It was with much triumph and glee that HBO and Golden Boy Promotions announced that May 5th’s ‘the World Awaits’ pay-per-view show featuring Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather did SpiderMan 3-esque numbers at the box-office. In addition to the record breaking live gate of $19 million that the MGM Grand tallied, the pay-per-view telecast garnered over 2.1 million buys (a new mark surpassing Lewis-Tyson of 2002), generating around $120 million worth of revenue for the parties involved.
But amidst all this self-congratulatory talk, toasting of champagne and back-slapping, the question has to be asked – did the fight that many thought had the ability to ‘save’ boxing actually create new followers?
In other words, after May 5th, will boxing play in Peoria? Let’s be honest, ’24/7′ and the ensuing build-up of the promotion was much more compelling than the actual prizefight that took place.
In this past Saturday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times letters section, there was this headline: ‘And the loser is….boxing!’ followed by much criticism of the fight and it’s participants by their readers. This past week I was a guest on ESPN Radio in Gainseville, Florida with Adam Reardon and Chris Doering (and for you Florida Gator fans, yes, it’s that same guy who caught a multitude of Danny Wuerffel spirals in the ‘Fun N’ Gun’ offense of Steve Spurrier in the mid-90’s). Reardon is a true boxing fan, and any chance he gets he will try and talk ‘the sweet science’ on his program. Doering is more like the general public that this bout was to have attracted: a sports fan, but with a very casual (at best) interest in boxing. I asked him point blank if the fight had made him a fan of the sport and if he would pay to see Mayweather and his style again.
His quick and direct answer was a resounding ‘no’.
That seemed to be the consensus on the other radio programs on which I was interviewed. While the fight’s build-up did enough to attract the attention of the general public for one night, it didn’t do nearly enough to create new fans of the sport who will stay a while.
The bottom line is that while everyone involved will tell you that ‘the World Awaits’ was great for boxing, in reality it was really just great for Oscar De La Hoya and his company, HBO and Floyd Mayweather. For the blockbuster that this promotion was, boxing may not really be in any better place than it was before. Remember this, even third-world countries have a few millionaires within their boundaries that live luxuriously.
‘The World Awaits’ was no pugilistic panacea for the overall business of boxing.
Moving forward, what will be telling is just how many shows will thrive without multi-city promotional junkets and 24/7-style documentaries, because ‘the World Awaits’ and it’s marketing push was the anomaly, not the norm. Truth is that HBO’s ratings have hit rock-bottom and there most likely isn’t another pay-per-view show on the horizon in 2007 (that doesn’t include De La Hoya-Mayweather again) that will break the 500,000 mark. The health of any industry shouldn’t be judged by just great one night, but by having the ability to have many good ones across the board that can continue to plant seeds for the future.
The NFL is much more than just the Super Bowl.
HBO Sports and the industry of boxing is much like HBO’s entertainment department, in that boxing will soon lose its number one franchise in De La Hoya and HBO will soon be without ‘The Sopranos’. The only difference is that at least the network still has standout programs like ‘Entourage’, ‘The Wire’ and ‘Big Love’ in standing.
As for boxing?
Quick, name the big attractions/ticket sellers currently in North America?
Manny Pacquiao?
OK.
Miguel Cotto?
Agreed.
Then who else?
Arturo Gatti gets his gold watch on July 14th and then his future is uncertain. Marco Antonio Barrera, whose recent promotions have been just lukewarm promotions under the Golden Boy banner, is at the very end of the line. Evander Holyfield is now just a regional Texas draw. Jermain Taylor had problems moving tickets in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas in his last outing and has stagnated as a fighter. Wladimir Klitschko is perhaps the biggest heavyweight draw but there’s a reason why his last bout and his upcoming date in July are being held overseas. Juan Manuel and Rafael Marquez, for all their skills, just have niche followings among the hardcore. Erik Morales, a true draw in his prime, is just one step away from retirement. Roy Jones is now doing small pay-per-view shows in Idaho. Shane Mosley, for all he has accomplished, is the proverbial B-side, who can’t carry a show by himself. Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright, who face each other on a pay-per-view show nobody yearned for, have never done particularly well in carrying a promotion.
A few weeks ago I made an analogy of De La Hoya-Mayweather to the rebuilding of the SuperDome in New Orleans and the feel-good story of their beloved Saints in the aftermath of the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina. Well, now the Saints have just been eliminated from the playoffs and now everyone has to get back to reality. And many residents of that region are still waiting for FEMA assistance and the much of that area is still in ruins and depressed.
