Boxing’s 25 Most Powerful Figures

[Fibroso]

Boxing’s 25 Most Powerful Figures
Kevin Iole
By Kevin Iole 53 minutes ago Yahoo Sports



3. Ken Hershman, president, HBO Sports
Hershman is the closest thing there is to Al Haymon. He hates being in the media. He isn't a people person who gets out and spreads the boxing gospel. But HBO had 14 of the top 15 most viewed fights on cable, and that speaks to something Hershman is doing correctly. In addition, he helped bring back Canelo Alvarez from Showtime and opened the door again for Golden Boy Promotions to work with his network. Last year: No. 7. Twitter: @KenHershman

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxer/promoter
Mayweather controls much of what happens in the industry because he's such a huge draw himself. For all the complaints they lodge against him, fans can't help talking about him. His promotional company, Mayweather Promotions, is not a powerhouse except for when he fights, but he has plenty of clout because of his star power. Last year: No. 2. Twitter: @FloydMayweather

1. Al Haymon, manager/adviser
Haymon remains the most mysterious man in boxing. You don't see him, but you definitely feel his presence. He has a huge stable of fighters, headed by Floyd Mayweather Jr., and has been able to control when, where, who and how often they fight. He's reportedly close to a deal to bring a major boxing package to NBC. Last year: No. 1. Twitter: None.

[Fibroso]

The rest 22

25. Freddie Roach, boxing trainer, proprietor, Wild Card Gym.
Last year: NR. Twitter: @FreddieRoach
24. Mark Taffet, senior vice president, HBO Pay-Per-View.
Last year: 21. Twitter: None
23. Al Bernstein, analyst, Showtime Boxing.
Last year: No. 24. Twitter: @AlBernstein
22. Bruce Trampler, matchmaker, Top Rank.
Last year: 19. Twitter: @BruceTrampler
21. Bernd Boente, boxing manager.
Last year: NR. Twitter: @BoenteB
20. Eddie Hearn, Managing Director, Matchroom Boxing.
Last year: NR. Twitter: @EddieHearn
19. Sam Watson, Al Haymon Boxing.
Last year: NR. Twitter: None
18. Patrick English, attorney, Main Events.
Last year: NR. Twitter: None
17. Ed Tracy, CEO, Sands China.
Last year: No. 11. Twitter: None
16. Manny Pacquiao, boxer.
Last year: No. 12. Twitter: @MannyPacquiao
15. Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions.

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http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2015-01-02/b77caef0-92c2-11e4-b329-499e9944923a_455197452.jpgLeonard Ellerbe (Getty)

Ellerbe would be higher if it were obvious what his relationship with Floyd Mayweather really is. Mayweather has expressed dissatisfaction with him, and has suggested he'd be out. But when Mayweather was hauled in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission – Phony marijuana? Yeah, right. – Ellerbe was by his side. Last year: No. 10. Twitter: @LEllerbe 14. Jim Lampley, blow-by-blow broadcaster/host, HBO Sports.
Lampley calls the majority of the biggest fights of the year. He now also has a platform on which to speak out about the major issues in boxing with his show, "The Fight Game." He was deservedly elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and remains a major figure in the sport. Last year: No. 16. Twitter: None
13. Fernando Beltran, CEO, Zanfer Promotions.
Beltran is the leading promoter in Mexico (http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/teams/mexico) and regularly puts on major shows. He also works closely with Top Rank and has a hand in many of its biggest events. Last year: NR. Twitter: @Zanfernews
12. Richard Plepler, CEO, HBO
HBO remains a powerful force in boxing and although Plepler isn't involved on a regular basis, none of it would occur without his approval. Last year: NR. Twitter: None
11. Leslie Moonves, Chairman/CEO, CBS Corp.
If a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight gets done, Moonves will have been a key figure. He controls much of what you see on Showtime and could be a central figure in bringing boxing back onto network television regularly. Last year: No. 6. Twitter: None
10. Kathy Duva, CEO, Main Events
Duva has great vision and instincts and is as tough as they come. Her lawsuit against Al Haymon proved that. Her company benefits from her talents, as well, as Sergey Kovalev became a star and Main Events once again has regular dates on HBO. Last year: NR. Twitter: None
9. Tom Loeffler, managing director, K2 Promotions
K2's top fighters include heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and 2014 Yahoo Sports Fighter of the Year Gennady Golovkin. Loeffler is a low-key guy who doesn't seek the limelight, but he's done a solid job moving his company and its fighters forward. Last year: NR. Twitter: @TomLoeffler1
8. Peter Nelson, vice president of programming, HBO Sports, boxer/promoter
Nelson approves the matches at HBO, which makes him a player in the industry. He's a bright and accessible man who is open to change and taking risks. He has handled the increased responsibility well. Last year: No. 8. Twitter: None
7. Todd duBoef, president, Top Rank
DuBoef is the opposite of Bob Arum, his step-father and co-worker. Where Arum loves the media and is frequently willing to divulge information before it's time, duBoef is secretive and close to the vest. But he has a great relationship with management at HBO and has continued to build Top Rank's digital offerings. Last year: No. 5. Twitter: @ToddDuboef
6. Oscar De La Hoya, president, Golden Boy Promotions

