Shelly Finkel has probably been the premier manager of fighters since he broke into the professional boxing scene in 1980, certainly at least in name recognition. He has represented some of the biggest names in the sport during that time, including Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Michael Moorer, Mike McCallum, Manny Pacquiao, and many, many more. Finkel was selected by the Boxing Writers’ Association of America as manager of the year in 1990 and 1993.
Finkel has been married for 30 years, “very happily,” he says. He has three children, ages 28, 26, and 22. Two of the three will be graduating from law school by June. He grew up in Brooklyn and has made his home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side for the past 33 years.
Before beginning his career in boxing Finkel was in the music industry, first in the mid-sixties running a club called “The Action House,” featuring legends such as Cream, The Doors, Mitch Ryder, Procol Harem and some of the more progressive groups of the time. He began promoting and worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and many others. Even then Finkel worked with champions.
At 62, Finkel remains a prominent and influential boxing manager, guiding such current stars as Jeff Lacy, Fernando Vargas, Anthony and Lamont Peterson, Wladimir Klitschko, Rocky Juarez, and more. In fact he just negotiated a new deal for free agent Juarez with Golden Boy Promotions.
“We’re just finishing the contract now and he’ll have his first fight on February 9 in Tucson, Arizona,” Finkel said.
Despite his success, it appears that Finkel’s contract with Pacquiao will not be renewed when it ends at the end of the month. Is he officially out?
“I think so,” he replied softly. “I haven’t gotten anything in writing. I haven’t received official notification and I have not spoken [to Manny] in about two weeks. I tried a few times. So I think it’s over. I hope that can change in the future but in the meantime it is what it is. Manny said he wanted to manage himself.”
(Gee, how is Pac going to manage himself when he can’t seem to manage to restrain himself from signing every legal document placed before him?)
So is Shelly Finkel giving up?
“No. I never give up,” Finkel answered firmly.
As everyone now knows, Pacquiao signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy for seven fights, then tried to return the check and signed a contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank. Finkel has been extremely vocal that he believes that Golden Boy is the better choice and he also believes that he should be retained as Manny’s manager.
“I’ve never been sued by a fighter for taking a penny and it’s been over 30 years [including the amateurs]. I have managed more champions than anyone in history. And I created most of my fighters. I usually don’t pick them up after they’ve had 20-30 fights.
“Manny was an exception, but Manny was in a lot of trouble when I took over. He had a bad promotional contract [with Murad Muhammad], he had tax problems, he didn’t have a decent accountant. All these problems I was able to fix for him and it turned his life around. I even laid out the money for [Judd] Burnstein. [Burnstein is the boxing legal wizard who represented Pacquiao through his legal quagmire at that time.]
“When I first came into the equation, the contract for the first [Erik] Morales fight had been signed already and the promoter without Manny’s permission gave away the gloves he wanted. He fought with Winning gloves which are not in any way, shape or form the same as Reyes gloves. It was a clear handicap for Manny.
“In the second fight [with Morales], which was coming off a loss, I negotiated a purse that was double the first fight, and when he stopped him he bowed to me in the ring and told people that ‘This is my American father. This is the man who made it happen for me.’ So these things have changed I guess by people being in his ear, who weren’t there in the hospital when Manny got cut in the Morales I fight, weren’t there in the courtroom and the strategy sessions about Murad, weren’t there to straighten out his tax problems.”
Finkel was asked to explain why Bob Arum said that his contract ended in August, rather than January 31 as reported.
“After the Philippines [the fight with Oscar Larios in July], Manny was doing things on his own without me,” Finkel began. “Arum was talking to him and his people and I knew that. I asked Bob what was going on and he said, ‘His people want to talk to me.’ I said that I don’t mind if you talk to them but I want to know that I’m getting paid. So, in August there was an agreement drafted that I was his manager through his fight in November, although legally I’m still his manager until the end of this month because there has to be a form signed with the California athletic commission, which never happened. In October he sent me a copy of the contract as the manager of Manny, which was the Nevada State bout agreement. I was recognized by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as being his manager. So Arum was saying he [Finkel] signed in August. Well, I signed in August so that Arum paid me directly.
“Without being egotistical, I don’t believe that anyone could have done the job that I did for Manny. The results are spectacular and proven”
So what is your reason for taking the Golden Boy position on the contract matter? Shelly was asked.
“It’s not taking sides. It is what I think is best for Manny. No one’s going to convince me that if he fights Injin Chi in Macau, that’s as good for his career or monetarily as [Marco Antonio] Barrera in Vegas. I was never consulted on the Arum contract, I was with [the Golden Boy] one. Since lawsuits have been filed, I’ve read them and I believe it’s a better deal for him at Golden Boy.
