PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (November 10, 2004) – “Tarvis Simms is scared to fight Chad Dawson,” promoter Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. president) fumed. “He should wear yellow trunks, or maybe a skirt. All he does is trash talk, telling everybody what he’d do to Dawson, but Simms has turned down what most likely is the most lucrative purse of his career to fight Chad.”

CES offered Simms (19-0, 11 KOs) a main event fight against Dawson (15-0, 10 KOs), WBC Youth middleweight champion and rated No. 19 by the WBC, December 10 at Foxwoods Resort Casino and on CN8/The Comcast Network.

Dawson-Simms would be one of the biggest fights in recent New England history, particularly at Foxwoods, where both fighters live in Connecticut – Dawson in New Haven, Simms in Norwalk.

“He’s used every excuse imaginable not to take this fight,” an irate Burchfield continued. “Simms is all talk. Let him prove he can beat Chad in the ring, not on the Internet. First, he said he and Chad were friends, too close to fight. This is boxing; it’s a business. No two fighters are closer than Chris Byrd and Jameel McCline and they’re fighting each other Saturday night. Chad understands that and he’s willing to fight his ‘so-called’ friend. Real friends, though, don’t say what Simms has said about Chad. Then they said Simms wouldn’t fight Chad at Foxwoods because he was worried about the officials, implying that Chad would get a hometown decision. We reminded Tarvis that he was from Connecticut, too. We even offered to let him bring in officials from New York – with the approval of the commission (Mashantucket Pequot Athletic Commission). Oh, yeah, the latest is he doesn’t want to fight on another promoter’s card.”

“He’s in camp with a great trainer Marshall Kaufman, who also trains with Kermit Cintron, so there is not excuse that he could not be ready.”

“Come on, he’s 33 years old and only three of his 19 fights were against guys with winning records. Look at his record. His opponents have a combined record of 133-351. We’ve offered him an opportunity to prove himself in a main event against a fighter he’s bragged about beating silly, in his home state for the biggest purse of his life by far. What’s the problem? Real fighters fight. Chad Dawson is ready, Tarvis Simms is all talk.”