Boxing News Thread
- Thread starter heyzel
- Start date
.jpg)
Golden Boy Announces Back To Back Quadrupleheaders
By Rick Scharmberg
Golden Boy has cancelled its planned November 30 Showtime telecast, which was to go head-to-head against HBO. The Devon Alexander-Shawn Porter fight is being moved to the December 7 Brooklyn show, and the Leo Santa Cruz-Cesar Seda fight is being moved to the December 14 card headlined by Adrien Broner-Marcos Maidana, which will no longer be a pay-per-view telecast. Also, the December 14 card is being moved from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Both events will be televised by Showtime.
The lineups are:
December 7, Barclays Center in Brooklyn:
Zab Judah vs. Paul Malignaggi
Devon Alexander vs. Shawn Porter
Austin Trout vs. Erislandy Lara
Sakio Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell
December 14, Alamodome in San Antonio:
Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana
Leo Santa Cruz vs, Cesar Seda
Keith Thurman vs. Jesus Soto Karass
Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs
Victor Ortiz vs. Alfonso Gomez
big up to gb for not making these cards ppvs
By Rick Scharmberg
Golden Boy has cancelled its planned November 30 Showtime telecast, which was to go head-to-head against HBO. The Devon Alexander-Shawn Porter fight is being moved to the December 7 Brooklyn show, and the Leo Santa Cruz-Cesar Seda fight is being moved to the December 14 card headlined by Adrien Broner-Marcos Maidana, which will no longer be a pay-per-view telecast. Also, the December 14 card is being moved from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Both events will be televised by Showtime.
The lineups are:
December 7, Barclays Center in Brooklyn:
Zab Judah vs. Paul Malignaggi
Devon Alexander vs. Shawn Porter
Austin Trout vs. Erislandy Lara
Sakio Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell
December 14, Alamodome in San Antonio:
Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana
Leo Santa Cruz vs, Cesar Seda
Keith Thurman vs. Jesus Soto Karass
Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs
Victor Ortiz vs. Alfonso Gomez
big up to gb for not making these cards ppvs
Hearn thinks he can get Broner to UK for Kell Brook fight
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 36 Comments
12Share 3 22Share 5Tweet
kell brook devon alexander amir khan adrien broner By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn thinks he can lure WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner over to the UK to fight his guy Kell Brook (31-0, 21 KO’s) within the next few months.
Hearn believes that with the lure of money to be made on pay-per-view, Broner will readily agree to come over and fight in front of massive crowds of British fans cheering Brook on. Hearn also thinks he has a chance to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. and/or Amir Khan to agree to fight Brook.
Hearn to IFLTV “It’s no secret that we want Khan, and we want Mayweather. That fight can happen. Broner is another fight I want to try and make. We can bring those over. We can bring those fighters over here with the pay-per-view model. Some people say we can’t bring Adrien Broner over here, but it can be done. I tell Kell we’ll fight Khan without a title. I think the worst is that we can fight Devon Alexander for a title.”
I just don’t see Broner agreeing to come over to the UK to fight Brook. There’s no upside in going over to the UK to fight an unknown as far as the U.S fans go. Hearn may be doing a good job of building up Brook in the UK by matching him against the likes of fringe fighters like Matthew Hatton and Vyacheslav Senchenko, but he’s not done anything to make Brook known in the U.S. And for that reason, he’ll never get Broner to come to the UK to fight Brook in the next 3-4 months. Why would Broner want to put himself into a position where he’d have to possibly score a knockout just to make sure he gets the win. It would be a tragedy if Broner went over to the UK and got jobbed in Sheffield against a fighter that most casual boxing fans in the U.S have never heard of before.
Hearn can forget about Broner, and definitely he can forget about Mayweather. There is no chance that Mayweather will face an unknown fighter like Brook in one of his four remaining bouts on Showtime PPV. Mayweather needs someone that will help pump up his PPV numbers, not bring them down to the ground. A Mayweather-Brook fight would be lucky to draw 500,000 buys in the U.S, and that’s a dreadful number.
Khan has already said he has no interest in facing Brook because the guy refuses to fight quality opposition. I’m pretty sure that Khan wasn’t impressed with Brook beating Senchenko either. Brook really needed to start fighting better opposition ages ago, and he’s still not doing it. Senchenko isn’t a quality opponent. Therefore, Brook isn’t going to get a fight against Khan.
The only fighter that Brook will be facing is IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander and the only reason that will be happening is because Brook is now the IBF welterweight mandatory challenger. However, it’s still not academic that Brook will even make it to the fight if he starts having feet and ankle problems like last time he was scheduled to face Alexander.
Read more at Hearn thinks he can get Broner to UK for Kell Brook fight
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 36 Comments
12Share 3 22Share 5Tweet
kell brook devon alexander amir khan adrien broner By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn thinks he can lure WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner over to the UK to fight his guy Kell Brook (31-0, 21 KO’s) within the next few months.
Hearn believes that with the lure of money to be made on pay-per-view, Broner will readily agree to come over and fight in front of massive crowds of British fans cheering Brook on. Hearn also thinks he has a chance to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. and/or Amir Khan to agree to fight Brook.
Hearn to IFLTV “It’s no secret that we want Khan, and we want Mayweather. That fight can happen. Broner is another fight I want to try and make. We can bring those over. We can bring those fighters over here with the pay-per-view model. Some people say we can’t bring Adrien Broner over here, but it can be done. I tell Kell we’ll fight Khan without a title. I think the worst is that we can fight Devon Alexander for a title.”
I just don’t see Broner agreeing to come over to the UK to fight Brook. There’s no upside in going over to the UK to fight an unknown as far as the U.S fans go. Hearn may be doing a good job of building up Brook in the UK by matching him against the likes of fringe fighters like Matthew Hatton and Vyacheslav Senchenko, but he’s not done anything to make Brook known in the U.S. And for that reason, he’ll never get Broner to come to the UK to fight Brook in the next 3-4 months. Why would Broner want to put himself into a position where he’d have to possibly score a knockout just to make sure he gets the win. It would be a tragedy if Broner went over to the UK and got jobbed in Sheffield against a fighter that most casual boxing fans in the U.S have never heard of before.
Hearn can forget about Broner, and definitely he can forget about Mayweather. There is no chance that Mayweather will face an unknown fighter like Brook in one of his four remaining bouts on Showtime PPV. Mayweather needs someone that will help pump up his PPV numbers, not bring them down to the ground. A Mayweather-Brook fight would be lucky to draw 500,000 buys in the U.S, and that’s a dreadful number.
Khan has already said he has no interest in facing Brook because the guy refuses to fight quality opposition. I’m pretty sure that Khan wasn’t impressed with Brook beating Senchenko either. Brook really needed to start fighting better opposition ages ago, and he’s still not doing it. Senchenko isn’t a quality opponent. Therefore, Brook isn’t going to get a fight against Khan.
