lpinoy
09-29-2010, 02:40 AM
C/P
By: Boxing Dispatch
“My plan is not to take over boxing, but really do what no other promoter was able to do, and that is to have unified rules and one commissioner and make sure the fighter is taken care of and not cheated out of anything. That’s one of the reasons boxing hasn’t really taken itself to the next level, because we cannot make those big fights and a lot of times promoters are the ones in the way.”
This is what Oscar De La Hoya told Broadcasting Cable.
Better fights at a more consistent rate.
After a dismal summer of boxing matches, this is what we saw from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Even if mixed martial arts isn’t your thing, you have to appreciate the quality of product.
UFC: 119, fought on September 25 featured three former champions on a stacked card highlighted by Frank Mir, a notable grappler, knocking out Mirko “Cro Cop” Filpovic, a striker. It was a card derided by many UFC fans and pundits as a joke.
“The last few UFC cards have been loaded, so we were bound for a letdown at some point,” wrote Jon Lee of Bleacher Report.
The pay-per-view event also featured an hour long lead-in of preliminary fights on Spike TV which netted 1.3 million viewers.
The prelim bouts featured household MMA names CB Dolloway and Matt Mitrione
The total package would have been a godsend to boxing fans.
Could UFC be the model that De La Hoya is planning for the future of boxing?
Purely from a business perspective it makes sense for the sport.
“We are very transparent with whatever we do with our fighters, and in a way, yes, we do want to take over,” De La Hoya continued. “Well, we don’t want to take control of boxing but we want to do the right thing for the sport. Have one (organization) running it like UFC. It’s very confusing with all these championship belts-my idea would be to have one champion in each division. There should be one heavyweight champion, not 20 like we have have now. Too much confusion. We have to weed out the bad and bring in the good.”
All the performers under one tent or they are not in the show.
Other promoters are understandably not yet ready to cede control of boxing to the “Golden Boy.”
“There’s one word to describe Oscar, and his commentary, and that’s pathetic,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told Lem Satterfield. “I mean this guy is really so dumb. Anybody that pays any attention to what he has to say is stupid.”
Promoter Gary Shaw sees Golden Boy following the trend of UFC, doing away with the other promoters and eventually doing away with HBO as a platform for their events.
“I’ll just dust off my resume, I guess, and go see Oscar,” Shaw told Mike Marley. “Maybe Oscar can give me a job.
Michael Woods, writing on The Sweet Science, sees value in Oscars arguement.
“Imagine Bob Arum, Richard Schaefer or Don King being so disgusted after a poor PPV showing that they publicly threatened to dump the headliner. Now, before you jump in with a comment telling me that I am comparing apples and oranges, let me state that we are somewhat comparing apples and oranges. (Dana) White and UFC are MMA, while boxing is comprised of a load of free agents, jockeying and shoving each other to gain better position. So if Schaefer told the media after Shane Mosley’s last fight that he though SSM had seen better days, and a few days later Schaefer cut him loose, the day after, another promoter would take Shane on, because he’s still bankable. White’s sole interest is the sport, because UFC is the sport. Because 95% of the top athletes in MMA are working for him, he can toss one overboard if he’s not living up to expectations, and his bottom line won’t tank.”
The bottom line in boxing is that one organization running the show makes sense.
It made sense in professional football when the National Football League acquired the All-American Football Conference in 1949 or when the National Basketball League merged with the Basketball Association of America that same year to form the National Basketball Association.
It puts a better product in the ring for fans and ensures the big fight to take place.
De La Hoya’s assessment on the future of boxing may have a hint of greed or ego in it, but that does not mean the assessment is wrong.
By: Boxing Dispatch
“My plan is not to take over boxing, but really do what no other promoter was able to do, and that is to have unified rules and one commissioner and make sure the fighter is taken care of and not cheated out of anything. That’s one of the reasons boxing hasn’t really taken itself to the next level, because we cannot make those big fights and a lot of times promoters are the ones in the way.”
This is what Oscar De La Hoya told Broadcasting Cable.
Better fights at a more consistent rate.
After a dismal summer of boxing matches, this is what we saw from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Even if mixed martial arts isn’t your thing, you have to appreciate the quality of product.
UFC: 119, fought on September 25 featured three former champions on a stacked card highlighted by Frank Mir, a notable grappler, knocking out Mirko “Cro Cop” Filpovic, a striker. It was a card derided by many UFC fans and pundits as a joke.
“The last few UFC cards have been loaded, so we were bound for a letdown at some point,” wrote Jon Lee of Bleacher Report.
The pay-per-view event also featured an hour long lead-in of preliminary fights on Spike TV which netted 1.3 million viewers.
The prelim bouts featured household MMA names CB Dolloway and Matt Mitrione
The total package would have been a godsend to boxing fans.
Could UFC be the model that De La Hoya is planning for the future of boxing?
Purely from a business perspective it makes sense for the sport.
“We are very transparent with whatever we do with our fighters, and in a way, yes, we do want to take over,” De La Hoya continued. “Well, we don’t want to take control of boxing but we want to do the right thing for the sport. Have one (organization) running it like UFC. It’s very confusing with all these championship belts-my idea would be to have one champion in each division. There should be one heavyweight champion, not 20 like we have have now. Too much confusion. We have to weed out the bad and bring in the good.”
All the performers under one tent or they are not in the show.
Other promoters are understandably not yet ready to cede control of boxing to the “Golden Boy.”
“There’s one word to describe Oscar, and his commentary, and that’s pathetic,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told Lem Satterfield. “I mean this guy is really so dumb. Anybody that pays any attention to what he has to say is stupid.”
Promoter Gary Shaw sees Golden Boy following the trend of UFC, doing away with the other promoters and eventually doing away with HBO as a platform for their events.
“I’ll just dust off my resume, I guess, and go see Oscar,” Shaw told Mike Marley. “Maybe Oscar can give me a job.
Michael Woods, writing on The Sweet Science, sees value in Oscars arguement.
“Imagine Bob Arum, Richard Schaefer or Don King being so disgusted after a poor PPV showing that they publicly threatened to dump the headliner. Now, before you jump in with a comment telling me that I am comparing apples and oranges, let me state that we are somewhat comparing apples and oranges. (Dana) White and UFC are MMA, while boxing is comprised of a load of free agents, jockeying and shoving each other to gain better position. So if Schaefer told the media after Shane Mosley’s last fight that he though SSM had seen better days, and a few days later Schaefer cut him loose, the day after, another promoter would take Shane on, because he’s still bankable. White’s sole interest is the sport, because UFC is the sport. Because 95% of the top athletes in MMA are working for him, he can toss one overboard if he’s not living up to expectations, and his bottom line won’t tank.”
The bottom line in boxing is that one organization running the show makes sense.
It made sense in professional football when the National Football League acquired the All-American Football Conference in 1949 or when the National Basketball League merged with the Basketball Association of America that same year to form the National Basketball Association.
It puts a better product in the ring for fans and ensures the big fight to take place.
De La Hoya’s assessment on the future of boxing may have a hint of greed or ego in it, but that does not mean the assessment is wrong.