It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including Bob Arum's recent antics, a recap of Rios vs. Alvarado 3, Al Haymon becoming boxing's major power broker, Jermain Taylor's continued troubles, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
Bob Arum's ego must go, or Bob Arum must go. Listen folks, before you get all high and mighty about FightHype being a "Pro-Mayweather" website, please take some time to analyze what I'm about to write before you go passing judgment. I've been saying all along that both sides are at fault for the fight not being made. Two weeks ago, I stated the less the public hears about negotiations for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, the more likely it is the fight is going to happen. The very next day, Brad Cooney of Examiner.com conducted an interview with Arum in which Arum stated that Pacquiao had agreed to all terms and it was Mayweather causing the holdup. Everyone in the world was all up in arms because Pacquiao had "agreed to terms," but nobody really knew what that meant. A lot of the general public immediately closed themselves off to the possibility that there were plenty of other things that still needed to be hashed out. So, a lot of people stopped listening and blamed Mayweather. Come to find out later that both parties had reportedly agreed to the terms, but it was the networks (HBO and Showtime) causing the holdup. Yet, here we are, just 6 days shy of the biggest event in American sports, the NFL Championship, and we still don't have an agreement between the networks for the biggest fight in boxing history. And we still sit here waiting patiently, hoping that the venom Arum spews at Mayweather is not enough to cause the fight to fall apart. At the beginning of negotiations, all parties agreed to keep discussions as private as possible. So why then did Arum, with the possibility of one of his largest paydays as well as his fighter's largest payday, decide to go public and claim Mayweather was the last piece of the puzzle standing in the way of the fight? It's ego and fear.
Is Arum losing his edge as a promoter? Arum is 83-years-young, and I use the term "young" in an absolutely flattering way. I hope I am as active and successful as Arum is when I am his age. However, in the age of social media and instant news and information, it's difficult to keep anything private anymore. When Arum began promoting boxing, the information afforded to fighters today was few and far between. I don't know how much of a percentage Arum took from fighters' purses then, but it is common knowledge he takes upwards of 27% of purses from fighters currently under the Top Rank promotional banner. Think about that. If Manny Pacquiao fights for a $10 million purse, Bob Arum gets $2.7 million of that just for promoting. He doesn't take any punches and receives $2.7 million. I'm not saying promoters don't deserve a large chunk of change. Promoters are the ones who pay for media tours, hotels for all the fighters and their families, marketing, food, venue, etc. But 27% is highway robbery. Is it to the point that Arum hasn't caught up with the times? I'm not saying Arum is not still an innovator. Personally, I think it is a genius move to market boxing in China. But think about the reason he went there in the first place. The American public wasn't paying top dollar to see his best fighters fight. The Cold War between Golden Boy and Top Rank hurt Bob Arum's business. Fans didn't want to see fights with the same fighters over and over, and the undercards were terrible. In order for this fight to be made, Arum might need to take a step back and evaluate what the true road block is.
Arum may need to watch this negotiation from the sidelines from here on out. To be honest, there really isn't much that Arum needs to do anymore other than sit back patiently and wait to see if the networks can agree to terms so a contract can be drawn up (did I mention that there has never been an actual contract presented to both parties?). Other than Showtime Head of Sports, Stephen Espinoza, addressing questions about Arum's comments, what else have you heard about negotiations from the people actually involved in negotiating the fight? The only thing anyone has heard is coming from reporters claiming to have "sources." We haven't heard from CBS CEO Les Moonves, HBO Head of Sports Ken Hershman, Floyd Mayweather, Al Haymon (once again, just kidding), or anyone else close to the situation. The fight will happen, but only if the proper avenues are taken. There has been a lot of bad blood over the years between all sides, but business is business, and everyone involved should be doing everything to make this fight happen because this fight could be worth upwards of $500 million worldwide. That's a half of a billion dollars for one night of fights. If Arum steps aside at this point, at least until contracts are signed, he isn't going to be paid any less money. He will still get his cut. He needs to allow the fact that he doesn't have control of every aspect of the negotiations to not consume him or he could be the reason the fight never gets made. Which brings me to my final point?
Does Arum really not want Pacquiao fighting Mayweather? Pacquiao isn't scared to fight Mayweather. Mayweather isn't scared to fight Pacquiao. If Pacquiao beats Mayweather, you know there will be a rematch. However, if Mayweather wins, that's pretty much it for Pacquiao. There is nothing else to continue talking about. It's no coincidence that Pacquiao began fighting in China after his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez because the American public no longer believed he could beat Mayweather. However, 3 Pacquiao wins later, and Mayweather needing an opponent to bring in huge pay-per-view numbers, we have once again come full circle. The idea of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is all Arum has left to hang his hat on. If that goes away, so does Top Rank's biggest money maker. If the fight doesn't come together, Arum can continue to publicly state that Mayweather is scared of Pacquiao, thus keeping the business, and brand, of Pacquiao alive and kicking. It's just something to think about ladies and gentlemen. It may not be easy to hear, but it makes perfect sense.
Brandon Rios looked like a new man Saturday night. I had a feeling Rios would stop Alvarado, but I didn't expect him to make it look so easy. Forget the fact that Alvarado had barely trained for the fight. He wouldn't have beaten Rios on Saturday even at his best. Rios looked like a man possessed. He looked completely rejuvenated. He looked to be in great shape and could have gone 15 rounds. It's clear he dedicated himself to this fight, and if he can do that all the time, "Bam Bam" may indeed have plenty left in the tank at the highest level of the sport. Since I highly doubt a fight with Victor Ortiz is going to happen due to Ortiz's ties with Al Haymon, I would personally love to see Rios in a fight with Timothy Bradley next time out. I would pay top dollar for that scrap, so long as the undercard wasn't completely absurd.
