Oct 11, 2009 – I am not a scribe with the literary talents of the honorable Thomas Hauser, but I would like to chime in on the fall of HBO’s boxing empire with President of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg at the wheel.
Fact: HBO is the premiere broadcaster of boxing in the United States of America.
Fact: HBO made the decision to give Golden Boy Promotions preferential treatment when it comes to broadcasting fights on the network over the last few years.
Fact: The quality of entertainment produced by the boxing bouts televised on HBO over the last three years has been dismal.
Maybe Mr. Greenburg, Mr. Kery Davis (Senior Vice President of HBO Sports Programming), and others associated with the network really believed that Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions were going to revitalize the sport through their myriad of meaningless business relationships with print outlets, arena management firms, and other institutions.
I am willing to give HBO a pass on their misguided belief that things would be different and the sport would rise in prominence again with Golden Boy Promotion’s Richard Schaefer at the helm.
But now that reality has sent in and Schaefer has proven to be little more than a carpetbagger, interested only in making money for Golden Boy Promotions with a minimal interest in the long term development in the sport, and what would you expect from a former banker, Mr. Greenburg must re-act using the power of HBO.
Imagine if HBO decided to pull the plug on boxing. Imagine the chaos that would run amok within the sport. Where would major promoters televise fights? How would they pay for their fighters over inflated purses? How would promoters be able to deliver the minimum yearly appearances delineated in their fighters contracts?
The chaos would be fun to watch. If you think Schaefer and Company acted like infants when they were denied preferential treatment in scheduling Bernard Hopkins on HBO, imagine if they were cut off at the tit completely? Where would Schaefer go, if he had to actively promote an event without the backing and marketing power of HBO?
The aftermath would fun to watch for sadists, but the effects would surely mark a serious blow to a sport I, and you the reader, have come to love. If and when HBO pulls out of the boxing game, we will all suffer.
So like it or not, Ross Greenburg controls the future of the sport; a future which can be made to shine brighter than ever, if and only if, Mr. Greenburg uses the power of his network’s unique status.
Mr. Greenburg could slash the budget of HBO Boxing in half for 2010 and promoters and their fighters would have to adjust, because they have no where else to go in regards to traditional broadcast outlets. The budget could be slashed by three quarters and boxing would have to adjust.
The truth of this dynamic between HBO and boxing promoters must be made evident by the network. Promoters must be shown who runs the sport in America, and informed that the network is only interested in quality match-ups with no favoritism shown to anyone promoter. If Golden Boy, or Top Rank balk at the idea, Mr. Greenburg could be quick to inform them that the network might no longer be interested in transmitting their pay per views either.
A bully move yes, but if you can be a bully, be a bully. Desperate times call for desperate measures and another year of Victor Ortiz vs. Carlos Maidana or Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver on boxing’s biggest American outlet could truly deteriorate the sports marketability for several years.
There are a myriad of excellent potential fights in boxing today: Chad Dawson vs. Jean Pascal, Edwin Valero vs. Jorge Barrios, Robert Guerrero vs. Humbert Soto, Israel Vazquez vs. Juan Manuel Lopez, and a host of others. HBO just needs to expand beyond their focus beyond working with Golden Boy Promotions, to make the fights that are the best in the boxing and communicate these intentions to the promoters who benefit from HBO’s broadcast power.
If promoters do not want to be amicable in the fights that NEED to be made, maybe it is time for other promoters to be brought to the table.
Mr. Greenburg, act like a smart business man, and not like a man scared to use the power of his organization. The boxing world will be looking on very carefully during 2010.