The only fighter that Brook will be facing is IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander and the only reason that will be happening is because Brook is now the IBF welterweight mandatory challenger. However, it’s still not academic that Brook will even make it to the fight if he starts having feet and ankle problems like last time he was scheduled to face Alexander.
Read more at Hearn thinks he can get Broner to UK for Kell Brook fight
Quillin: I want Sergio Martinez next
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 29 Comments
49Share 3 68Share 6Tweet
sergio martinez peter quillin By Eric Thomas: WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin (30-0, 22 KO’s) successfully defended his title with a 10th round TKO last night over Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KO’s), but you have to say that Quillin’s stock dropped considerably with the win. The fight was stopped due to a cut over the left eye of Rosado, who was more than game to continue fighting. Quillin, however, didn’t seem excited about the prospects of giving Rosado a rematch when asked after the fight by Jim Gray of Showtime. Quillin says that it’s Al Haymon who sets up his fights.
When asked if he would like to fight WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez next, Quillin said “Of course I want Sergio Martinez next.”
Martinez isn’t going to fight Quillin next or ever because it’s not a big money fight for him. It would be a less paying fight than if he were to fight Martin Murray again. Quillin doesn’t have the fan base in the United States to make it worthwhile for Martinez to use up a fight on him. Martinez can make more money facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Fighting Quillin is the last on Martinez’s last and Quillin should know that.
Quillin seemed kind of defensive during the entire interview for some reason, maybe because he was booed the entire time by the fans who were unhappy with the fight being stopped.
Like usual, Quillin didn’t mention wanting a fight against WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. Rosado was torn apart by Golovkin earlier this year in a 7th round stoppage win and was a much more one-sided fight than last night’s fight between Quillin and Rosado. Quillin showed fear in his face from the 4th round on after getting hurt by a right hand from Rosado. After that experience, Quillin was on his bike and in a constant retreat mode for the last 6 rounds of the fight.
The judges had Quillin ahead 90-80, 87-83 and 89-91 at the time the fight was stopped in the 10th due to Rosado’s big cut over his left eye, but the fight looked much closer than those were. Maybe it was because of Quillin’s body language or his constant retreat mode that made the fight look so much closer.
Quillin needs to start facing better opposition if he wants to win respect from fans because he’s been underwhelming so far as the WBO champion with his two title defenses coming against Fernando Guerrero and junior middleweight Rosado. Quillin should agree to fight Golovkin and then might win some fans or lose them depending on how things go for him.
I don’t think Quillin would do well at all against Golovkin. If Rosado was able to hurt Quillin and put him on the run for the last two-thirds of the fight, then Golovkin would destroy Quillin easily. I think Quillin would be lucky to make it past the 5th round against Golokin even if he were in the full retreat mode like he was in last night after getting hurt by Rosado.
Read more at Quillin: I want Sergio Martinez next
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 29 Comments
49Share 3 68Share 6Tweet
sergio martinez peter quillin By Eric Thomas: WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin (30-0, 22 KO’s) successfully defended his title with a 10th round TKO last night over Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KO’s), but you have to say that Quillin’s stock dropped considerably with the win. The fight was stopped due to a cut over the left eye of Rosado, who was more than game to continue fighting. Quillin, however, didn’t seem excited about the prospects of giving Rosado a rematch when asked after the fight by Jim Gray of Showtime. Quillin says that it’s Al Haymon who sets up his fights.
When asked if he would like to fight WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez next, Quillin said “Of course I want Sergio Martinez next.”
Martinez isn’t going to fight Quillin next or ever because it’s not a big money fight for him. It would be a less paying fight than if he were to fight Martin Murray again. Quillin doesn’t have the fan base in the United States to make it worthwhile for Martinez to use up a fight on him. Martinez can make more money facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Fighting Quillin is the last on Martinez’s last and Quillin should know that.
Quillin seemed kind of defensive during the entire interview for some reason, maybe because he was booed the entire time by the fans who were unhappy with the fight being stopped.
Like usual, Quillin didn’t mention wanting a fight against WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. Rosado was torn apart by Golovkin earlier this year in a 7th round stoppage win and was a much more one-sided fight than last night’s fight between Quillin and Rosado. Quillin showed fear in his face from the 4th round on after getting hurt by a right hand from Rosado. After that experience, Quillin was on his bike and in a constant retreat mode for the last 6 rounds of the fight.
The judges had Quillin ahead 90-80, 87-83 and 89-91 at the time the fight was stopped in the 10th due to Rosado’s big cut over his left eye, but the fight looked much closer than those were. Maybe it was because of Quillin’s body language or his constant retreat mode that made the fight look so much closer.
Quillin needs to start facing better opposition if he wants to win respect from fans because he’s been underwhelming so far as the WBO champion with his two title defenses coming against Fernando Guerrero and junior middleweight Rosado. Quillin should agree to fight Golovkin and then might win some fans or lose them depending on how things go for him.
I don’t think Quillin would do well at all against Golovkin. If Rosado was able to hurt Quillin and put him on the run for the last two-thirds of the fight, then Golovkin would destroy Quillin easily. I think Quillin would be lucky to make it past the 5th round against Golokin even if he were in the full retreat mode like he was in last night after getting hurt by Rosado.
Read more at Quillin: I want Sergio Martinez next
Deontay could fight Stiverne for WBC heavyweight title in 2014
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 74 Comments
96Share 1 119Share 6Tweet
Wilder Stiverne Wilder vs. Stiverne Bermane Stiverne deontay wilder By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten heavyweight Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30 KO’s) entered the 30 knockout club last night with his blasting out of game Nicolai Firtha (21-11-1, 8 KO’s) in four rounds at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a very impressive performance from the 6’7″ Deontay with him knocked Firtha down three times with some beautiful shots to the head. The punches that Firtha got up from would have surely knocked out a lesser heavyweight.
With this victory, Deontay’s promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions is eying the WBC heavyweight title currently held by Vitali Klitschko. Schaefer expects that belt to be freed up now in early 2014 now that Vitali has announced that he’s going to run for the president of Ukraine.
Surely Vitali won’t have to time to stop campaigning for two-three months in order to get ready for what would be a dangerous title defense against the 34-year-old Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s). As such, Schaefer will be looking to match Deontay against Stiverne for the vacant WBC title once Vitali vacates or is stripped of the title for failing to defend it.
Schaefer said this via Fightnews “I anticipate he [Vitali] will no longer fight and that the title will become vacant. My goal is to have Deontay fight in his next fight for the WBC heavyweight championship against Bermane Stiverne. And after that go for Wladimir Klitschko, unify all the titles and have an undisputed champion.”
