Oscar De La Hoya was at the Maywood Boxing Club this past Thursday afternoon where a media day was held for Abner Mares, who faces Joseph Agbeko on April 23rd at the Nokia Theater in the finals of the Showtime bantamweight tournament. It?s just one fight in what is a full docket for Golden Boy Promotions, whose pay-per-view show this weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas features the main event between Erik Morales and Marcos Maidana. As usual, their schedule doesn?t include any cards that will have their fighters facing anyone promoted by Top Rank.
In what has to be the most bizarre rivalry in all of sports, Golden Boy and Top Rank are two archrivals that simply refuse to play ball. Imagine if the Yankees and Red Sox never stepped on the same diamond or if Auburn and Alabama just simply stopped playing the ?Iron Bowl.? What this reminds one of is a little like the hostility between Miami and Notre Dame in college football, where the two programs just simply stopped playing each other after 1990. But even these two storied franchises will renew the series in 2012.
However, it?s not clear if Golden Boy and Top Rank will be doing business with each other by that time.
“I wish; I wish. I hope we do one day.” stated De La Hoya, when he was asked if they would ever co-promote with the company led by Bob Arum. “It?s for the good for the sport. We have to. Believe me when I tell you that our side has no problem in trying to put together fights with Top Rank. We have no problem. We welcome it; we want to for the sake of boxing. It?s just up to the other side.”
There was a time when the sides regularly put on events that pitted the sport?s marquee names against other marquee names. And the first chapter of boxing?s ?Cold War? was put to rest as the two sides came to an agreement, relating to the promotional rights of Manny Pacquiao (where, in essence, Top Rank is the lead promoter and Golden Boy retained a financial interest). Then, as the two factions vied for more and more of the market share, these events- like Shane Mosley versus Antonio Margarito (which was the last time these two companies hooked up)- became fewer and farther between. Now, they?re non-existent.
It?s expected that rival companies won?t like each other. That?s often the nature of the beast but even during the apex of the Arum-Don King feud, they would do business when warranted. In the case of these two promotional outfits, it?s almost as if they live in parallel universes, where basically two separate boxing leagues have been formed.
When asked where the tipping point occurred, De La Hoya answered, “It would probably have to be…there?s a lot of things involved, a lot of issues, and obviously I can?t get into the whole legality of the situation but there were a lot of tipping points. I just wish that hopefully, one day, we can work together because it?s for the best of the sport.”
We assume ?the situation? isn?t Mike from ?Jersey Shore? but the defamation suit involving Pacquiao over accusations of the Filipino icon using illegal performance-enhancing substances. The contentious- and eventually fruitless- negotiations to make a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather bout last year seem to divide the two companies further. But really, you get the sense there were lingering tensions from the clandestine meetings held in 2006 as De La Hoya presented a briefcase full of cash to the ?Pac-Man? at a steakhouse, months before his third hook-up with Morales in a bout promoted by Top Rank. Pacquiao, the industry?s most important fighter, was the basis of a tug-of-war that left both sides bitter about the whole ordeal. It probably didn?t help all that much when Pacquiao ended De La Hoya?s career late in 2008 with a one-sided TKO of the ?Golden Boy.?
Now as it relates to the Philippines most famous congressman, it seems that if you?re affiliated with Golden Boy, you are automatically disqualified from facing him. Break out from under them and you?re immediately in the running, as Shane Mosley found out and, perhaps soon, Juan Manuel Marquez.
De La Hoya?s answer to whether Pacquiao was the root of the severed ties between the two companies is, “Well, [Arum]?s promoting Pacquiao; I don?t see why there?s any problem whatsoever. I mean, yes, we do have a stake in Pacquiao [but Arum]?s the lead promoter. He?s doing what he wants to do. It shouldn?t be a problem. Like I said, we want to make the fights happen. He doesn?t want to make the fights happen. He?ll find any excuse whatsoever not to make the fights happen and we?re always open to making the best fights.”
It?s actually more than just a tad ironic that De La Hoya and Arum have such acrimony. If there is anything that defined boxing in the 1990s and the early part of this century was the unprecedented success this union had together. While being promoted by Top Rank, De La Hoya became the most popular fighter on the planet and the most lucrative ever below the heavyweight division. Now as the two sit at opposite ends of the table, De La Hoya believes that Arum is a bitter old man, a dinosaur whose time has passed. From his perspective, Arum believes De La Hoya is nothing more than a mere figurehead for his own company and isn?t all that intelligent. The vitriol from both camps comes at a steady rate.
And you thought Frank and Jamie McCourt had a bitter divorce.