Mike Alvarado owes his hometown of Denver an apology. We all knew Alvarado was swimming upstream considering all the legal trouble he ran into during training for the Rios trilogy, but his effort, especially in front of his hometown fans, was pathetic. I love watching Alvarado fight. He lays his heart on the line. He did it against Rios twice. He did it against Breidis Prescott. He did it against Juan Manuel Marquez. He did it against Ruslan Provodnikov. I don't ever want to question a fighter's heart because I'm not the one laying my life on the line, but if Alvarado knew he was going to give that type of effort (and I do believe he knew the fight was going to go down like that), I would have rather seen him try to postpone the fight to a later date to give the fans their money's worth. The fans supported Alvarado, even after his loss to Provodnikov. I believe his effort against Rios is going to leave a sour taste in their mouths, and "Mile High" Mike will never receive that type of fan support again.
Gilberto Ramirez is good, but he was exposed by Mixim Vslaov on Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, Ramirez easily won the bout, but he got hit a ton in unnecessary spots. All I could think about was Andre Ward sitting at ringside commentating. I'm sure Ward had to be thinking, "This is one of the best prospects/contenders at super middleweight? Who the heck am I going to get to fight me for big money?"
Al Haymon is becoming boxing's biggest power broker. Haymon had already announced that NBC and NBC Sports Net would be broadcasting fights. Last week, he announced that Spike TV would also be broadcasting fights, starting with March 13th's fight card of Andre Berto vs. Josesito Lopez with a Shawn Porter vs. Roberto Garcia co-feature. That's another great night of action on network television. Now, reports are surfacing that Haymon plans to air fights on CBS Sports Network and BET. He really is trying to hit every key demographic. I'm really hoping the PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) series is a success because this may be the very thing boxing needs to get back to the forefront of the American sports landscape.
Canelo vs. Kirkland is signed, sealed, and delivered. Normally, that fight would have fans buzzing, but because of all the nonsense of Mayweather/Pacquiao and Canelo/Cotto negotiations falling apart, this fight just seems "blah." Maybe 2 years ago I would have been excited about this fight, but I don't think Kirkland has any shot against Canelo at this point in Kirkland's career. After the 4th round, Kirkland is going to be spent and Canelo will pick him apart en route to a stoppage win.
What a fight, Tuesday night, between Michael Perez and Miguel Acosta! I'm glad I was watching the co-feature of Fox Fight Night live because this fight was more than anyone could have asked for on a random Tuesday night. Job well done gentlemen! Round 12 was a Round of the Year contender as well.
Can someone please get Jermain Taylor the help he needs? Taylor, who was already facing legal troubles, stemming from an incident at his home in 2014 where he shot his cousin, was allegedly involved in another incident at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas last Monday. Taylor, who is currently back behind bars, is accused of almost shooting a father of 3 in broad daylight. Taylor, who posted some very strange videos online that day, seemed to be out of sorts. I'm almost wondering if his brain bleed from a few years ago was more serious than originally thought (not to say a brain bleed isn't serious enough). I hope Taylor's brain gets checked because, based on the limited information I have about the subject, Taylor could be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
For the record, I've got the Seahawks repeating as NFL Champions on Sunday night. I'm going with Seahawks 29, Patriots 25. Yes, I'm a complete New England Patriots hater as a result of my love for my hometown Miami Dolphins.
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Robert J. regarding a multitude of topics...
"1) Is Mayweather/Pacquaio made yet?
2) I noticed that Oscar DLH is fixated with Mayweather, he spoke on the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight not being made, disparaging Mayweather. But he didn't speak negatively about Cotto who did the same thing to his fighter Canelo Alvarez. To him I guess it's ok for Cotto to hold out for a bigger piece of the pie, but not Mayweather.
3) I was WRONG about Deontay Wilder he has the goods to be a good maybe great, Champion. Let's see what he does next. Not So sure about Santa-Cruz though, he should stay away from Rigondeaux. Mares will be a better matchup for him, but he'll still lose. The things he does are the same things that Mares does, but, Mares does them better.
4) What do you think about Al Haymon taking over boxing?"
1) So far, no contracts have been drawn up, but you didn't need me to type that to know that information. All you have to do is read the internet.
2) Oscar has had a grudge against Mayweather since he lost to Floyd in 2007. That's only bad blood and nothing else. Mayweather takes subtle jabs at Oscar when he wants to in the public also. Those two will never like each. Plain and simple.
3) Wilder has the goods, but I'm still not convinced he's ready for Wladimir yet. I think Tyson Fury would be a smart next fight. I think he knocks Fury out, but it will be a good test against an opponent who will be bigger than him and have a reach advantage. Wladimir is about the same height (maybe about an inch shorter) than Wilder, but Wladimir is much stronger than Wilder.
4) I'm surprised at what Haymon is doing, however, he needs this thing to be great because if the viewership isn't there, the people funding this plan are going to take that $$$ away. We'll see what happens, but he is starting it off right. That's for sure. I love how he is reaching all types of markets. NBC, CBS, SpikeTV, BET. Don't be surprised if more networks jump on board. Haymon has 160+ fighters currently in his stable and that number could be close to 200 before year's end. That's a lot of fighters to keep happy, so he'll need as many platforms as possible.
That's all I've got for this week. Email any questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com and I will answer them throughout the week. Your email may be featured in the next "Observe and Fight." Follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.
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