Whitaker Set To Ponder Monster Deal

Pernell Whitaker, seldom caught off guard in the ring, was surprised Thursday at a news conference.

It seems that manager Shelly Finkel and promoter Dan Duva had worked out a multi-million-dollar, multi-fight deal that will enable the 31-year-old welterweight champion to finish his career fighting on HBO and TVKO.

“I didn’t know anything about a new contract,” said Whitaker (36-1-1), who appeared at a news conference expecting only to talk about a title defense against Jake Rodriguez Nov.18 at Atlantic City and about a possible fight against IBF welterweight champion Felix Trinidad of Puerto Rico in March or June.

Trinidad will defend his title against Larry Barnes on the Nov. 18 card.

Whitaker still has to sign the TV deal, which Duva called one of the largest contracts outside heavyweight ranks.

Seth Abraham, president of Time Warner Sports, which operates HBO and pay-per-view TVKO, said the deal was for six to eight fights and was potentially more lucrative than the HBO-TVKO deal with super middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr. Jones has an agreement that could cover 20 fights and earn the fighter $65 million.

Boxing-TV deals are based on potential earnings. HBO-TVKO had a 10-fight deal with Riddick Bowe that could have could have been worth $100 million. The deal, however, ended with the second fight in the package when Bowe lost.