I think Wladimir will definitely look to face Deontay if he can capture the WBC title after beating Stiverne. That will set up a huge ‘Fight of the giants’ type of a bout between the 6’7″ Deontay and the 6’6″ Wladimir. It’ll be the first real heavyweight title shot in perhaps decade or more. It’s been incredibly long since a world heavyweight champion actually fought a good opponent instead of a stiff or a short fighter without the size or the weight to even be fighting at the heavyweight level in the first place.
If Deontay is able to stop Wladimir, you can bet that Vitali might come out of retirement or whatever he’s in to try and avenge Wladimir’s loss. No way do I see Wladimir electing to fight Deontay a second time if he gets starched the first time. That’s not been Wladimir’s style. He either moves on like he did when he was stopped by Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty, or he faces his former conqueror years down the line when things aren’t going so well with them, such as Lamon Brewster when he was coming off of a year layoff follwing eye surgery.
Deontay will have a huge height and reach advantage over the 6’2″ Stiverne. I don’t even think Stiverne is 6’2″. I think he’s closer to 6’0″, and he would be giving up at least seven inches in height and around the same amount in reach. Deontay could then pick him apart with his jab if he wished. I was really impressed with Deontay’s jabs from last night. That punch has become a major weapon for him, as well as his left hook and uppercut. I saw some nice jabs, left hooks, uppercuts and even some nifty inside work by Deontay. He had the whole package last night and I’m sure there was even more in his toolbox that he didn’t get a chance to put on display.
Read more at Deontay could fight Stiverne for WBC heavyweight title in 2014
October 27th, 2013 | Post Comment - 74 Comments
96Share 1 119Share 6Tweet
Wilder Stiverne Wilder vs. Stiverne Bermane Stiverne deontay wilder By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten heavyweight Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30 KO’s) entered the 30 knockout club last night with his blasting out of game Nicolai Firtha (21-11-1, 8 KO’s) in four rounds at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a very impressive performance from the 6’7″ Deontay with him knocked Firtha down three times with some beautiful shots to the head. The punches that Firtha got up from would have surely knocked out a lesser heavyweight.
With this victory, Deontay’s promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions is eying the WBC heavyweight title currently held by Vitali Klitschko. Schaefer expects that belt to be freed up now in early 2014 now that Vitali has announced that he’s going to run for the president of Ukraine.
Surely Vitali won’t have to time to stop campaigning for two-three months in order to get ready for what would be a dangerous title defense against the 34-year-old Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s). As such, Schaefer will be looking to match Deontay against Stiverne for the vacant WBC title once Vitali vacates or is stripped of the title for failing to defend it.
Schaefer said this via Fightnews “I anticipate he [Vitali] will no longer fight and that the title will become vacant. My goal is to have Deontay fight in his next fight for the WBC heavyweight championship against Bermane Stiverne. And after that go for Wladimir Klitschko, unify all the titles and have an undisputed champion.”
I think Wladimir will definitely look to face Deontay if he can capture the WBC title after beating Stiverne. That will set up a huge ‘Fight of the giants’ type of a bout between the 6’7″ Deontay and the 6’6″ Wladimir. It’ll be the first real heavyweight title shot in perhaps decade or more. It’s been incredibly long since a world heavyweight champion actually fought a good opponent instead of a stiff or a short fighter without the size or the weight to even be fighting at the heavyweight level in the first place.
If Deontay is able to stop Wladimir, you can bet that Vitali might come out of retirement or whatever he’s in to try and avenge Wladimir’s loss. No way do I see Wladimir electing to fight Deontay a second time if he gets starched the first time. That’s not been Wladimir’s style. He either moves on like he did when he was stopped by Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty, or he faces his former conqueror years down the line when things aren’t going so well with them, such as Lamon Brewster when he was coming off of a year layoff follwing eye surgery.
Deontay will have a huge height and reach advantage over the 6’2″ Stiverne. I don’t even think Stiverne is 6’2″. I think he’s closer to 6’0″, and he would be giving up at least seven inches in height and around the same amount in reach. Deontay could then pick him apart with his jab if he wished. I was really impressed with Deontay’s jabs from last night. That punch has become a major weapon for him, as well as his left hook and uppercut. I saw some nice jabs, left hooks, uppercuts and even some nifty inside work by Deontay. He had the whole package last night and I’m sure there was even more in his toolbox that he didn’t get a chance to put on display.
Read more at Deontay could fight Stiverne for WBC heavyweight title in 2014
Broner: After Mayweather retires, I will take over boxing
October 28th, 2013 | Post Comment - 88 Comments
101Share 5 145Share 12Tweet
Broner Maidana Broner vs. Maidana marcos rene maidana adrien broner By Allan Fox: WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) believes that he’ll be taking over boxing once his idol Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires from the sport. Broner patterns his fighting style after Floyd and he thinks he’ll be the one to carry the torch once Mayweather hangs up the gloves in the near future. Broner has no interest in fighting Mayweather because he sees him as family.
When asked why doesn’t he fight Mayweather, Broner said “For what? We on the same team. We keep the money in the house. After he’s done with boxing, I will take over boxing. I’m just waiting my turn.”
If Broner is going to be the one that replaced Mayweather then he’s going to have to do a better job in beating the top fighters in the 147 lb. division and in the other divisions because Broner did not look Mayweather-esque in barely beating Paulie Malignaggi last June by a 12 round split decision. While some writers thought that Broner fought the only fight he could against the defensive Malignaggi, there’s still no way that you could picture Mayweather struggling against Malignaggi the way that Broner did. Mayweather would have dominated Malignaggi at any point in his career.
Broner also says he’s open to the idea of fighting at 154 to go after another world title in the future. Broner has captured world titles in three different divisions – 130, 135 and 147 – and he envisions winning world titles at 140 and 154 to give him a total of 5 world titles at some point.
Broner said “yeah, man, why not? Go down in history and take five belts in five different weight categories.”
Broner needs to focus on winning his first title defense of his WBA 147 lb. title against challenger Marcos Maidana (34-3, 31 KO’s) on December 14th on Showtime at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The fight card was going to be a pay-per-view card but Golden Boy Promotions decided to make it regular Showtime instead.
It’s likely that they realized that it wasn’t going to create a lot of PPV buys due to a lack of a really big names on the card. The 24-yard-old Broner is becoming a star, but he still needs more time and a big name opponent to get him to the next level. If Broner doesn’t want to fight Mayweather then he’s going to need to face someone like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to get him to that level. Broner would be giving up a great deal of size and power if he were to face Canelo. Broner would have to implement movement in his game because he wouldn’t be able to beat Canelo standing in place and leaning backwards with his shoulder roll defense. Canelo would tear into Broner’s body if he fought in a stationary manner looking to just block head shots.