That’s boxing landscape, currently (at least here in America, as in other parts of the world, boxing is doing quite fine with real promoters and the lack of obtrusive networks mucking things up.)
Alright, so what can be done about this? I’m not here to just bitch and moan (and I do that pretty well, I must say) but to provide some guidelines in helping boxing along into it’s future – and yes, I believe it has one.
But it’s going to take everyone involved.
– The Promoters: OK, everyone always seems to think they are the bad guys and that without them, the game would be so much better off. I couldn’t disagree more. While there are some treacherous individuals like Murad Muhammad (just look at the track record), without promoters the business of boxing would cease to exist for the most part. Yeah, everyone comes to see the fighters, agreed, but before guys like De La Hoya and Mayweather were in a position to dump guys like Bob Arum and create their own promotional firms, it’s companies like Top Rank that take the risk and put up the money to develop fledgling boxers and market them.
The reality is, 99-percent of the talent they sign don’t make money for them for at least five years (if at all). And without their financial support, fighters wouldn’t have cards to ply their trade on and shows that fans can attend.
But I think many of them have gotten lazy and have become nothing more than television packagers, casino brokers and/or booking agents. They need to get back to actually investing in their product for the long-term and start building up fan-bases in non-casino settings. But this development may not be their fault, though. More on that later.
Then you have the issue of promoters, for whatever reason, not working with each other, led by the ‘Cold War’ between Golden Boy and Top Rank, and other business relationships that have gotten very personal and toxic. All this has led to fights that the fans yearn for not being made. Stop the insanity, grow up and get over it.
This way we can get fights like Pacquiao-Marquez II and the like.
Also, guys, lowering ticket prices just a tiny bit wouldn’t hurt either. Disposable income for many is tough to come by, so give the Average Joe a break once in a while.
– The Networks: Act like programmers and not promoters. Get out of the business of long-term exclusive contracts and stop insulting the fans’ intelligence with fights like Klitschko-Ray Austin and then say it’s not your fault.
Also, and this is really for HBO, stop enabling these shell companies like K2 Promotions and now Mayweather Promotions, and house advisors like Al Haymon, which essentially just cut out the individuals that basically lost money for years in cultivating attractions and did most of the hard work. The day that promoters finally get sick and tired of getting boxed out of their just rewards and stop signing fighters out of the amateurs will be the beginning of the demise of this sport. Just try and develop fighters long-term on just two or three dates a year.
Want the garden to keep growing? Well, then don’t stab the gardeners in the back time and time again.
Also, you may want to structure your contracts in a way where most of the appealing fights can still stay on your airwaves and not end up on pay-per-view. 15-20 years ago Barrera-Marquez is on HBO.
– The Fighters: Guys, you’re the best. Nobody puts out the sacrifice you do in trying to earn a living. Whatever you get, you deserve. But there’s one problem today. We don’t get to see you guys nearly enough. And while that disappoints us, in the long run, it really damages you guys more.
There was a reason why the fighters of the past were household names – they performed much more often. Now, we’re not saying you guys should be Henry Armstrong or Archie Moore, but performing three times a year on either HBO or Showtime should not be considered ‘being active’.
Listen, what you do is dangerous, and like I mentioned above, every dollar you get, more power to you. However, what I have seen (and everyone involved falls into this trap, from promoters to managers) is that you guys just wait around for the next HBO/Showtime date and won’t even entertain the thought (and perhaps it’s because it’s contractual) of maybe fighting on a smaller platform to A) keep you guys active and B) to develop a constituency that will support you in a live setting. Yeah, you probably won’t get paid nearly as much for these types of outings, but then you wouldn’t be expected to necessarily face a live body, either.
But remember this gentlemen; your market value in boxing is not determined by how good you are or who you defeat. Unlike in other sports, where a .350 hitter will be paid like a Tony Gwynn, or a 35-point a game scorer in the NBA will be compensated like a Kobe Bryant and so forth, in this industry, you are only worth what you can deliver in terms of fan support – both inside the venue and in terms of television ratings.
It’s very difficult – if not next to impossible – to build that being seen once every eight months in an era when this sport gets virtually no coverage in the general media.
