In his Friday column on Maxboxing, Bernard Fernandez did a fine job giving the unbiased version of the Oscar-De-La-Hoya-buys-The-Ring-magazine story. Now it?s time for the biased version.
Bernard reported the facts and quoted all the key players. But he didn?t infuse a lot of personal opinion. I can?t write about The Ring without infusing personal opinion. And my opinion here is simple: It?s irresponsible not to afford Golden Boy Enterprises, Sports And Entertainment Publications, and The Ring the same courtesy everyone in this country is afforded by our legal system?innocent until proven guilty.
Within hours of the news breaking, I got this e-mail from one of my regular mailbaggers, Bakari:
?So, do you think The Ring has a conflict of interests, in that it is now owned by Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC, an ?autonomous? member of Golden Boy Enterprises? family of companies? I can?t see how The Ring can continue to position itself as an autonomous, unbiased ratings entity any longer. The owner of the owner of the mag is one of the most influential promotional companies in the industry. Sounds like the ?beyond reproach? aura of The Ring?s ratings went right down the tubes with this deal. Doesn?t seem much different than a promoter paying the travel, room, and board fees of a ref for a fight in which one of its fighters is fighting.?
Around the same time that e-mail was sent, a Maxboxing message board thread got started, and a lot of the reaction was the same:
?oh well it was fun while it lasted. all of my years on earth reading it, it actually meant something?
?RIP Bible of Boxing?
?damn man, the ring championship was the last thing i actually followed that meant something …. now that shit will become void…. i wonder will dlh go the sneaky route in naming his fighters ring champions or will he just blatantly give it to them without them even doing anything or the current ring champ losing it… i would hate to see an unknown hw beat larry donald and become the ring champion a week later cuz he?s signed to gbp.?
?Jesus. I?m at a loss for words. I?m actually scared of what?s to come. Who knows where the sport goes from here.?
A little bit overdramatic? Perhaps. But an understandable first response to the news? Certainly. My own initial reaction was similar, if twisted slightly due to my perspective. I didn?t say to myself, ?Uh-oh, The Ring has been compromised.? But I did say, ?Uh-oh, Nigel Collins, Joe Santoliquito, Stu Saks, and the rest of the gang at The Ring are going to face a lot of heat and have a tough time convincing everybody the magazine hasn?t been compromised.?
In Wednesday?s press release announcing the sale, De La Hoya was quoted as saying, ?These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy Companies as it relates to editorial direction or content.? I hope we can take Oscar at his word, but the truth is, I don?t know him well enough personally to vouch for him 100 percent. If we can take him at his word, though, then it comes down to trusting the editorial department not to be preferential to Golden Boy fighters, whether consciously or subconsciously. For me, having known those guys and worked with them for a decade, that?s an easy thing to do. For the rest of the boxing community, it may not be so easy. Here?s what Editor-in-Chief Collins had to say last week on the subject:
?In terms of people trusting us, I think there are two things to consider. One is my history?what I?ve done in the past and the fact that, although from time to time there are people that disagree with The Ring, very little of that criticism has ever concerned us being fair to all concerned. Obviously, you can?t rank hundreds of fighters and have everybody agree with every ranking. But there?s never been a question of my integrity before. So I?m going to rest to a large degree at this point on my track record.
?But going forward, the proof?s going to be in the pudding?between the pages of the magazine. The last thing we think about when making our decisions, whether it?s editorially or the rankings, is who the promoter is, or who the manager is. Our main thrust has always been, what do we think our readers want to read about? What?s important and what?s worthy? I intend to continue to make the decisions based on the same things as I did before. And I think as time goes by and people see what?s in the magazine, what?s in the rankings, that a lot of these fears will fade and disappear. I don?t think it?s possible, humanly possible, to please everybody all the time, and if you try, you?re in trouble. But I do think I?m going to have to re-double my efforts to be fair.
?You can never take the confidence of the readers for granted. I?ve always been vigilant, and I?m going to be extra vigilant. But there?s nothing we can do other than prove ourselves by being totally fair in the magazines themselves. If the people in the industry, and our readers, are as fair to us as we?re going to be to all boxers and all promoters, I think everything will be fine.?
Everywhere you look in boxing journalism, there are potential conflicts of interest. Dan Rafael is employed by ESPN; his job is to give all fights the coverage they deserve regardless of the network they?re on, but theoretically, the potential is there, if Rafael didn?t have any integrity, to write about ESPN fights more than he should, gush over ESPN?s announce team, etc. Right here at Maxboxing, you often see advertisements paid for by Showtime before you get to the home page; in theory, it?s possible for the Max writers to find themselves writing more about Showtime fights than they should, and less about HBO fights than they should. That doesn?t happen, however. In fact, a couple of years ago, I checked with Tom Gerbasi before getting started on a column recommending that people not buy the Hasim Rahman-Monte Barrett pay-per-view that was being advertised on the site, and Tom said that I should never hesitate to write something negative about an advertiser?s show if that?s how I honestly feel.