Also on Broner’s December 14th card will be the following fights:
Keith Thurman vs. Jesus Soto Karass
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Cesar Seda
Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs
Alfredo Angulo vs. Jorge Melendez
Victor Ortiz vs. Alfonso Gomez
Read more at Broner: After Mayweather retires, I will take over boxing
October 28th, 2013 | Post Comment - 88 Comments
101Share 5 145Share 12Tweet
Broner Maidana Broner vs. Maidana marcos rene maidana adrien broner By Allan Fox: WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) believes that he’ll be taking over boxing once his idol Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires from the sport. Broner patterns his fighting style after Floyd and he thinks he’ll be the one to carry the torch once Mayweather hangs up the gloves in the near future. Broner has no interest in fighting Mayweather because he sees him as family.
When asked why doesn’t he fight Mayweather, Broner said “For what? We on the same team. We keep the money in the house. After he’s done with boxing, I will take over boxing. I’m just waiting my turn.”
If Broner is going to be the one that replaced Mayweather then he’s going to have to do a better job in beating the top fighters in the 147 lb. division and in the other divisions because Broner did not look Mayweather-esque in barely beating Paulie Malignaggi last June by a 12 round split decision. While some writers thought that Broner fought the only fight he could against the defensive Malignaggi, there’s still no way that you could picture Mayweather struggling against Malignaggi the way that Broner did. Mayweather would have dominated Malignaggi at any point in his career.
Broner also says he’s open to the idea of fighting at 154 to go after another world title in the future. Broner has captured world titles in three different divisions – 130, 135 and 147 – and he envisions winning world titles at 140 and 154 to give him a total of 5 world titles at some point.
Broner said “yeah, man, why not? Go down in history and take five belts in five different weight categories.”
Broner needs to focus on winning his first title defense of his WBA 147 lb. title against challenger Marcos Maidana (34-3, 31 KO’s) on December 14th on Showtime at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The fight card was going to be a pay-per-view card but Golden Boy Promotions decided to make it regular Showtime instead.
It’s likely that they realized that it wasn’t going to create a lot of PPV buys due to a lack of a really big names on the card. The 24-yard-old Broner is becoming a star, but he still needs more time and a big name opponent to get him to the next level. If Broner doesn’t want to fight Mayweather then he’s going to need to face someone like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to get him to that level. Broner would be giving up a great deal of size and power if he were to face Canelo. Broner would have to implement movement in his game because he wouldn’t be able to beat Canelo standing in place and leaning backwards with his shoulder roll defense. Canelo would tear into Broner’s body if he fought in a stationary manner looking to just block head shots.
Also on Broner’s December 14th card will be the following fights:
Keith Thurman vs. Jesus Soto Karass
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Cesar Seda
Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs
Alfredo Angulo vs. Jorge Melendez
Victor Ortiz vs. Alfonso Gomez
Read more at Broner: After Mayweather retires, I will take over boxing
Canelo to fight three times in 2014 – all on PPV
October 28th, 2013 | Post Comment - 75 Comments
173Share 3 211Share 10Tweet
saul alvarez By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) announced his next three fight dates for 2014, and every one of them are on pay-per-view. The 23-year-old Canelo had his first headlining fight on PPV last September in his mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Showtime in Las Vegas, and now Canelo figures that he’s popular enough for all of his fights to be on PPV.
On his twitter, Canelo announced the following dates for his next three fights: March 8th, July 26th and November 22nd.
“After my meeting with GBP these are the dates that will fight in 2014: March 8, 26 in July and 22 November. My three dates will be on PPV and the first opponent of March 8 will be announced in the coming weeks!”
Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez’s names have been mentioned as potential opponents for Canelo. Cotto’s name was mentioned as a possibility for his March fight. The only problem would be to somehow make a deal with Top Rank, the promoters for Cotto. Canelo is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and it might prove difficult to set up a fight between the two fighters given that the two promotional teams rarely work with one another nowadays.
If Canelo decides to fight a welterweight for his next fight in March then you can count on it being Victor Ortiz. He was supposed to fight Canelo in the past but he was beaten by Josesito Lopez and suffered a broken jaw in that fight. Ortiz has a fan base and an Ortiz-Canelo fight might attract a little bit of interest on PPV. It won’t be a lot because Ortiz has been out of it for ages and he was already exposed by Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Josesito Lopez.
There’s not much for Canelo at 154 in the way of interesting fights. The best fighters in the junior middleweight division – Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Carlos Molina, Demetrius Andrade and Vanes Martirosyan – lack large fan bases. A fight between Canelo and any of those guys would be a tough sell on PPV. Canelo seems reluctant to move up to 160 for some reason despite the fact that he’s got the size to fight at that weight class, and there’s more interesting opponents in that division. It’s likely that Canelo will continue to hang around at 154 and face welterweights for the most part due to that division having more notable opponents than at 154.
Read more at Canelo to fight three times in 2014 – all on PPV
October 28th, 2013 | Post Comment - 75 Comments
173Share 3 211Share 10Tweet
saul alvarez By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) announced his next three fight dates for 2014, and every one of them are on pay-per-view. The 23-year-old Canelo had his first headlining fight on PPV last September in his mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Showtime in Las Vegas, and now Canelo figures that he’s popular enough for all of his fights to be on PPV.
On his twitter, Canelo announced the following dates for his next three fights: March 8th, July 26th and November 22nd.
“After my meeting with GBP these are the dates that will fight in 2014: March 8, 26 in July and 22 November. My three dates will be on PPV and the first opponent of March 8 will be announced in the coming weeks!”
Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez’s names have been mentioned as potential opponents for Canelo. Cotto’s name was mentioned as a possibility for his March fight. The only problem would be to somehow make a deal with Top Rank, the promoters for Cotto. Canelo is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and it might prove difficult to set up a fight between the two fighters given that the two promotional teams rarely work with one another nowadays.
If Canelo decides to fight a welterweight for his next fight in March then you can count on it being Victor Ortiz. He was supposed to fight Canelo in the past but he was beaten by Josesito Lopez and suffered a broken jaw in that fight. Ortiz has a fan base and an Ortiz-Canelo fight might attract a little bit of interest on PPV. It won’t be a lot because Ortiz has been out of it for ages and he was already exposed by Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Josesito Lopez.
There’s not much for Canelo at 154 in the way of interesting fights. The best fighters in the junior middleweight division – Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Carlos Molina, Demetrius Andrade and Vanes Martirosyan – lack large fan bases. A fight between Canelo and any of those guys would be a tough sell on PPV. Canelo seems reluctant to move up to 160 for some reason despite the fact that he’s got the size to fight at that weight class, and there’s more interesting opponents in that division. It’s likely that Canelo will continue to hang around at 154 and face welterweights for the most part due to that division having more notable opponents than at 154.
