During a 2007 episode of Boxing Confidential Radio, former co-host Ronald Pegram came up with a very funny, but poignant line. ?Man, Golden Boy Promotions is like WCW’s NWO.,? Pegram once said.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Ted Turner and broadcast on TBS. During the 1990s Turner purchased this company from old time boxing man Jim Crockett in an attempt to topple top wrassling dog Vince McMahon and his WWF (now known as WWE).
Turner handed over the creative control of his wrestling business to Eric Bischoff, who created a gimmick called the NWO or New World Order. The story behind the now was that they were wrestlers with big names invading the WCW; mainly old WWF wrestlers with name recognition, but high on mileage and fading in terms on in the ring talent.
Pegram would argue, correctly, that names like De La Hoya, Mosley, Hopkins, and Barrera, were just that, names, but like the wrestlers of the New World Order (WCW), these future International Boxing Hall of Fame members were aging commodities.
More importantly, from a business perspective, Turner was a wealthy man with no real understanding of the subtle nuances of running a professional wrestling organization. His mission was to throw money at the people whom he considered to be ?stars? and that by bringing them into his organization, he would win the ratings, pay per view, and box office war with the WWF.
As it turns out, McMahon, a man who understands the business of wrestling and with an incredible knack for creating new stars from scratch, eventually put Turner out of business and merged the WWF with WCW. Turner who initially created a buzz with the new ?old? talent was eventually defeated by basing his business on these same figures who would eventually become boring to pro wrestling buffs.
Golden Boy Promotions is much like WCW, run by a ?boxing? banker who knows his business but is not truly part of the professional boxing culture. Sure, Schaefer has made smart business moves such arranging operating agreements with AEG Worldwide and USA Boxing, garnering support from various sponsors, and presenting financially, if not exciting, boxing events.
Unfortunately for Schaefer, the ultimate manner in which Golden Boy Promotions will make money is inside the ring where their talent is growing long in the tooth. If Golden Boy cannot present a consistently exciting product, their financial growth will eventually recess.
Golden Boy’s only true competition in the United States is Top Rank. Bob Arum, a long time boxing promoter who runs Top Rank, has knowledge of the ins and outs of the professional boxing culture and can create stars from scratch. In the area of negotiating partnerships and securing funding for his shows, Arum is not slouch either.
From the perspective of talent, Top Rank has the best and most exciting fighters in the game. Names like Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao (technically co-promoted by Golden Boy), Miguel Cotto, and Antonio Margarito are the top icons in Arum’s stable and considered some of the best younger talent in the game.
Though Arum has the goods, the fact that HBO Sports head boss Ross Greenburg is more familiar with the names of Golden Boy’s ?N.W.O.?, seems to assist Schaefer in securing dates and receiving preferential treatment from the network. Thomas Hauser, superb boxing writer, presents an article discussing the relationships between HBO and the two battling promotions: click here to read.
Regardless of where Top Rank’s fighters display their amazing talents, be it HBO, Showtime, the Internet, or some other broadcast medium unknown to us at this moment, Arum has the horses and know how to win a war with Golden Boy.
Ignoring the most basic of boxing business instincts, Greenburg is managing his boxing broadcast calendar based on name recognition and relationships with certain figures within the sport. A boxing program should present the best fights available to its budget, thus presenting the best possible product to viewers. The moment, as a programmer, you base your product on preferential treatment or friendships, you are leaving the quality of your product in someone else’s hands.
I would argue, beyond 2008 or 2009, HBO needs Top Rank for talent, just as much as Top Rank needs HBO to meet broadcast needs. Golden Boy and HBO might be a kin to love birds, or monkey’s picking flees off of each other’s fur, but when De La Hoya, Hopkins, and Mosley are done, Greenburg won’t be left with many familiar names at Golden Boy and when he does the research to find out who the most exciting and recognizable fighters in the world are, the facts will bring him to the footsteps of Top Rank Promotions.
Golden Boy’s talent core is older and their young prospects are not ready to be featured in high profile events, because they have not developed the name recognition of Top Rank’s prime aged stars.
For now HBO and Golden Boy Promotions are bossom buddies; HBO keeps its dying boxing viewer ship afloat with names of yesteryear which casual fans recognize and Golden Boy lines its coffers from events subsidized by the network’s boxing budget.
Yet something tells me, that if 76 year old Bob Arum can maintain the necessary health to fulfill the hectic role of top-level promoter, Top Rank will have the last laugh at the expense of Golden Boy and HBO.
