Another thriller was staged this past weekend at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as Amir Khan desperately held off the hard-charging Marcos Maidana to retain his WBA junior welterweight title. It’s been a good run for boxing after their HBO-induced October hiatus where ?Fight of the Year? candidates are coming in, seemingly on a weekly basis.
?Sin City? has had a particularly good streak of bouts. On November 6th, they had Juan Manuel Lopez’s exciting slugfest versus Rafael Marquez at the MGM Grand. Three weeks later on Thanksgiving weekend, the same building featured Marquez’s brother, the great Juan Manuel, staving off the spirited Michael Katsidis. Then you had the bouts this past weekend. All three were fights that more than lived up to their billing. All three will be fondly remembered for years to come.
Unfortunately, all three shows (which were-high profile cards on the premium cable networks) drew approximately just 4,500 to 5,000 patrons. This used to be a fight town; well?right now, there’s no fight in Las Vegas. Having been to all three of these shows, I can tell you that in all my years of covering the sport (beginning in 1996), I’ve never seen this jurisdiction so placid and lifeless. Talk to any cabbie and they’ll tell you what has happened to their tips. Bars, which once stayed open all night, have last call at 1:30 in the morning. Coffee shops, which, by Las Vegas tradition are almost bound to stay open 24/7, now close. And the service, because of understaffing, has hit an all-time (s)low at many of these establishments inside these hotels.
No, this place hasn’t become Topeka, Kansas but it’s not the Las Vegas we once knew and loved.
This past weekend’s attendance was announced at 4,632. But that was buoyed by the fact that the Mandalay Bay offered free tickets to the fight AND a comped room. And this wasn’t an offer made just to their big players but folks, like a friend of mine, who hadn’t stayed there in a few years. And as he took up the offer, without provocation, his tickets were automatically upgraded from $150 to the $350 level.
Yet, still, you could’ve lobbed hand grenades into various sections of the Mandalay Bay Events Center and had no casualties. It’s time to start taking fights out of the stale, cocoon-of-the-casino venue and start doing some actual promoting in major league facilities. For boxing, this bubble has finally burst. It’s long been time to start cultivating local markets and replenish the boxing fan base. Ever been to a casino fight? Try finding families or younger folks who attend. See how many fans actually show up less than a half-hour before the televised bouts begin. And as Joan Guzman blew out Jason Davis early on this weekend, you had a hiatus that lasted about 50 minutes before Victor Ortiz and Lamont Peterson got into the ring. The atmosphere was as lively as a mausoleum. Unfortunately, this occurrence is not an aberration but the norm.
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, which staged this event, said of the recent slide in attendance here, “I think it’s sort of a reflection that it’s the Christmas holiday coming up, which is difficult, whenever you do a fight, to really get a crowd. It doesn’t really matter. But what I really noticed being here a week, now, in Las Vegas, is that it’s still really a depressed environment with the casinos and the restaurants. So it’s a reflection of that. Having said that, I would love to take fights like this to a Staples Center or some of those class-A buildings around the country. Unfortunately, during this time, all of the venues are booked with hockey teams, basketball games and they are all full.”
Golden Boy Promotions is partnered with AEG, which owns a multitude of venues across the globe like the Staples Center and the O2 Arena. But that doesn’t always make it easier to get on their dossier.
“So sometimes you really don’t have much of a choice and I can give you an example, offered Schaefer. ?I would love to take Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in his next fight somewhere in Los Angeles but the fact is that Staples Center is booked until the end of June for every Saturday. So you’re basically forced to take him to a Las Vegas, if you want to do a big event. Maybe a Texas, we’ll look at some of the Texas locations and so on.”
Specific to this past Saturday night and their figures, Schaefer stated, “It’s not that shabby. I think that the gate was over a half-million dollars. So it’s really a decent gate and the crowd was into it. I agree with you, I think it is important to really focus on taking some of these fights into non-casino environments and I know you are one of the biggest proponents for that and I agree. There’s nothing really more to be said. It’s really sometimes a matter of availability.”
There’s no doubt; those that showed up this past weekend and to the shows in November here were treated to some memorable boxing. But to put this into perspective, this upcoming show taking place at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City between WBC light heavyweight titlist Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins sold approximately 15,000 tickets- in about two days and is now a complete sell-out (Yes, a fight involving Hopkins is a complete sell-out; believe it or not). What cannot be minimized is that Pascal, like the hugely popular Lucian Bute and the rising David Lemieux, is based in that region and showcased consistently in that market. Fans have a chance to develop a loyalty and familiarity with them over a course of time.