Read more at Canelo to fight three times in 2014 – all on PPV
Tua Shaping Up For Ustinov Figh
By Karl Freitag
After 9 months of brutal training, heavyweight David Tua (52-4-2, 43 KOs) is said to be down to 242 pounds for his November 16 clash with 6’8 Alexander Ustinov (28-1, 21 KOs) on November 16 at the Claudelands Arena in Hamilton, New Zealand. The bout is being billed as “David vs. Goliath.” The 40-year-old Tua is returning more than two years since his last bout, a decision loss against Monte Barrett in August 2011. Ustinov, 36, last appeared in April in a tuneup bout in the Ukraine. The fight was originally planned for August 31, but was postponed to November after Tua suffered a calf muscle injury.
fightnews
By Karl Freitag
After 9 months of brutal training, heavyweight David Tua (52-4-2, 43 KOs) is said to be down to 242 pounds for his November 16 clash with 6’8 Alexander Ustinov (28-1, 21 KOs) on November 16 at the Claudelands Arena in Hamilton, New Zealand. The bout is being billed as “David vs. Goliath.” The 40-year-old Tua is returning more than two years since his last bout, a decision loss against Monte Barrett in August 2011. Ustinov, 36, last appeared in April in a tuneup bout in the Ukraine. The fight was originally planned for August 31, but was postponed to November after Tua suffered a calf muscle injury.
fightnews
Al Haymon :: The Shadow Man Currently Pulling The Strings in Boxing
As Floyd Mayweather Jr. basked in his latest victory, the man behind the curtain actually stood behind a curtain, a cliché sprung to life. Few in the postfight news conference recognized this man, a reclusive, eccentric so-called adviser who rarely ventures into public.
The man arrived in Las Vegas incognito, dressed like a secret agent: black suit, white shirt, dark tie. His influence extended over every aspect of the promotion, from Mayweather’s $40 million pay structure to the resale of the best tickets at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.
As the chief architect of the career of Mayweather, perhaps the most prominent fighter since Mike Tyson, this man ranks among boxing’s most powerful figures. He also stands between Mayweather and a blockbuster fight with Manny Pacquiao.
From behind the curtain, he watched as Mayweather called his sizable entourage onstage, thanking bodyguards, assistants and assistants to assistants. “Where’s Al Haymon?” Mayweather said as he scanned the audience, his question a familiar one.
Mayweather shrugged. “Al Haymon would never come up here,” he added. “Al Haymon is the Ghost.”
These are the Haymon basics: Harvard-educated; successful in live concert promotion, then television production, now boxing; extensive list of celebrity clients; a brother, Bobby, who once fought Sugar Ray Leonard; no office, no answering machine, no photographs, no interviews.
“Think of Al as the Wizard of Oz,” said Phil Casey, one longtime partner in the music business. “It’s best not to try and figure him out.”
From Concert Stage to TV Screen
Haymon, 56, grew up in Cleveland and studied economics at Harvard, where he also earned a master’s degree in business administration. He started promoting recording artists while still in school, and even financed his first show, which featured the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, with student loans.
After college, Haymon returned to Cleveland and established a relationship with the O’Jays, growing especially close with Eddie Levert, the lead vocalist, and his son Gerald, an R&B singer. Haymon, Eddie Levert said, became “almost like blood to us.”
Levert described Haymon as a momma’s boy, and he meant it as a compliment. Early on, Haymon’s mother, Emma Lou, helped him with promotions, and for her 70th birthday, they recreated their trip to Harvard for his freshman year.
Haymon eventually created 14 businesses, mostly to deal with myriad aspects of live concert promotion. Early on, he was partners with Casey, then head of urban contemporary music at International Creative Management.
Casey estimated they staged more than 1,000 concerts together. Their client roster included M. C. Hammer, New Edition, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. They were, Casey said, among the first urban concert promoters to package several acts into a single tour, some of which ran for 300 days. They created the Budweiser Superfest, a concert series that ran from 1979 to 1999 and was revived in 2010.
Haymon and Casey turned an often haphazard business into an assembly-line production. They oversaw lighting, production, marketing and advertising, built an infrastructure, a total package, then plugged artists in. In 1992, Haymon, in a rare interview, told USA Today that they put on some 500 shows and grossed $60 million the year before.
“You could say the African-American concert world was divided in two camps: all the promoters who were trying to beat Al, and him,” said Jack Boyle, then chairman of the concert giant SFX Entertainment’s live music group.
By 1987, Haymon began to branch out. He co-promoted the “Eddie Murphy Raw” tour, working closely with Murphy and his stepfather, Vernon Lynch. Lynch’s partner, Gregory Pai, said the tour was at that time the highest-grossing comedy tour and comedy film ever.
“Promotion is as much science as art, and Al was able to mix the two,” Pai said. “He understood the mechanics of the business. He was an optimizer, the Steve Jobs of promotion.
As Floyd Mayweather Jr. basked in his latest victory, the man behind the curtain actually stood behind a curtain, a cliché sprung to life. Few in the postfight news conference recognized this man, a reclusive, eccentric so-called adviser who rarely ventures into public.
The man arrived in Las Vegas incognito, dressed like a secret agent: black suit, white shirt, dark tie. His influence extended over every aspect of the promotion, from Mayweather’s $40 million pay structure to the resale of the best tickets at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.
As the chief architect of the career of Mayweather, perhaps the most prominent fighter since Mike Tyson, this man ranks among boxing’s most powerful figures. He also stands between Mayweather and a blockbuster fight with Manny Pacquiao.
From behind the curtain, he watched as Mayweather called his sizable entourage onstage, thanking bodyguards, assistants and assistants to assistants. “Where’s Al Haymon?” Mayweather said as he scanned the audience, his question a familiar one.
Mayweather shrugged. “Al Haymon would never come up here,” he added. “Al Haymon is the Ghost.”
These are the Haymon basics: Harvard-educated; successful in live concert promotion, then television production, now boxing; extensive list of celebrity clients; a brother, Bobby, who once fought Sugar Ray Leonard; no office, no answering machine, no photographs, no interviews.
“Think of Al as the Wizard of Oz,” said Phil Casey, one longtime partner in the music business. “It’s best not to try and figure him out.”
From Concert Stage to TV Screen
Haymon, 56, grew up in Cleveland and studied economics at Harvard, where he also earned a master’s degree in business administration. He started promoting recording artists while still in school, and even financed his first show, which featured the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, with student loans.
After college, Haymon returned to Cleveland and established a relationship with the O’Jays, growing especially close with Eddie Levert, the lead vocalist, and his son Gerald, an R&B singer. Haymon, Eddie Levert said, became “almost like blood to us.”
Levert described Haymon as a momma’s boy, and he meant it as a compliment. Early on, Haymon’s mother, Emma Lou, helped him with promotions, and for her 70th birthday, they recreated their trip to Harvard for his freshman year.
Haymon eventually created 14 businesses, mostly to deal with myriad aspects of live concert promotion. Early on, he was partners with Casey, then head of urban contemporary music at International Creative Management.
