Bernard Hopkins was supposed to defend his WBC light heavyweight championship against Chad Dawson October 15 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. That was set until Thursday when the fight was shifted to the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And the shift of venues has nothing to do with hometown advantage as we may have a new promotional feud in the sport.
Hopkins from Philadelphia, and Dawson, from New Haven Connecticut could care less where the fight is held. Main events, the New Jersey based promotional company that represents Jab Judah and heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek, has business ties with the Prudential Center. HBO distributor of the pay-per-view fight could care less where the fight takes place.
In essence, we have a silent promotional war brewing with Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy that represents Hopkins, and Kathy Duva of Main Events who has this marriage with the Prudential Center. Main Events has this agreement about the arena when it comes to marketing and guidelines regarding another promotion. And the shift of venue, due to a disagreement, may be a tactic by Duva, stemming from the fight last weekend that Main Events co-promoted with Judah in his loss to Golden Boy junior welterweight champion Amir Khan.
The promotional tour for Judah and Khan revolved around controversy. Judah would not offer comments to the Khan hometown, British media. There was a discrepancy with money distributed when it came to how much Judah would receive out of the revenue stream from the Pay-Per-View channel Primetime that screened the fight in the UK. Though, Kathy Duva would not offer comment as to this being a cause for a shift in venues.
?It?s unheard of,? said Schaefer Thursday. ?It?s unfortunatet that you have people in the sport taking that type of position,? making reference to Duva. ?This is ridiculous.? However, Schaefer need not to complain. The Staples Center is hometown for him and the Los Angeles based Golden Boy outfit and a host of many Golden Boy fights. The fighters, both Hopkins and Dawson are more involved with this.
Hopkins and Dawson would have had their mega fight in proximity of their home towns. The Prudential Center, in Newark New Jersey is an hour drive from Philadelphia and less than a two- hour drive from New Haven. ?It does not matter to me,? said Dawson when reached for comment. ?All that matters is that I meet Hopkins in the ring and take his title away. I am disappointed, yes. I had the entire town of New Haven coming to see me.?
The Prudential Center, with a seating capacity of 15,000 for boxing, would have been thrilled to have the fight. October becomes their busy time of year with the beginning of the hockey season and the venue is home of the New Jersey Devils. And the revenue generated from the fight would have been a boost for the arena, also a temporary home of the New Jersey Nets. The NBA season is in question with a lockout, so any bookings for the arena are crucial.
When reached for comment, Duva denied the change of venue to Los Angeles had nothing to do with the Judah revenue issue form the Khan fight. ?We have to protect the market that we built,? she said, claiming the success Main Events has with the Prudential Center and their new Brick City Boxing Series. ?Our goal from the start was to build a home for boxing, for all kinds of fights,? she said.
But a source said, Duva and Main Events left Las Vegas last weekend disappointed and bitter as to the way the co-promotion went with Judah and Khan. There was the entire revenue issue, how Schaefer took one side with the British media, and how they still believe that the fight should not have been stopped because of a low blow below that Khan hit Judah with in the fifth round.
Duva added, ?We were more than happy to let them have the fight there and we would encourage any fighter that wants to bring a fight to the Prudential Center to do so.?
In defense of Main Events, territorial control can be justified. Because if the revenue part of what is to be shared is not in the best interests of Main Events, then Duva has a right to intervene. But it is obvious the ramifications of what happened in Las Vegas last weekend had an impact as to the sudden change in venue. When the fight was made months ago the revenue war with Judah and the UK media was not an issue.
Dawson wanted this fight to be in New York at Madison Square Garden, or in nearby Hartford at the XL Center, and the Prudential Center was the next and best thing to being close to home. Hopkins could care less where the fight is held as he tries to hold on to his title, at 46-years of age the oldest fighter to win a world title.
Boxing fans in the New York City vicinity get smacked in the face again from seeing a championship fight. And so do the fans of Hopkins and Dawson who have to change their destinations. In the end HBO will get the revenue, though not a record breaking PPV number as Hopkins against Dawson is more suited as a regular HBO televised fight.
But what matters here is a possible promotional feud with Main Events and Golden Boy. Maybe not as huge at the one recently settled with Bob Arum and Schaefer. Regardless, Bernard Hopkins is involved. And for Schaefer, more than Duva, a change in venue is a major issue.