“At one point Arum says they’re bluffing and they [Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez] aren’t going to fight. Well they’re not bluffing and they are going to fight. At the end of the day, one of these two guys is going to lose and that’s one of Manny’s high profile opponents and that’s a loss for Manny. Then, depending on what Manny’s mental loyalty is, his next fight, the biggest fight for him will be the winner of that fight. So, in some fashion he’s either got to deal with Golden Boy or go to a purse bid. If he goes to a purse bid he won’t make as much as if he made a deal with Golden Boy.”
At the press conference following the third Pacquiao-Morales fight, Finkel could be seen with his face in his hands as Bob Arum announced Top Rank’s signing of Manny and neither Finkel nor Pacquiao would comment. What was this all about? We asked Shelly.
“If you will notice during that time Manny was sitting very close to me,” Finkel explained. “He asked me to advise him on what to say. He knew that he had gotten himself in a jam and didn’t want to answer questions about it. I thought ‘God I just got hit by a bomb that I didn’t expect to have to answer.’ I was shocked that he had signed a four year deal [with Arum].
“I think he [Manny] makes a lot of mistakes. If I had input I wouldn’t have signed with anyone. A free agent of Manny’s status is better than anything.”
Golden Boy said that they would never do business with Arum, yet they were willing to do a Barrera-Pacquiao fight. I asked Shelly if there was some exception for superstars.
“Golden Boy wanted to do the fight but not with Arum as co-promoter. I had a conversation with Bob recently and he asked me why Golden Boy isn’t making the deal. I said to him, ‘Bob you gave them no way to do it. Why would you publicly humiliate Barrera and think that’s going to make the fight happen? Do it in private! But you tell them that the guy doesn’t draw, he doesn’t mean anything, he needs Manny, and you offer him one-third as champion. How did you expect them to respond to you?’
“There’s such a thing as caring about the fighter. That’s why a manager has a fiduciary responsibility to the fighter and the promoter doesn’t. If there’s a dollar out there, the more the promoter makes, the less the fighter makes. The manager wants the fighter to make more because he is compensated a percentage of what the fighter makes. So they are at odds.
“One point about the deal with Golden Boy – they gave him the rights to his fights shown in the Philippines, all of them. That would make Manny a half million dollars, just one fight, the De La Hoya – Mayweather fight because Manny owns the rights to it in the Philippines.
I happen to like Bob Arum. He’s a great promoter and has had a great history of building fighters. Just in this specific situation he cannot do better than his competitor.”
Finkel has received considerable praise both in the media and from boxing insiders, but he has also received his share of criticism. I asked Shelly what were his personal feelings on that?
“No one in life and especially this business is an angel,” he replied. “But I stand up for what is right and I can look anyone in the face and say I’ve never taken a penny from them. I judge someone by the way they treat me and I don’t think there’s anyone that I’ve hurt in this business, or very, very few.
“The thing that writers, including you, don’t have, which is something you don’t want, is the experience of someone knocking you publicly. Someone knocked me publicly and I asked why and they said, ‘What do you care? You have enough money.’ I said, ‘Because I have a family that reads it and it’s not true.’ But you can’t go around suing everyone who says something hurtful. Of course it bothers me, but I’m not going to air it publicly.”
It’s been written, (just a couple of weeks ago right here as a matter of fact), that when Manny Pacquiao dismissed Gary Shaw, Finkel, who was Shaw’s friend stood by and let it happen. I asked Shelly to respond to that.
“I wanted him to stay and be promoter for Manny, and I caught a lot of flak,” Finkel began. “I voiced my opinion and that did not endear me to Manny. Whether it’s right or wrong, you’re dealing with artistic temperament. Knock wood, I’ve earned enough in my life that I don’t have to tell someone a lie in fear of being fired. The result is the result but I did make the effort.
“I was always told that it was hard to be a friend and in business. I like the guy [Shaw] and adore his wife and kids. The other day we [Shelly’s family] were transferring VHS tapes to DVD and Gary is prominent in everything. It does bother me. Hopefully in time it’ll get patched up.”
Any last thoughts from Shelly Finkel?
“You marketed the fighter right. You got him the right fights, you bring him to where he should be as a fighter and as a result he’s gone from a fighter making $1 million to a fighter making $5 million. Why shouldn’t you be there forever for him?”
Last question – are the athletes of today less loyal than in the past?
“It’s less than it used to be,” Finkel conceded. “I hope it’s not a standard of the future.”
Contact Michael Swann at [email protected] .