Casey estimated they staged more than 1,000 concerts together. Their client roster included M. C. Hammer, New Edition, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. They were, Casey said, among the first urban concert promoters to package several acts into a single tour, some of which ran for 300 days. They created the Budweiser Superfest, a concert series that ran from 1979 to 1999 and was revived in 2010.
Haymon and Casey turned an often haphazard business into an assembly-line production. They oversaw lighting, production, marketing and advertising, built an infrastructure, a total package, then plugged artists in. In 1992, Haymon, in a rare interview, told USA Today that they put on some 500 shows and grossed $60 million the year before.
“You could say the African-American concert world was divided in two camps: all the promoters who were trying to beat Al, and him,” said Jack Boyle, then chairman of the concert giant SFX Entertainment’s live music group.
By 1987, Haymon began to branch out. He co-promoted the “Eddie Murphy Raw” tour, working closely with Murphy and his stepfather, Vernon Lynch. Lynch’s partner, Gregory Pai, said the tour was at that time the highest-grossing comedy tour and comedy film ever.
“Promotion is as much science as art, and Al was able to mix the two,” Pai said. “He understood the mechanics of the business. He was an optimizer, the Steve Jobs of promotion.
Haymon glided easily among constituents, as comfortable with lawyers in a boardroom as with artists from the streets. He knew politics, literature and economics, but he also knew how to avoid controversy. He sent holiday gift baskets and doled out concert tickets.
As his concert business evolved, Haymon’s reputation grew to include his propensity for putting on only the biggest, boldest shows, with back-to-back engagements up to 1,200 miles apart.
“If there’s a tour now with long routes, still, people say, is that an Al Haymon tour?” said Carl Freed, once executive director of the North American Independent Concert Promoters Association, which Haymon never joined.
In 1999, Haymon sold A. H. Enterprises to SFX Entertainment. The move, at the time, was typical, but the split was not. Haymon retained 50 percent and most of the creative control.
As R&B concert promotion gradually gave way to hip-hop and rap tours, Casey said, he and Haymon cut back. The problems with such tours — fights backstage, shootings, bloated entourages — were overdramatized, Casey added, “But when they did happen, it was so disruptive.” Casey recalled one incident, at a show in Boston, that resulted in a lawsuit and forced the cancellation of future events. They lost their building deposits and wasted their advertising money.
Haymon shifted into television production, where he encountered a skeptical Bob Levinson, the former head of the television department at I.C.M. Expecting someone in his 50s, Levinson was surprised by Haymon, still in his 30s.
“I know you don’t like this,” Levinson said Haymon told him. “But tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
He is credited as a producer on 10 television shows, including, most recently, “Grown Ups” on UPN from 1999 to 2000. From there, he segued into boxing but kept his hand in music. These varied businesses, though, held much in common, like treating talent as commodities, and working months on a single event.
Kery Davis, HBO’s senior vice president for sports programming, who also has a background in the music business, pointed to another crucial similarity among the industries Haymon penetrated.
“Very few barriers to entry,” he said.
Entering a New Arena
Haymon stepped gingerly into boxing, around 2000; it is unclear exactly when. He first worked closely with one fighter, Vernon Forrest, and described his foray into pugilism as a hobby, nothing more.
Friends like Levert were concerned that Haymon “was probably in over his head.” But Haymon’s only unease lay with his mother. Haymon told Levinson she did not approve of boxing. During fights, he sent siblings to her house to keep her occupied, so she would not accidentally see him on TV.
Haymon’s small inner circle entered the boxing world with him. Sylvia Browne, his assistant, handled much of the day-to-day affairs. Sam Watson and his two sons represented the public face of Haymon’s boxing enterprise, accompanying Haymon fighters into the ring.
Early on, Haymon tenaciously sought connections with the networks. He called Xavier James, the vice president for sports programming at HBO until 2004, at all hours daily, on three separate lines, and yet Haymon remained a mystery to James. Haymon penetrated boxing, James said, “with a great deal of guile and almost no personal interaction.”
“If I wanted to,” James said Haymon often told him, “I could run boxing.”
Starting with Forrest, Haymon established his reputation as someone who maximized fighters’ incomes, often at the expense of promoters. But his handling of fighters was not universally lauded.
Consider Lamon Brewster. Starting in 1999, he was bankrolled by Sam Simon, a boxing fan and a co-creator of “The Simpsons.” Simon said he paid Brewster about $50,000 annually on top of his fight purses and allowed Brewster to live rent-free in a house he owned.
Their relationship went beyond money, Simon said. So when Brewster defeated Wladimir Klitschko to capture the World Boxing Organization’s heavyweight title in April 2004, Simon pronounced it “the happiest night of my life,” like “having one horse and winning the Kentucky Derby.”
Soon after, Brewster talked about adding Haymon to the team as an adviser. He also began working with Don King. Simon said Haymon did not return his phone calls. At his next fight, five months later in Las Vegas, Brewster called Haymon and handed the phone to Simon. Haymon told Simon, “You’re out of a job.” A contract was then slid under the door of Simon’s hotel room. His commission had been reduced to 1 percent.
“It was like a bad boxing movie,” Simon said. “I blamed Haymon. I considered it the greatest betrayal of my life.”
Brewster responded to initial inquiries but ultimately was not available to comment. Through his lawyer, Haymon declined to answer questions.
Despite multiple eye operations and retinal tears, Brewster continued to fight, including four times in Germany, where the sport is regulated less stringently. Yet for one bout, in 2006 in Cleveland, Brewster submitted medical records in which the answers to three questions under Eye History, including blurred vision and surgical procedures, were “No.”
The records were faxed to the Ohio Athletic Commission from A. Haymon Development.
When Brewster went to a party at Simon’s house last December, few recognized him. To Simon, Brewster’s left eye appeared vacant. Simon and others who know him worry that Brewster is going blind.
Promoter, Manager or Both?
Most major professional sports leagues vet athletes’ representatives. In boxing, however, anyone can call himself an adviser, and lines are crossed often, without consequence. A fighter’s representative once phoned Xavier James, the former HBO executive, from a correctional facility.
Haymon is licensed in Nevada as a manager, yet he also performs many of same functions as promoters, his associates said, putting him in a legal gray area and perhaps in violation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, passed in 2000
Haymon, though, appears to operate as a hybrid, said James, Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing, and seven others with direct knowledge of Haymon’s business dealings who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution in future negotiations.
“I don’t think it’s a gray area; some do,” James said. “If you’re acting like a promoter, you should be subject to regulations. You can’t say, ‘O.K., I’m benefiting fighters, so therefore I don’t have to be in compliance.’ ”
Others see such criticism as mere jealousy toward Haymon.
“He makes fighters the most money,” said Jeff Wald, who helped create the reality TV series “The Contender” and worked with Haymon in boxing and entertainment. “Of course everybody hates him. If I was a fighter, he’s the first guy I’d go to.”
