NEW YORK (JTA) — A bar mitzvah could stand in the way of Jewish boxing champion Yuri Foreman defending his title at Yankee Stadium.
The Belarus-born fighter, who now lives in New York, would fight former welterweight title holder Miguel Cotto in June, promoter Bob Arum told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Foreman owns the WBA junior middleweight belt.
According to Arum, a deal with Yankees’ management is being held up because a bar mitzvah celebration that was previously scheduled for the same night at the Bronx stadium.
”They’ve leased out some lounges for this bar mitzvah and part of the deal was for a half hour or so, they could use the big screen in center field to show pictures and all that sort of stuff,” Arum said. ”Obviously you can’t do that if there’s fights going on.”
If the conflict cannot be resolved, Foreman would fight Cotto on June 12 at Madison Square Garden.
”I’m very excited to defend my title in New York, which is the Jewish capital of the Diaspora,” Foreman, a rabbinical student, said in a statement. ”Having the fight in Yankee Stadium would be the icing on the cake, so please God it is finalized.”
