lpinoy
10-07-2010, 04:33 AM
C/P
By;by Raymundo Dioses
Would we have seen Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather if Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank weren’t involved? Plus, a look at how boxing fans are going to wish they could skip October, a funny quote from Pacquiao and the return of Through My Eyes in this week's edition of Ringside With Raymundo!
Upon my return from a New York vacation last week, I made my rounds and sniffed around at what I missed in the boxing world while I was gone.
There wasn't much news-worthy information that I missed, until I came across Oscar De La Hoya's comments regarding the current state of promotional entities in the sport of boxing.
First and foremost, if you think this is the first time the boxer-turned-promoter has said something shocking, you haven't been reading.
De La Hoya has gone into hot waters in the past, with an ill faded weekly column featured on ‘The Ring Magazine's online site, where he has aired out a public beef in the past with rival promoter Bob Arum, and subsequently was sued in court, (yet not only by this one, but many insinuations by him and his promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions) by Manny Pacquiao after suggesting in his post that Manny Pacquiao's punches felt "different" in comparison to Shane Mosley's and Floyd Mayweather's, as De La Hoya had faced all three in his career, and pretty much alluded that Pacquiao may have been on performance enhancing drugs.
Of all of his rants though, his latest may have been the chart topper in what has so far been a mostly successful promotional career which has sadly been coincided with ill-faded remarks that continue to piss off his rival promoters.
"The Don King's and Bob Arum's have had a chokehold on this sport for the last 40 years. They've been able to put great fights on; they've been able to promote the sport, yes, but I believe the days are long past of the way they of the way they promote. Now, we have to think outside the box; we have to think like the NBA and MLB and have one commission and one major promoter in the sport."
To the boxing community, this was the equivalent of Lindsey Lohan again entering rehab, as De La Hoya has regularly mislead with his comments, even saying earlier this year that the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather fight was nearly signed, only to have the negotiations fail for a second straight time.
De La Hoya's track record isn't unblemished, and after these comments were made, some writers suggested a gag order be placed voluntarily by his own company to save from further harm.
Of all people who may have been offended by the remarks, there are a select group of people who are more hurt than most.
Other promotional companies.
While what De La Hoya said was a direct snap at his competitors, some of what he said makes sense from an outside perspective.
"My plan is not to take over boxing, but really do what no other promoter was able to do, and that is have unified rules and one commissioner and make sure the fighters is taken care of and is 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," said De La Hoya.
Having only one promotional company, such as with the UFC, could lead to the biggest fights being made, and at the behest of one person and one promotional company.
If this doctrine were in play now, it could have potentially provided a successful negotiation and signing of a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. By having one company and one commission dictating fights, it would have been able to mandate Mayweather to face Pacquiao, or force the fighters into less profitable avenues.
While Pacquiao and Mayweather certainly could have opted to produce their fight independently via pay per view, as that fight is an easy sell no matter where and who produced it, their purses for the fight with one boxing entity would entice them to maximize their revenue, and corner them into fighting.
And that's what we all what, right?
Well, therein lays the problem, too much if's and possibilities, tension between promotional companies and the end result is no fight between the two best boxers in the sport.
While rivals promoters are dismayed at De La Hoya's remarks, which may negatively affect future business relations and possibly hinder more fights from being made in co-promotion in the sport, there needs to be a message sent out from the masses.
Fans don't care.
Boxing fans don't care that Golden Boy Promotions doesn't like Top Rank.
Boxing fans don't care that Floyd Mayweather doesn't like Top Rank head Bob Arum.
Boxing fans don't care that there is a tussle between the two companies as to the rights of Manny Pacquiao, and that the companies engage in lawsuit after lawsuit against each other.
The casual boxing fan doesn't even know that Oscar De La Hoya is essentially Floyd Mayweather's promoter, and doesn't even really care.
The casual boxing fan doesn't care if Mayweather made allegations that Manny Pacquiao used steroids, and that Pacquiao filed suit legally against Mayweather, and that Mayweather was demanding a blood test prior to a fight.