Showtime declined to comment about its dealings with Haymon.
Davis said HBO did not negotiate directly with Haymon. He said that “it would be inaccurate to say we never talk to Al,” but that the network makes boxing deals with promoters only.
Much of Haymon’s influence is derived from his relationship with Mayweather. Haymon helped him maneuver out of his contract with Top Rank for $750,000. Mayweather became the biggest pay-per-view draw of his generation, made a professional wrestling cameo, appeared on “Dancing With the Stars,” all in part because of Haymon’s influence. Boxing fans are craving a showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao. The fate of that fight may rest with Haymon more than with any other person.
Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promoters, the company hired in recent years to promote Mayweather fights, called Haymon “easily the smartest man I’ve ever met.”
Mayweather added, “If I would have had Al Haymon from the beginning, I probably would be a billionaire right now.”
Haymon’s power extends beyond Mayweather, though. He represents other prominent boxers, including Andre Berto, Paul Williams and Jermain Taylor, along with younger prospects like Adrien Broner and Gary Russell Jr. Haymon spreads those fighters among various promoters and steers clear of long-term contracts.
Berto is most often cited example of Haymon’s reach. In January 2010, he was supposed to fight Shane Mosley but withdrew, citing the earthquake in his native Haiti. Mosley ended up fighting Mayweather, while Berto received a $1.5 million fee to fight Carlos Quintana in a mostly empty arena in Florida. Berto knocked him out.
“Al Haymon is an enterprising young man,” King said. “He goes in with the cheaper price, without the responsibility. He’s not a bad guy. He seized an opportunity. He grasped the time. He chose fighters where he can pay less, not get more. But don’t blame Al Haymon for bad fights. Blame the enablers around him.”
Silence Is Golden
Late last month, Haymon traveled to Cincinnati, where Broner decimated an overmatched opponent in three rounds to capture the W.B.O.’s vacant junior-lightweight belt. On the same card, Russell needed but one round to score a knockout. Two fights, four rounds.
Haymon was front and center on the HBO telecast. To some, this appeared strategic.
On one side of him sat Berto, whose rematch against Victor Ortiz will take place on Showtime, not HBO, early next year. On the other side of Haymon sat Mayweather, his diamond watch sparkling under the lights. This scene — two easy victories over marginal opponents for his fighters; Haymon flanked by two prominent boxers he could shop to Showtime or to HBO —demonstrated his influence.
On that night, as on most nights, Haymon said nothing and somehow also said everything he needed to.
As his concert business evolved, Haymon’s reputation grew to include his propensity for putting on only the biggest, boldest shows, with back-to-back engagements up to 1,200 miles apart.
“If there’s a tour now with long routes, still, people say, is that an Al Haymon tour?” said Carl Freed, once executive director of the North American Independent Concert Promoters Association, which Haymon never joined.
In 1999, Haymon sold A. H. Enterprises to SFX Entertainment. The move, at the time, was typical, but the split was not. Haymon retained 50 percent and most of the creative control.
As R&B concert promotion gradually gave way to hip-hop and rap tours, Casey said, he and Haymon cut back. The problems with such tours — fights backstage, shootings, bloated entourages — were overdramatized, Casey added, “But when they did happen, it was so disruptive.” Casey recalled one incident, at a show in Boston, that resulted in a lawsuit and forced the cancellation of future events. They lost their building deposits and wasted their advertising money.
Haymon shifted into television production, where he encountered a skeptical Bob Levinson, the former head of the television department at I.C.M. Expecting someone in his 50s, Levinson was surprised by Haymon, still in his 30s.
“I know you don’t like this,” Levinson said Haymon told him. “But tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
He is credited as a producer on 10 television shows, including, most recently, “Grown Ups” on UPN from 1999 to 2000. From there, he segued into boxing but kept his hand in music. These varied businesses, though, held much in common, like treating talent as commodities, and working months on a single event.
Kery Davis, HBO’s senior vice president for sports programming, who also has a background in the music business, pointed to another crucial similarity among the industries Haymon penetrated.
“Very few barriers to entry,” he said.
Entering a New Arena
Haymon stepped gingerly into boxing, around 2000; it is unclear exactly when. He first worked closely with one fighter, Vernon Forrest, and described his foray into pugilism as a hobby, nothing more.
Friends like Levert were concerned that Haymon “was probably in over his head.” But Haymon’s only unease lay with his mother. Haymon told Levinson she did not approve of boxing. During fights, he sent siblings to her house to keep her occupied, so she would not accidentally see him on TV.
Haymon’s small inner circle entered the boxing world with him. Sylvia Browne, his assistant, handled much of the day-to-day affairs. Sam Watson and his two sons represented the public face of Haymon’s boxing enterprise, accompanying Haymon fighters into the ring.
Early on, Haymon tenaciously sought connections with the networks. He called Xavier James, the vice president for sports programming at HBO until 2004, at all hours daily, on three separate lines, and yet Haymon remained a mystery to James. Haymon penetrated boxing, James said, “with a great deal of guile and almost no personal interaction.”
“If I wanted to,” James said Haymon often told him, “I could run boxing.”
Starting with Forrest, Haymon established his reputation as someone who maximized fighters’ incomes, often at the expense of promoters. But his handling of fighters was not universally lauded.
Consider Lamon Brewster. Starting in 1999, he was bankrolled by Sam Simon, a boxing fan and a co-creator of “The Simpsons.” Simon said he paid Brewster about $50,000 annually on top of his fight purses and allowed Brewster to live rent-free in a house he owned.
Their relationship went beyond money, Simon said. So when Brewster defeated Wladimir Klitschko to capture the World Boxing Organization’s heavyweight title in April 2004, Simon pronounced it “the happiest night of my life,” like “having one horse and winning the Kentucky Derby.”
Soon after, Brewster talked about adding Haymon to the team as an adviser. He also began working with Don King. Simon said Haymon did not return his phone calls. At his next fight, five months later in Las Vegas, Brewster called Haymon and handed the phone to Simon. Haymon told Simon, “You’re out of a job.” A contract was then slid under the door of Simon’s hotel room. His commission had been reduced to 1 percent.
“It was like a bad boxing movie,” Simon said. “I blamed Haymon. I considered it the greatest betrayal of my life.”
Brewster responded to initial inquiries but ultimately was not available to comment. Through his lawyer, Haymon declined to answer questions.
Despite multiple eye operations and retinal tears, Brewster continued to fight, including four times in Germany, where the sport is regulated less stringently. Yet for one bout, in 2006 in Cleveland, Brewster submitted medical records in which the answers to three questions under Eye History, including blurred vision and surgical procedures, were “No.”
The records were faxed to the Ohio Athletic Commission from A. Haymon Development.