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http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/gettyimages.com/bernard-hopkins-media-workout-20141028-222623-324.jpgOscar De La Hoya (Getty)

De La Hoya won a showdown with Richard Schaefer over the future of the company that bears his nickname. He re-opened working relationships with both Top Rank and HBO. He's taken a hands-on approach to making the best fights possible. There’s nothing to complain about the job he's doing, and rest assured, when he speaks, the industry listens. Last year: NR. Twitter: @OscarDeLaHoya 5. Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president/general manager, Showtime Sports
Showtime didn't air as many sensational fights as it did in 2013, when Espinoza was Yahoo Sports' Boxing Man of the Year, but it is still a major player in the industry. He is fully committed to boxing and to trying new things, which make Showtime a must-watch. Last year: No. 3. Twitter: @StephenEspinoza
4. Bob Arum, Chairman/CEO, Top Rank
Top Rank remains the most powerful force in boxing. He re-signed Manny Pacquiao to a contract extension. Despite complaints, he has continued to bring fights to Asia with the hope of opening the Chinese market. And no promoter has a better stable of young fighters. Last year: No. 9. Twitter: @BobArum

[KIDWCKED]

suprised to see a Duva still in boxing..i remember Lou Duva from back in the day..Brings back memories from the past..

[Bonzo]

Stock check for boxings top stars entering 2015 http://www.boxingnews24.com/wp-content/themes/b24/images/PostDateIcon.png January 2nd, 2015

http://www.boxingnews24.com/wp-content/uploads/floyd58544-420x298.jpgBy James P Sexton: After a year plagued by mismatches, this article will attempt to gauge the level at which the biggest names of boxing are performing, and a general idea of how they are currently perceived by the media and public alike.
Floyd Mayweather Jr – Stock Even.
Despite winning both of his fights more or less comfortably this year, it would seem that neither win over Marcos Maidana has done much to improve his legacy or change attitudes about him from his critics. Nevertheless, he remains undefeated and 2015 could prove to be marked by career defining fights for him.


Danny Garcia – Stock Down.
A lot has been written by myself and others about the lackluster performances from this champion in his campaign through 2014. The narrow margin of victory over Mauricio Herrera and the dangerous mismatch vs Rod Salka has left him at a low point in the eyes of his peers. Despite the awful year he has had, there are numerous fights which could be made for a man who shares a weight class with Matthysse, Provodnikov, Broner and rising stars Jessie Vargas and Viktor Postol. Its also believed that pound for pound rising star Terence Crawford could be entering the mix in the near future, so the future is bright for the unified champion.
Sergey Kovalev – Stock Up.
This Light-Heavyweight champion was my pick for fighter of the year in 2014. Two knockouts of previously undefeated opposition before knocking down and dominating unified champion Bernard Hopkins for 12 rounds. There is also room for improvement to his CV in 2015 as he could even fully unify the division should he manage to lure WBC champ Adonis Stevenson into the ring after his bout with Jean Pascal.
Manny Pacquiao – Stock Even.
Back to back wins over unbeaten WBO welterweight champ Timothy Bradley and unbeaten WBO light welterweight champ Chris Algieri meant that Pacman generally had a successful year. However he isn’t viewed the same way as he was between 2006-2011. A potential matchup with Floyd Mayweather this year could send either mans stock soaring and would most certainly break the PPV records along the way.
Wladimir Klitschko – Stock Up.
Back to Back 5th round KO’s of Alex Leapai and Kubrat Pulev have further cemented this man as one of the greatest and most dominant forces the heavyweight division has ever seen. But its his 3 fight deal with HBO, his arrangement to fight in America as well as the upcoming crop of talent which has been seen developing in the 200+lb division which has upped this fighters stock. Potential matchups with Bryant Jennings and Tyson Fury have partially returned some attention to the heavyweight division and Klitschko himself.
Gennady Golovkin – Stock Even.
It was hard to decide whether I would say this stock was rising or staying even. Yes he is now viewed as a P4P star. Yes he is being mentioned as a fighter who would beat anyone from 154 – 168 and, yes he went 3-0 in 2014 with 3KO’s. However generally he is in the same position now as he was at the start of the year. Still undefeated champion, still knocking everyone out, still feared and avoided. Until he and his team can get a fight guaranteed against a Cotto or a Froch or a Chavez Jr etc, he is going to continue to smash through the A-, B and C level fighters in and around his division.
Adonis Stevenson – Stock Down.
What can be said about this situation other than its Kovalev who has garnered all the attention in this division and Stevenson has been on a downhill path since his 2013 KO1 of Chad Dawson. In an ideal world a Stevenson vs Kovalev bout should happen in 2015 which would crown a fully unified champion and pound for pound superstar.
Carl Froch – Stock Even.
Another easy one. The brutal KO of George Groves in his last fight was one of the most impressive punches I have seen and the crumpled body of Groves wont be easily forgotten by fight fans. However he is looking for the Vegas fight against Chavez Jr and negotiations don’t seem to be fruitful. Aside from that fight he doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in tackling other good fighters in his division and we could see a decline in his public appearance should he go a long stretch waiting on Chavez to deal with his promotional issues.
Terence Crawford – Stock Up.
Before this year he wasnt a well known name at all. Three victories later and he is being mentioned as a potential opponent for the likes of Danny Garcia and Manny Pacquiao. The rise to fame culminated in a battering of previously unbeaten former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa before outpoiting tough, rugged challenger Raymundo Beltran.
Miguel Cotto – Stock Up.
Becoming the 160lb champion during 2014 meant that Cotto was back as on of the sports biggest stars. He returned to the P4P top 20 in the sport and is one of the ffew fighters left with a huge PPV audience making him a sought after opponent. Since his back to back points losses to Mayweather and Trout he has looked impressive and is being discussed as an opponent for Canelo, Golovkin and Mayweather in the next year.
Bernard Hopkins – Stock Down.
Has father time finally caught up with Hopkins or was Kovalev simply too good? He has expressed an interest in fighting one more time before hanging them up and in 2015 we could see the end of a truly great career. Who would his choice of opponent be? at 175 the only champions would be Kovalev and Stevenson, neither of which would be appealing to him at this point. Maybe a move own to 168 to fight Froch for his titles? Both men are looking for a final big name to retire on and this would certainly be an appealing fight. Or Maybe Golovkin? It would seem at first to be a silly thing to suggest. Putting a 50 year old man in with such a feared punching machine, but if you have followed or choose to study Hopkins career you will know that he does not shy away from difficult opposition and has always taken big challenges. He has been up again punchers before and in his 60+ fight career has never been stopped.