In the States, however, how much of that exists beyond Tomasz Adamek in Newark? If boxing ran other sports, you’d see the Dallas Cowboys face the Philadelphia Eagles in an Indian casino in California and the Yankees and Red Sox would play three game sets in Las Vegas. The truth is, other than Manny Pacquiao (who was responsible for this city’s one decent month in the past few years with his fight against Miguel Cotto last November) and Floyd Mayweather, no other fighters can really provide an economic stimulus in the desert.
Larry Merchant, who called Khan-Maidana for HBO says, “I think promoters would like to promote where they can make the most money and I don’t think any of these fighters that we saw tonight are big attractions in their hometowns. But sure, we want to see guys fight in their hometowns but they’ve got to make the other guy come to the hometown to fight them. Look, all that is good grist for the mill but the important thing is having good fights and everything good will come from that.”
Somewhere out there, Khan’s former promoter, Frank Warren, would strongly disagree with Merchant’s assessment that he wasn’t a particularly big draw back in the UK. What’s clear is that with Khan, thus far, there has been no British invasion for his bouts in America. I guess it’s true; there’s only one Ricky Hatton but as you watch championship bouts in other countries (ones where casinos and premium cable networks don’t have nearly so much influence over the business), it’s hard not to notice the big, lively, energetic crowds that come out to these fights (Oh, and not for nothing, right around 20,000 fans packed the MEN Arena last month to witness the much-talked about mismatch between David Haye and Audley Harrison).
Yeah, folks, boxing is dead, alright- in markets where they keep going to graveyards.
But Las Vegas doesn’t just have a boxing problem; its problems run much deeper than that. While Detroit has become symbolic of the depressed economy in our country, Vegas isn’t that much better off. Google ?Las Vegas Economic Downturn? and you’ll have a search list that goes over 250,000. Not even Las Vegas is ?recession-proof.?
“I was reading today the Las Vegas Review-Journal and there was a full-page ad from Turnberry Towers, which are right where the Wynn Hotel is, a beautiful, brand new tower, which I think went for sale in 2008. Turnberry is advertising that these brand new units can be had for 50-percent off. 50-percent off in a class-A building on the strip. That tells you something,” said Schaefer. “It tells you people are still concerned about job security. They’re still out there worrying about how to spend their money with Christmas. I think, yes, it has changed. I agree; nothing is ‘recession-proof.'”
Golden Boy is also closely tied with the MGM-Mirage (which owns both the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay properties) and Schaefer says he has expressed his concerns to them. “I’ve had conversations about that. There are two things we can do; we can just say, ‘We’re only going to bring super mega-fights to Las Vegas and all the other ones, we’re going to take somewhere else.’ But again, drawing 5,000 almost, a couple weeks before Christmas is not all too shabby. But you’re right; if you look at the trends starting with Marquez-Lopez and then the other Marquez brother against Katsidis and now, this one. We had roughly the similar attendance, right around 5,000, which is interesting. Is it really because of the casino environment or is it because people?s pockets are strapped?
“And so what can we do? Could we lower the prices? Would that be the thing? I was looking at that, as well. If you look at this card here, the prices started at 50 bucks, so I don’t think it was really the prices because we had more expensive tickets for $350 and it’s not like all the 50s all sold-out and we were stuck with the 350s. It’s actually interesting; they sold all about the same, percentage-wise, if you look at the different price classes. So I think it’s just really people staying home and watching what they spend.”
As you look ahead to 2011, Golden Boy’s archrival, Top Rank has scheduled back-to-back shows in Las Vegas in late February and Bob Arum has placed a hold on April 16th with the MGM Grand for Manny Pacquiao’s next appearance. So no matter what, Las Vegas will always be a presence in this sport.
As for Golden Boy, Schaefer says, “We are actually looking at other venues, developing other markets is one of our priorities and we’ll see; hopefully we’ll come up with some other locations.”
ABUSED
Yes, times are tough, no doubt, but another factor in why fights in Las Vegas have faltered at the box-office is one that is man-made. Time and time again, I get emails from frustrated fans who try unsuccessfully to get tickets to the mega-fights. Well, with the deals that the promoters and casinos make with the ticket brokers and the comps they give out to their players, ?Joe the Plumber? is often left with no real opportunity to get those prime seats.
And to get those tickets, not only do you not have a legitimate chance to get them but you are forced, right off the bat, to then get scalped with a significant mark-up through ticket brokers. This, in addition to the cost of travel and lodging.
Just my opinion but with all these shenanigans, I think many fans who have been alienated and abused for years have just gotten used to not going to the fights and are now saving their time, effort and money.
I can’t help as I look at these whole sections of empty seats, ?Ya know, a lot of this they did to themselves.?
FOTY?
So was Khan-Maidana the newest ?Fight of the Year??
Merchant told me, “I don’t know; I’m not good at ‘Fight of the Year.? I don’t see all the fights but it was the fight of the night and we’ve seen some really good fights at the close of this year. Marquez-Katsidis, we saw Pacquiao, so this has been a good close to the year to have guys on this level battling like that.”
