The Truth About Jose Canseco's Boxing Controversy

Yesterday, I wrote about news reports that surfaced this weekend about a celebrity boxing match that had scheduled Jose Canseco, but instead had Ozzie Canseco show up in his place.  The match was cancelled when the promoted realized that Ozzie was smaller and did not have Jose's distinct tattoos.  At least, this was what was reported by the major news sites. 

Jose claimed that these reports were false, and the promoter, Damon Feldman, was lying to the public about what really happened this weekend.  I attempted to contact Jose by e-mail, but have yet to receive anything in return.  He did tweet that he'd be willing to subject himself to a polygraph test to expose the truth.

And just a little bit ago, I received this press release from his publicist, who I have been in contact with recently.  I have printed it out in its entirety to give people a first look at this document, as I have yet to see it published on any other sites.

JOSE CANSECO CHALLENGES BOXING PROMOTER DAMON FELDMEN TO A POLYGRAPH TEST

For interviews contact:
Nadine Christine
Euphoric Media and PR
323-863-6779
nadine@euphoricent.com

In the throws of dealing with his much beloved father death, Jose Canseco is also facing an onslaught and barrage of negative media surrounding Damon Feldman, a boxing promoter and currently on probation in Pennsylvania  for fixing fights.

On Saturday, March 26th, fans lined up at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fl. expecting to see Jose Canseco in a boxing match, when in actuality it was his brother Ozzie Canseco that came in to fight for Jose.  The media is spurning that boxing promoter Damon Feldman “didn’t know it was Ozzie and it was a bait and switch”, when in fact Feldman knew a week before that Jose had thrown his back out and wasn’t able to fight.

Jose called Feldmen to advise him that he was dealing with severe depression regarding his father’s death and had thrown his back out on his way back from Miami, where he laid his father to rest.  “There was absolutely no point and time that Feldmen wasn’t aware that Ozzie was coming in to fight for me” stated Jose.  “I have fought for Feldmen four times before and he knows exactly what I look like and who I am".  Witnesses were in the room with Jose when he called Feldmen to state that he wasn’t able to make it and that the fight should be canceled.  Feldmen then agreed with Canseco to allow his brother to come in and fight for him.

Upon tuning into the fight on ustream.com, Jose heard his name mentioned and immediately called Ozzie and asked what was going on.  At that point the Canseco brothers thought it would be best for Ozzie to leave.  As is the norm with all fighters, security assisted Ozzie out of the hotel.  When Feldmen realized what was happening, he started to spin the negative media surrounding the Canseco brothers because he knew they would be publicly humiliated if he created untrue and ridiculous stories about what truly happened that night.

After all the positive feedback and press that’s been coming around for Jose Canseco because of his participation in “Celebrity Apprentice” and all of the great charity work he has been doing lately, this has really came as a shock.  But for Jose it would seem a normal way of life in the public eye and people will continue to take advantage of negative media to secure themselves, much as Feldmen did in this case.

Canseco is calling out Feldmen on national television. “I know the truth behind what happened and if Feldmen believes his version of the story, he’ll take a polygraph and put these rumors to rest”, stated Jose.

Jose is working on his third book deal “The Truth Hurts” where he reveals so much of the pains and struggle he’s had to deal with as a baseball star and being a celebrity in general and currently in "Celebrity Apprentice".  When asked what he's up to these days, Jose says "It's about keeping it real, keeping the truth, making sure my fans are happy and giving back". 

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So does this settle the matter?  Going by only a press release, it's tough to say.  It's basically one man's word against another man's word.  When taking a closer look at the other side of the situation, Jose's story starts to gain credibility. 

Although Jose is often lambasted in the media, he is a man who doesn't lie to the public to advance his public image. Damon Feldman, on the other hand, is no boy scout.  Perform a Google search on Damon Feldman, and the first story that pops up is him fixing celebrity boxing matches and promoting without a license.  To take this man's word and treat it as the gospel seems like a pretty risky proposition.

Meanwhile, Jose has a history of telling the truth, even when he knows it will hurt his public image.  Although at times, Jose seems desperate for money, the risk of this plan far outweighs the reward.  Jose seems to get a lot of bad publicity for any story involving him, and this story is no exception.  But when you take a step back and look at who you are going to believe, I think the answer is obvious: Jose is telling the truth.

-Joe

P.S. If you are tired of all the negativity towards Canseco, here is a more positive story involving the former slugger.