“It?s just not good for boxing,” De La Hoya conceded. “It?s not good for boxing but I really am sick and tired of all this negativity surrounding boxing. I mean, it?s not the sport; it?s not the sport at all. It?s not us trying to create negativity. Boxing is alive and well and we?ll keep making the fights happen. It?s just that when Bob talks, when you mention Top Rank, there?s a lot of negativity. He always talks about the negative. Negative, negative, negative. And I?m sick and tired of it.”
The most recent conflict involving the promotional future of Nonito Donaire isn?t helping matters and the Marquez situation remains fluid. These companies do a lot of battling; too bad none of it is between their boxers in the ring, which is a shame. Based on the colorful history of loathing between them, co-promotions between the two sides would be among the most heated and entertaining that boxing has to offer. Yeah, it?s great that Arum and King now have a certain detente but wasn?t it more fun when they hated each other?s guts and every fight was for bragging rights and supremacy??
It?s not exactly clear who is winning this stand-off but it?s clear who?s losing- the fans, who are routinely deprived of some of the best bouts in boxing because of the current situation. More and more potential fights are non-starters simply as a result.
“The general public doesn?t really care; it doesn?t really matter with the general public. They just want to see good fights happen. Obviously, with the boxing fans, sometimes on Twitter, wherever it?s at, they?re sick and tired of Bob not wanting to make fights happen. They?re sick and tired of it. It?s like Bob is going to be known for lying yesterday and telling the truth today,” stated De La Hoya, reprising a famous Arum quote that some believe defines him. “That?s what he known for and he?s making a Shane Mosley fight. He said in the past, Shane Mosley?s done; now he?s not, all of a sudden. He said in the past, Juan Manuel Marquez is not a worthy opponent for Pacquiao. Well, now he is, all of a sudden.
“You can?t believe Bob. He tries to blow smoke up everybody?s ass. That doesn?t work with us.”
There seemed to be potential thaw a few months ago as the two seemed to kiss and make up with each other on Twitter. Only problem was, it was a phony Arum who was, well, blowing smoke up De La Hoya?s ass. Once that was revealed, the bitterness resumed.
“Obviously a person like Bob is not even going to know what a ?tweet? is; let?s put it that way,” said De La Hoya, in addressing that faux pas. “A person like Bob, he?s in his own world. He?s going to do what he?s going to do. Look, who knows how many years he has left in the sport and you think he?s going to let somebody like us be the top promoter in boxing? He?s not going to go down unless there?s a fight and we understand that. We?re just going to continue doing what we?re doing for the betterment of the sport and make the fights happen.”
“That?s all we can do.”
JMM
Last week Marquez was paid a visit by both De La Hoya and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer to discuss their future- if they have one. According to Oscar, the meeting, “went wonderful; it actually went outstanding. I?m glad me and Richard made the trip over to Mexico. We were down there for some other business; we met with Marquez and everything is wonderful. We have a great relationship; it?s a matter of sorting a few details out. But everything went great and Marquez is a great champion; Pacquiao wants to fight him. Bob wants to make the fight with Marquez. That?s the fight people want to watch. That?s the fight people want to see because Marquez is a dangerous foe for Pacquiao.
“So the meeting went extremely well.”
Golden Boy is now claiming that Marquez has till next February on his current contract with Golden Boy. You get the strong sense that Marquez has a differing perspective on that but the writing has been on the wall for quite awhile. If you want dibs on Pacquiao, you better A) be with Top Rank or B) certainly not be associated with Golden Boy. That is the quandary for Marquez, who clearly wants a third crack at Pacquiao.
One fight being kicked around is a battle against newly-crowned IBF junior welterweight titlist Zab Judah. I can?t lie; this fight does intrigue me. Could Marquez win a belt in a fourth weight class, which has been so elusive for Mexican boxers? I think at both stages of these fighters? careers, it would make for a pretty entertaining affair. One date being kicked around for this potential fight is July 30th.
FINAL FLURRIES
Since I was at the fights in Pomona on Saturday night, I didn?t get a chance to see the Hernan Marquez-Luis Concepcion battle, which I hear was just a flat-out war. Can?t wait to see it later this week…Just wondering if we have seen the last of Ivan Calderon, who was stopped in three by Giovani Segura. As for Segura, he isn?t stylish but he is fun to watch…Why do the Lakers always play so sluggish on Sunday afternoon home games?…Yes, it?s true; I?m going to the Vinnie Paz (the rapper, not the boxer) concert at the Key Club on Wednesday night. And here I always thought the only concert I?d ever go to go was Anita Baker or Stevie B…Hank Lundy could be a pound-for-pound type of fighter- if championship fights were four rounds. He has skills but I am concerned about his durability over the long haul…Is there anything worse than losing your cell phone (like I did on Saturday night)? Perhaps the only things worse are your keys and wallet…I can be reached at [email protected] and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