Of course, this Golden Boy/Ring thing is a much more blatant conflict of interest, and it?s much more dangerous because The Ring awards championship belts and many recognize the magazine?s rankings as the sport?s most valid. Joe Santoliquito sent me a joke e-mail last week showing the ?updated? rankings, with Oscar De La Hoya?s name in every slot in every division. It was a funny e-mail?but it?s a serious matter. If Golden Boy fighters were to start climbing the ratings undeservedly, it would make those ratings no better than those of the alphabet groups.
I, for one, would be shocked if that happened. Never mind how highly I regard the people in charge of making the ratings decisions; that sort of chicanery would be impossible to get away with because (a) there?s a ?Ratings Analysis? page in every issue of the magazine that gives an explanation for every ratings move, something the alphabets would never dream of doing; (b) there?s an advisory panel of journalists from around the world keeping a close eye on ratings changes and expressing their opinions if they disagree with a rankings decision; and (c) The Ring rankings have gained a decent foothold in the industry purely because they?re an unbiased alternative to the alphabet nonsense?a foothold that can be lost the instant that the fans, journalists, and networks recognizing those rankings decide they don?t trust them anymore.
In fact, putting a positive spin on things, perhaps you?ve noticed that, in recent years, HBO?s broadcasters have had to dance around mentioning The Ring. Many in the industry have suspected that there?s an order coming down from above at HBO, for whatever reason, not to publicize the magazine?s rankings or championship belts?a suspicion that seems almost certainly to be fact now that Max Kellerman, formerly the number-one supporter of The Ring Championship Policy, isn?t mentioning Ring titles on the air. In my opinion, the lack of support from HBO (and, to a slightly lesser extent, Showtime) has been the biggest obstacle preventing The Ring championships from completely catching on. But De La Hoya is the single most powerful person in the boxing industry today. If he were to exert his influence?along with promotional partner and reigning Ring light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins?maybe that obstacle could finally be bulldozed.
As some on the message boards pointed out this week, it now looks fishy that De La Hoya and Hopkins were making such an effort to sell The Ring championships prior to the Hopkins-Winky Wright fight (where Michael Buffer acknowledged the Ring title for the first time). As it turns out, the wheels were already in motion toward GBP owning The Ring. But Collins doesn?t believe that was the reason we saw Oscar and ?Nard doing so much shilling that weekend.
?I honestly believe that Oscar and Bernard and the whole Golden Boy outfit are turning more toward The Ring championship policy because they honestly feel that it?s good for boxing,? Nigel told me. ?And I think when Bernard Hopkins said before he fought Winky Wright that he?d been paying sanctioning fees on twentysomething title fights, that he doesn?t want to pay it any more, I think that was realistic too. I really don?t feel that a world champion should have to pay money to defend his title. It?s preposterous. And I think that we are philosophically aligned on that to a large degree. I think it?s more a philosophical agreement on how things should be in boxing?and I think the agreement in philosophy came before the sale of the magazine, not afterward.?
Ultimately, time will tell if we have to say, ?R.I.P., Bible of Boxing.? Time will tell whether The Ring?s writers will continue to criticize Golden Boy and its fighters when warranted?as Nigel told me they would?and whether we?ll see GBP fighters rising inexplicably in the rankings. I?m extremely confident that time will prove the integrity of everyone involved and that the magazine will be allowed to grow under its new owner. But if I?m wrong, I?ll admit it when the time comes. Until then, they are innocent of any wrongdoing, and the fair thing is to maintain whatever level of faith you?ve always had in The Ring until they give you a reason not to. It?s perfectly fine to have concerns and fears right now. But it?s not fine to assume guilt based purely on concerns and fears.
I?M RASKIN, YOU?RE ASKIN?
While the sale of The Ring garnered me more e-mails than any other topic this past week, it wasn?t the only thing people were writing to me about. Here?s a sampling of some other topics on the readers? minds:
Eric,
I?m confused about this sentence in today?s column: ?And with Vitali Klitschko-Jameel McCline pitting two of the most injury-prone heavyweights in the world against one another, we?re just a Dan Rafael newsbreak away from having no premium fights until September 29.?
It sounds like it was written before Klitschko?s injury, which would make it the sickest prediction of all-time, but I?m not sure, maybe you wrote it after the news broke and it?s just worded weird. Just curious if I should be bowing down to your Nostradamus-like powers or not.
?Anthony, L.A.
Anthony,
Bow down, my son. I wrote the line half-kidding, but indeed, I wrote it before the news of Klitschko?s injury broke?and you can ask Gerbasi or Fischer if you don?t believe me, as they received my column at noon last Sunday, a good nine hours before Rafael reported that the fight was off. I was writing about boxing?s injury bug based purely on Vargas-Mayorga and Marquez-Juarez falling apart, having no idea that a third major fight would be off the schedule by the time my column ran. I just kind of lucked out with that one. (While also getting kind of unlucky, because it left a lot of readers like yourself confused.)
