francisco has this in his mind and that he will give everything he has, when he steps inside that ring.
After all, despite all of this confusion and drama- Drian Francisco is a fighter and that is all he can do- to fight.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
Sat, 13 Sep 2025WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BELFAST: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER
Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canoy cancels title fight due to child’s death
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Vietnam’s Pool Revolution: Hanoi Open Pool Championship
Sat, 13 Sep 2025SUNDAY: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev Undisputed Super Bantamweight Showdown to Stream Exclusively on Top Rank’s Facebook Channel in the U.S. & UK
Fri, 12 Sep 2025National Shelter Month Run on October 25 in DGT
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 12 Sep 2025Canelo-Crawford: Betting Odds Reveal a Battle of Money vs. Public Opinion
By Dong Secuya, Fri, 12 Sep 2025