When Brewster went to a party at Simon’s house last December, few recognized him. To Simon, Brewster’s left eye appeared vacant. Simon and others who know him worry that Brewster is going blind.
Promoter, Manager or Both?
Most major professional sports leagues vet athletes’ representatives. In boxing, however, anyone can call himself an adviser, and lines are crossed often, without consequence. A fighter’s representative once phoned Xavier James, the former HBO executive, from a correctional facility.
Haymon is licensed in Nevada as a manager, yet he also performs many of same functions as promoters, his associates said, putting him in a legal gray area and perhaps in violation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, passed in 2000
Haymon, though, appears to operate as a hybrid, said James, Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing, and seven others with direct knowledge of Haymon’s business dealings who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution in future negotiations.
“I don’t think it’s a gray area; some do,” James said. “If you’re acting like a promoter, you should be subject to regulations. You can’t say, ‘O.K., I’m benefiting fighters, so therefore I don’t have to be in compliance.’ ”
Others see such criticism as mere jealousy toward Haymon.
“He makes fighters the most money,” said Jeff Wald, who helped create the reality TV series “The Contender” and worked with Haymon in boxing and entertainment. “Of course everybody hates him. If I was a fighter, he’s the first guy I’d go to.”
Showtime declined to comment about its dealings with Haymon.
Davis said HBO did not negotiate directly with Haymon. He said that “it would be inaccurate to say we never talk to Al,” but that the network makes boxing deals with promoters only.
Much of Haymon’s influence is derived from his relationship with Mayweather. Haymon helped him maneuver out of his contract with Top Rank for $750,000. Mayweather became the biggest pay-per-view draw of his generation, made a professional wrestling cameo, appeared on “Dancing With the Stars,” all in part because of Haymon’s influence. Boxing fans are craving a showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao. The fate of that fight may rest with Haymon more than with any other person.
Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promoters, the company hired in recent years to promote Mayweather fights, called Haymon “easily the smartest man I’ve ever met.”
Mayweather added, “If I would have had Al Haymon from the beginning, I probably would be a billionaire right now.”
Haymon’s power extends beyond Mayweather, though. He represents other prominent boxers, including Andre Berto, Paul Williams and Jermain Taylor, along with younger prospects like Adrien Broner and Gary Russell Jr. Haymon spreads those fighters among various promoters and steers clear of long-term contracts.
Berto is most often cited example of Haymon’s reach. In January 2010, he was supposed to fight Shane Mosley but withdrew, citing the earthquake in his native Haiti. Mosley ended up fighting Mayweather, while Berto received a $1.5 million fee to fight Carlos Quintana in a mostly empty arena in Florida. Berto knocked him out.
“Al Haymon is an enterprising young man,” King said. “He goes in with the cheaper price, without the responsibility. He’s not a bad guy. He seized an opportunity. He grasped the time. He chose fighters where he can pay less, not get more. But don’t blame Al Haymon for bad fights. Blame the enablers around him.”
Silence Is Golden
Late last month, Haymon traveled to Cincinnati, where Broner decimated an overmatched opponent in three rounds to capture the W.B.O.’s vacant junior-lightweight belt. On the same card, Russell needed but one round to score a knockout. Two fights, four rounds.
Haymon was front and center on the HBO telecast. To some, this appeared strategic.
On one side of him sat Berto, whose rematch against Victor Ortiz will take place on Showtime, not HBO, early next year. On the other side of Haymon sat Mayweather, his diamond watch sparkling under the lights. This scene — two easy victories over marginal opponents for his fighters; Haymon flanked by two prominent boxers he could shop to Showtime or to HBO —demonstrated his influence.
On that night, as on most nights, Haymon said nothing and somehow also said everything he needed to.
Frank Warren continues vendetta against former fighters
by Tommy Allan Published on 10-28-2013 04:32 PM
Frank Warren has once again laid into one of his former fighters in Kell Brook. Warren has spoke about Brook not yet fighting for a world title and being no closer to doing so.
"When Kell Brook and I parted ways in April 2011, the Sheffield welter was undefeated in 23 fights and mandatory challenger to then WBO champion Manny Pacquiao," said Warren.
"Two and a half years on, he is no closer to debuting at world title level. Having twice cried off from scheduled challenges to IBF champion Devon Alexander in the USA earlier this year, the 27 year old continues to procrastinate."
"With champion Alexander tied up with a defence against Ohio's unbeaten Shawn Porter in Texas on November 30th, it's highly unlikely that Brook – already in his tenth year as a pro – will step inside a world championship ring before next spring."
"Though the 'Pacman' was a feared force back when I manoeuvred Brook into that mandatory slot, he's not scored a stoppage win since and has suffered two defeats."
"If Pacman had his mandatory against Brook, Kell would have been handsomely remunerated and might even have got lucky. Food for thought", continued Warren.
Does anyone remember Frank saying this below, back in 2011?
"Kell isn't ready for Pacquiao yet. I keep telling him he must have a little patience. He's got to sit tight for a while, get a few more decent wins. But he is on the cusp of doing something really big and he will definitely be a world champion."
It's become a trend the past few years for Warren to publicly lash out at fighters who have left his stable. Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Burns, Amir Khan and now Kell Brook have all been blasted at one point or another by Frank.
by Tommy Allan Published on 10-28-2013 04:32 PM
Frank Warren has once again laid into one of his former fighters in Kell Brook. Warren has spoke about Brook not yet fighting for a world title and being no closer to doing so.
"When Kell Brook and I parted ways in April 2011, the Sheffield welter was undefeated in 23 fights and mandatory challenger to then WBO champion Manny Pacquiao," said Warren.
"Two and a half years on, he is no closer to debuting at world title level. Having twice cried off from scheduled challenges to IBF champion Devon Alexander in the USA earlier this year, the 27 year old continues to procrastinate."
"With champion Alexander tied up with a defence against Ohio's unbeaten Shawn Porter in Texas on November 30th, it's highly unlikely that Brook – already in his tenth year as a pro – will step inside a world championship ring before next spring."
"Though the 'Pacman' was a feared force back when I manoeuvred Brook into that mandatory slot, he's not scored a stoppage win since and has suffered two defeats."
"If Pacman had his mandatory against Brook, Kell would have been handsomely remunerated and might even have got lucky. Food for thought", continued Warren.
Does anyone remember Frank saying this below, back in 2011?
"Kell isn't ready for Pacquiao yet. I keep telling him he must have a little patience. He's got to sit tight for a while, get a few more decent wins. But he is on the cusp of doing something really big and he will definitely be a world champion."
It's become a trend the past few years for Warren to publicly lash out at fighters who have left his stable. Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Burns, Amir Khan and now Kell Brook have all been blasted at one point or another by Frank.
Broner is a vile piece of shit. What sports athlete releases porno videos of himself?
Props:
WYNO707X4 and heyzel
