Whatever happened to loyalty these days?
Perhaps Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is now asking himself the same question.
On Thursday’’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take”, Miguel Angel Cotto announced he’d struck a deal with Jay Z’’s “Roc Nation Sports,’ and the 83 year old legendary promoter is incensed.
“Miguel Cotto is not a man. Miguel Cotto has no word, ” Arum told Primera Hora.
“What we just did there is no name for it. I’m really disappointed with him and his representative Gaby Pe?agar?cano, who was the one who orchestrated this whole scheme of lies and broken promises.” “When Miguel returned to me in 2013, he swore on his father that he would be with us forever.”
After losing back-to-back fights to Floyd Mayweather and a then-relatively untested Austin Trout in 2012, Miguel Cotto’s stock plummeted and many had counted him out. Not only had he lost two in a row, Cotto had been the previous victim of two brutal knockout losses to Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.
Miguel was thought to be damaged goods until he rejoined the Top Rank team, the promotional outfit that cultivated him earlier in his career and made him a star. And promotions firm delivered once again….The Top Rank brass, along with Ken Hershman and Peter Nelson of HBO Sports did a fine job of resurrecting the Puerto Rican’s career.
Cotto blitzed back into public consciousness with a masterful performance on HBO in Fall 2013 before culminating his return as a high-stakes, must-see prizefighter by upsetting then lineal middleweight champion Sergio Martinez last June.
Miguel Cotto was red hot again and his stock was as high as it had ever been.
However, his lengthy hiatus from the ring, inability to come to terms with Canelo Alvarez and his recent decision to drop the promotional outfit that guided him to superstar status for a relative new and inexperienced crew have many wondering about Miguel’s future in boxing.
And while he deserves full credit for his inside-the-ring heroics, did he forget who helped create those opportunities? And has Cotto endangered his TV appearances on HBO and Showtime by inking with Roc Nation?
Does the Jay-Z and Co., still newbies in boxing promotions, have the ‘juice’ to a) facilitate dealings with a major network and b) get Cotto the elite purses he desires?
The all-powerful Al Haymon, who manages several would-be, or would-have-been, possible opponents has most of the networks at his disposal but is an enemy of Roc Nation’s Jay-Z, Cotto’s new promoter. Moreover, rest-assured, Mr.Haymon will not allow any of his fighters to tangle with Cotto nor any other fighter not under the Haymon umbrella unless the deal is very, very sweet.
… Probably too sweet for Team Cotto’s liking.
And who the heck is Cotto fighting next, anyway?
“It’s a shame. I’m sure Felix ‘Tito’ Trinidad would had never did anything like this,” Arum added.
Miguel Cotto, presumably in a jam last month, appears to be in several now.