They just want to see fights in the ring, not in courtrooms and through the media.
By;by Raymundo Dioses
Would we have seen Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather if Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank weren’t involved? Plus, a look at how boxing fans are going to wish they could skip October, a funny quote from Pacquiao and the return of Through My Eyes in this week's edition of Ringside With Raymundo!
Upon my return from a New York vacation last week, I made my rounds and sniffed around at what I missed in the boxing world while I was gone.
There wasn't much news-worthy information that I missed, until I came across Oscar De La Hoya's comments regarding the current state of promotional entities in the sport of boxing.
First and foremost, if you think this is the first time the boxer-turned-promoter has said something shocking, you haven't been reading.
De La Hoya has gone into hot waters in the past, with an ill faded weekly column featured on ‘The Ring Magazine's online site, where he has aired out a public beef in the past with rival promoter Bob Arum, and subsequently was sued in court, (yet not only by this one, but many insinuations by him and his promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions) by Manny Pacquiao after suggesting in his post that Manny Pacquiao's punches felt "different" in comparison to Shane Mosley's and Floyd Mayweather's, as De La Hoya had faced all three in his career, and pretty much alluded that Pacquiao may have been on performance enhancing drugs.
Of all of his rants though, his latest may have been the chart topper in what has so far been a mostly successful promotional career which has sadly been coincided with ill-faded remarks that continue to piss off his rival promoters.
"The Don King's and Bob Arum's have had a chokehold on this sport for the last 40 years. They've been able to put great fights on; they've been able to promote the sport, yes, but I believe the days are long past of the way they of the way they promote. Now, we have to think outside the box; we have to think like the NBA and MLB and have one commission and one major promoter in the sport."
To the boxing community, this was the equivalent of Lindsey Lohan again entering rehab, as De La Hoya has regularly mislead with his comments, even saying earlier this year that the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather fight was nearly signed, only to have the negotiations fail for a second straight time.
De La Hoya's track record isn't unblemished, and after these comments were made, some writers suggested a gag order be placed voluntarily by his own company to save from further harm.
Of all people who may have been offended by the remarks, there are a select group of people who are more hurt than most.
Other promotional companies.
While what De La Hoya said was a direct snap at his competitors, some of what he said makes sense from an outside perspective.
"My plan is not to take over boxing, but really do what no other promoter was able to do, and that is have unified rules and one commissioner and make sure the fighters is taken care of and is 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," said De La Hoya.
Having only one promotional company, such as with the UFC, could lead to the biggest fights being made, and at the behest of one person and one promotional company.
If this doctrine were in play now, it could have potentially provided a successful negotiation and signing of a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. By having one company and one commission dictating fights, it would have been able to mandate Mayweather to face Pacquiao, or force the fighters into less profitable avenues.
While Pacquiao and Mayweather certainly could have opted to produce their fight independently via pay per view, as that fight is an easy sell no matter where and who produced it, their purses for the fight with one boxing entity would entice them to maximize their revenue, and corner them into fighting.
And that's what we all what, right?
Well, therein lays the problem, too much if's and possibilities, tension between promotional companies and the end result is no fight between the two best boxers in the sport.
While rivals promoters are dismayed at De La Hoya's remarks, which may negatively affect future business relations and possibly hinder more fights from being made in co-promotion in the sport, there needs to be a message sent out from the masses.
Fans don't care.
Boxing fans don't care that Golden Boy Promotions doesn't like Top Rank.
Boxing fans don't care that Floyd Mayweather doesn't like Top Rank head Bob Arum.
Boxing fans don't care that there is a tussle between the two companies as to the rights of Manny Pacquiao, and that the companies engage in lawsuit after lawsuit against each other.
The casual boxing fan doesn't even know that Oscar De La Hoya is essentially Floyd Mayweather's promoter, and doesn't even really care.
The casual boxing fan doesn't care if Mayweather made allegations that Manny Pacquiao used steroids, and that Pacquiao filed suit legally against Mayweather, and that Mayweather was demanding a blood test prior to a fight.
They just want to see fights in the ring, not in courtrooms and through the media.