[rudee]

Good post Bonzo... pretty much agree with all the above.
Garcia and Ward (whose stock is down) seldom fight anymore.. both have
not looked good whenever they do.
Crawford and Klitscho are definitely a cut above... so is GGG..

[Bonzo]

http://cdn1-www.ringtv.craveonline.com/wp-content/themes/ringtv/images/default-author-image.pngLem Setterfield (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/author/lem) De La Hoya, Schaefer settle, Golden Boy loses several Haymon fighters January 9, 2015


http://cdn1-www.ringtv.craveonline.com/assets/uploads/2014/12/De-La-Hoya-and-Khan_Fukuda.jpgGolden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya will remain the promoter of UK star Amir Khan in the wake of a settlement with former company CEO Richard Schaefer, which resulted in the promotional release of other Al Haymon-advised fighters. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya has settled a lawsuit with former company CEO Richard Schaefer, who resigned after 10 years last June, (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/341343-richard-schaefer-resigns-as-golden-boy-ceo)and also relinquished promotional rights to a number of top boxers who are signed with adviser Al Haymon, according to a report by Yahoo Sports. (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/boxing/golden-boy--richard-schaefer-settle--gbp-parts-way-with-most-al-haymon-fighters-020545902.html)
Neither De La Hoya nor Schaefer could be reached for an immediate comment. Golden Boy reportedly retained the promotional rights of such high-profile Haymon-advised fighters Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Leo Santa Cruz, but lost promotional ties to other Haymon fighters, such as RING junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia and Adrien Broner.
The move could open the door for Schaefer to align himself with Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s promotional company, Mayweather Promotions, as he had become very close to the pound-for-pound king during the many years Mayweather fought under the Golden Boy banner. However, part of the settlement bars Schaefer from promoting for a period of time, though the source, which was unnamed, did not know how long that period would be.
Mayweather is the world’s highest-paid athlete (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/342927-floyd-mayweather-jr-7) as well as the top fighter in the roster of Haymon, who could soon announce an exclusive output deal (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/358421-kathy-duva-al-haymon-has-multimillion-dollar-deal-with-nbc) worth millions of dollars with NBC Sports and which could yield around 24 fight dates for a boxing series.
“We have a lot of young fighters Oscar likes who he thinks can become Golden Boy’s next generation of stars,” the source said. “It was just so tough getting fights made under the system we were in. With this deal, we can now make the fights the fans want to see, and when these young fighters develop, we’ll be back where we were.”
On Thursday, (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/374067-oscar-de-la-hoya-signs-mercito-gesta-yoshihiro-kameg) Golden Boy announced the signing of former lightweight title challenger Mercito Gesta, of the Philippines, and entertaining Japanese welterweight slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai among several prospects to exclusive promotional contracts.
De La Hoya also has announced in a release on Friday the signing of junior welterweight Cesar Quiñonez, who is trained by former junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas out of his Feroz Fight Factory gym.
Of course, Golden Boy Promotions still promotes one of the biggest stars of the sport, former junior middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez, who recently signed an exclusive deal with HBO.