Just remember, when you turn down a fight (for whatever reason) there will be somebody willing and able to step in your shoes. The game will move on without you.
This game has survived the losses of stalwarts like Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. It’ll go on minus De La Hoya (hopefully), but you’ve got to earn and fight for your share of the spotlight.
Take every opportunity to shine, cooperate with the media (it’s basically free advertising if you do it correctly) and be accessible to the fans (they are the ones who ultimately pay your salary. And most of you are very good at this anyway, from what I’ve seen already) As Chubb Rock once said, ‘Sign a few autographs, you might make a few friends.’
– The Media: Very simple, just remember one thing – our job is to protect the fans, to be their voice. We should not be supplicants for any network, cheerleaders for any individual entities or mere press agents for the sport. Our job is to poke, prod and critique things we see for the betterment of what we cover.
Yeah, you may burn some bridges, but if you got into journalism to make friends, then you’re in the wrong business. And remember, some bridges aren’t really worth crossing anyway.
– The Fans: The very lifeblood of the sport. Without you, there is no business. And in my opinion, no fan base is as continually abused and exploited like the followers of boxing. Ladies and gentlemen, what can you do going into the future?
Continue to support the game but be discerning and disciplined about it at the same time. Yeah, I know it looks like I’m telling two different things, but what I’m saying is that it’s a fine line between support and enabling. If you see a good looking card that’s within driving distance, don’t just watch it on television – make the effort to go out there, bring a few friends (they might like what they see) and support the show. Nothing speaks louder to the decision-makers and venue operators like fannies in the seats and a lively atmosphere. Do you want world-class fights in your jurisdiction on a consistent basis? Well, buy tickets and attend.
But on the other side of the ledger, when you guys have bad pay-per-view shows shoved down your throat, show some discipline and put your foot down. Do the Roberto Duran and say, ‘No mas’. I see far too many shows that are designated as ‘pay-per-view dates’ instead of pay-per-view worthy fights, and most of them incidentally fall on Mexican holidays. De La Hoya-Mayweather is absolutely pay-per-view worthy but Barrera-Rocky Juarez II? Sorry, but that’s just exploitation (specifically) of the Latin fan base.
Show that you will support and fund quality events and programming, but at the same time will not be held hostage by the greed, incompetence and gluttony of those in charge.
OK, everyone got it? Good, now we just gotta wait around for FEMA to arrive, anyday now.
Brownie, you’re doing a helluva job.
THE REPLAY
As usual, HBO did a great job of producing the replay between De La Hoya and Mayweather, but it really couldn’t hide the fact it wasn’t much of a fight.
Ironically, I think the replay will do a higher rating for HBO than for any of its live shows so far in 2007. But to their credit I really like their June 23rd show featuring Jose Luis Castillo-Ricky Hatton and their ‘welter-skelter’ tripleheader on July 14th which is headlined by Antonio Margarito-Paul Williams.
I think that ESPN2’s Joe Tessitore said it best that the problem with ‘the World Awaits’ having so much expected of it to carry the torch for boxing is that it didn’t have a Diego Corrales involved in it.
Agreed, or a Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales, and the like.
FINAL FLURRIES
Say what you will, I thought the main events this past Friday on Telefutura and ‘the Deuce’ were more entertaining than De La Hoya-Mayweather…. Hey, the Cotto family went all Mayweather late in their fight in the corner, didn’t they?…. For the record I thought Prawet Singwangcha clearly beat Cotto….As for Terry Smith-Kelvin ‘Clemson’ Davis, that was one of the better heavyweight fights I’ve seen this year…..A source at Teiken Promotions tells me that Jorge Linares’ bout against Oscar Larios for the interim WBC featherweight title could take place in early July in Mexico…..With that May 26th ‘Boxing After Dark’ card in Anaheim being PPD (a huge buzzkill), I’m actually looking forward to Chuck Liddell-‘Rampage’ Jackson. Yeah, I know, that’s scary, isn’t it?….Hey, can we have a re-vote for the NBA’s MVP?…..I really like Adrian Diaconu, I’d love to see him face Chad Dawson next for the WBC 175-pound belt…. I hear ESPN2 will be going back to Canada quite frequently this year with bouts like Randall Bailey-Herman Ndoudjo, Lucien Bute-Sakio Bika, Ruben Williams-Jean Pascal in the mix….Anyone else enjoying the ‘new’ classic bouts being shown on ESPN Classic?……
