THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 31, 1995 TAG: 9505310617
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The date of Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker's World Boxing Council welterweight title defense against Gary Jacobs has been changed, and the site may change, also.
The fight had been set for Aug. 12 in the same Atlantic City Convention Center ballroom where Whitaker fought Julio Cesar Vasquez in March. But Whitaker-Jacobs has been pushed back to Aug. 26, and the venue may change to the Bahamas.
Mike Boorman of Main Events said Home Box Office, which is televising the fight, will do a site survey in early June. If all goes well, the fight will be held at The Atlantis Paradise Island.
``That's the last stumbling block,'' Boorman said. ``The fight is going to happen there.'' Boorman said the hotel in the Bahamas offered to pay twice the $250,000 site fee Bally's Casino was going to pay to hold it in Atlantic City.
The plans for the Whitaker fight began to change when heavyweight Mike Tyson signed to make his return to the ring Aug. 19 against Peter McNeeley. Bally's Casino asked that the fight be moved back to avoid having it overshadowed by the hype for the Tyson fight.
Jacobs (41-5), from Glasgow, Scotland, is a mandatory defense for Whitaker (35-1-1). Jacobs fought on the undercard of Whitaker's March bout. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Pernell Whitaker
by CNB