What this past month or so proved is that stuff like pound-for-pound lists is useless. What really matters are fighters who are willing to give all of themselves and take risks. Don’t give me that guy who’s 40-0 and does all he can to protect his unblemished mark in boring fights. Give me that guy who’s willing to take some risks and gives the fans a good show, regardless of his record.
“I’ve always maintained that this, the old adage that if you want people to come see you, you gotta fight the way that makes them want to come to see you,” said Merchant.
RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM RINGSIDE
– I know some will still question Khan’s chin but you certainly can’t question his heart. How he withstood that tenth-round barrage is beyond me. He explained at the post-fight presser that with his move up to 140 pounds, his legs feel much stronger than they did at 135. But I can’t help but think that all the work he puts in with strength-and-conditioning coach Alex Ariza came in handy on this night. You put in work like that for weeks and months for situations just like that.
The heart is all Khan’s but the legs were Ariza’s.
– Speaking of Ariza, we almost had a walk-out bout between him and Miguel Diaz, the veteran cutman who trained Maidana. Ariza explained that after the fight, Diaz approached him and proceeded to call him a ?fraud? and a ?cheat,? which Ariza took umbrage to. Based on this, I think it’s safe to say that Freddie Roach won?t be hiring Diaz to work cuts in his corner anytime soon.
– OK, anyone had enough of referee Joe Cortez and his antics? To paraphrase the legendary Buffalo Bills coach, Marv Levy, he’s an over-officious jerk. And at times, it felt like it was two-on-one in there for Maidana, who was already having problems with Khan’s fast hands and fleet feet.
“It kinda felt that way,” Maidana admitted, through Golden Boy matchmaker, Eric Gomez, “I had him hurt and I was stopped from working and at one point, I thought he was even going to punch me.”
He stopped being firm or fair awhile ago. I’ve always wondered why Kenny Bayless doesn’t get the lion?s share of the big fights in Vegas. As for Cortez, how he keeps getting the big gigs is maddening.
“I have no idea, my friend,” said an incensed Diaz, a few minutes after the fight. “I have no idea but I’m as suspicious as you are.”
– As it relates to the bout between Lamont Peterson and Victor Ortiz, I had Peterson by one point 94-93 in a fight that I heard the HBO crew hated. I thought in the second half of the fight, Peterson gathered himself and won the late rounds. But honestly, a draw wasn’t the worst call. I know a lot of folks believe neither guy deserved to win that fight.
SHOWTIME
– Abner Mares showed real poise and grit by overcoming some early adversity and taking the fight to Vic Darchinyan. His body work was consistent and effective throughout and he backed up the ?Raging Bull? for much of the night. Mares is a great blend of talent and toughness.
– As for Joseph Agbeko, he was masterful in making adjustments from his first encounter with Yonnhy Perez. This time around, Agbeko controlled the pace and tempo of the fight and, for the most part, never allowed Perez to get off his punches like he did last year. Agbeko gave a clinic on hitting on the fly and moving after throwing punches. While he scored consistently with his sharp right hands, he was never stationary enough so that Perez could ever comfortably set his feet and respond in kind.
Honestly, it was the type of boxing exhibition that most pundits (me included) didn’t think he had in him.
– Looking ahead, Mares-Agbeko is a fascinating match-up on many levels. I’m looking forward to it every bit as much as Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel. Even the consolation bout between Darchinyan and Perez looks like a fun fight. And I’ll say it right now; with the theme of this article being what it is, that card needs to take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California in the spring. In fact, I think it’s the perfect venue for it.
FINAL FLURRIES
There was a quite a fight on Telefutura between Michael Perez and Jose Hernandez, an eight-round brawl won via split verdict by Perez in Puerto Rico…I thought Antonio Pitalua got the shaft in his bout with Ed Paredes on Friday night…Seth Mitchell continued his development by stopping Taurus Sykes on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay. Slowly but surely, he’s coming around…I almost fainted when Kenny Bayless told me he was 60 years old. I hope to look half as good when I’m 45, for Pete’s sake. What’s his secret? Oil of Olay? The Shake Weight?…Well, it turns out I was correct in forecasting Mark Sanchez’s sophomore slump for the Jets…Don’t the Patriots have that look of a Super Bowl squad? This is a classic Bill Belichick coached team…So it looks like Al Golden is poised to become the new coach of my beloved Miami Hurricanes. It may not be a Jon Gruden but I like this hire. He’s a young go-getter and if you can win at Temple, that says a lot. But what I really like about him is that he’s old-school. He sports a shirt and tie on the sidelines and his shirttail always comes untucked by the middle of the second quarter. That’s intensity….