Eric,
Whenever someone asks ?who would win?? the answer is invariably, in the octagon UFC Guy X would win, in the boxing ring Boxer Y would win. Initially, UFC was the ?who would win? bar argument incarnate; there were boxers, brawlers, martial artists, guys with different styles. Now, MMA is a style in and of itself. I try to like UFC, it?s on free TV, one belt per division, the best matches get made, a lot to like. It still doesn?t hold a candle to boxing in my book. The grappling is boring.
How about a Taylor-Pavlik prediction? I suspect JT regains some of his lost luster in this one. He?s looked bad lately, but his last five fights have been against four very difficult opponents. It?s frankly hard to imagine a more difficult stylistic run than Hopkins, Wright, Spinks, and Ouma. Who looks good against any of these guys?
Happy Anniversary! Marko
Marko,
Thanks for the belated anniversary wishes. Well said with regard to the MMA-boxing thing, I agree totally.
Regarding Taylor-Pavlik, I wrote immediately after their May doubleheader that I thought Pavlik had too many weapons for the regressing champ, and while some doubts have crept it with the passing of time, I?m sticking with Pavlik as my pick. Yes, styles make fights, and yes, Pavlik?s style is less tricky than that of Spinks, Hopkins, and Wright. But you can only blame style to a certain extent. Remember, Ouma was right there to be hit (and Taylor did hit him a lot), and still Taylor backed up throughout the fight and looked mediocre. To me, the big style factor in this matchup is that Taylor seems reluctant to take shots in order to give shots, whereas Pavlik is willing to stand in there and trade. Can Taylor dance and jab and stick and move for 12 rounds, piling up points while avoiding a slugfest? I have serious doubts about that. Can Taylor set Pavlik up for a big right hand that puts him on his ass? Taylor hasn?t knocked anybody down?not even natural junior middleweights?in a long time. Unless the Taylor-Emanuel Steward pairing suddenly clicks in their third fight together, I expect a comfortable win for Pavlik. I?m going with the challenger by 11th-round kayo.
Eric,
You wrote: ?I admire Miguel Cotto for how far his English has progressed in the last few years. But I still have no freakin? clue what he?s saying half the time.?
Luckily, Cotto is a man of few words, at least in English. Every question that was asked of him was given the same answer. ?I?m training hard,? ?I?m going to train hard,? ?I?m having a good training.? He seems like a good guy and is trying, but someone needs to teach him a few more words. Cotto by decision.
?Gabriel Torres
Gabriel,
Very funny. I?ll give Cotto a little more credit than that for his English?it?s just that his voice is so deep and his accent so thick that a lot of it sounds like a mumble to me.
And I?m not responding to the ?Cotto by decision? comment. I gave my Taylor-Pavlik pick already in this mini-mailbag; I?m not giving my Cotto-Mosley pick too. (Mostly because I can?t make up my friggin? mind who the hell I?m picking.)
EMPTYING MY CLUTTERED MIND ?
? I?m still not sure how I feel about the new season of The Contender. Last Tuesday?s episode wasn?t bad, wasn?t great. I never thought I?d say this, but the Season One ?family housing? silliness, where the fighters spent the night before a fight with their wives and kids in what looked like a nice college dorm, actually was great for helping us know the fighters better as people, and I kind of miss it. Plus, Sugar Ray Leonard already showed off his jump rope skills in Season One (though it was a treat to see that Oscar De La Hoya?s repertoire of rope-jumping tricks is no deeper than my own). I do think Jaidon Codrington?s overblown ego will keep things interesting throughout all future episodes he?s in (which should be most of the season, since he?s now guaranteed a spot in the semifinals).
? In case the last sentence didn?t make it clear for you, yes, I?ve avoided reading the spoilers regarding the two finalists on The Contender. It?s appalling that one boxing Web site leaked the results last week without the simple courtesy of a spoiler alert?and from my understanding, this same site has blown the results the previous two seasons also. The upshot is simple: If you know which site I?m talking about, and you?re pissed that they ruined the show for you, don?t ever go to that site again. And if you don?t know which site I?m talking about, then we may as well keep it that way.
? My least-favorite moment from The Contender last week: the cheesy wind-chime sound effect when Brian Vera got his brain scrambled by Codrington in the second round. At least I think it was a sound effect. I guess I?ll have to watch the unedited version of the fight on ESPN2 this week to find out for sure.
? It?s 1988 ? Your last name is Estrada ? You just had a baby boy ? Why in God?s name do you name the kid ?Eric?? I?m rooting for the 19-year-old junior featherweight prospect we saw Friday night on Telefutura to have an excellent career, because his parents went out of the way to screw up his life from the start, and he deserves to make big money as a fighter and not share a penny of it with them.
? Big thumbs up to the New York State Athletic Commission for overturning the Delvin Rodriguez-Keenan Collins result last week based on video evidence. They only need another 20 or 25 intelligent moves like that before they?ve erased the stain of suspending Evander Holyfield?s boxing license without just cause.
? Andrew Golota-Kevin McBride ? DaVarryl Williamson-Jameel McCline ? Wow, this Sam Peter-Oleg Maskaev undercard is really shaking up as an early Christmas for fans of past-their-prime heavyweight fringe contenders. The question is whether the promoters can lure Samson Po?uha out of retirement for a slot on this bill.
