What the end of the “Cold War” means for Boxing
If the adage, a journey begins with a single step can be applied to boxing, we may look back years from now and see the Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. fight in June, as the step that opened the door for potential classic matchups.
Golden Boy Promotion’s Russell was facing Top Rank Promotion’s Lomachenko for the vacant WBO featherweight title after Golden Boy won the purse bid over Top Rank to promote the fight. Both men should be commended for daring to be great and fighting each other regardless of the politics of the situation. This turn of events, signaled that maybe, just maybe, progress could be made in ending the discord between the promotional giants, better known as “The Cold War.”
On a recent Jim Lampley’s HBO show The Fight Game, Lampley had Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya and Top Rank Chief Executive Officer Bob Arum on to inquire about social media exchanges between the two which implied that fights between their fighters could be a possibility going forward.
The following is a transcript of the interview in its entirety.
Lampley to De La Hoya, “The irony of course is that you became a ring legend in professional boxing while promoted by Arum, and fighting over and over against the best opponents available regardless of who promoted them, regardless of whether you were favored in the fight, is that the kind of competition fans can now look for in this new environment?”
De La Hoya – “Well obviously that’s the mission, That’s the objective of meeting Bob and having this open dialogue with Bob, I love the fact that I was able to fight the very best, and go against the toughest challenge and I believe it’s up to the promoters, Golden Boy and Top Rank, to make sure we continue that tradition, with the best fighting the best because my philosophy has always been in order to satisfy the millions of fans who love boxing, we must set our egos aside, and make these big fights happen.”
Lampley to Arum- “Do you agree Bob and does this mean that your top fighters Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will be free to compete against Golden Boy promoted fighters?”
Arum- “I couldn’t agree more with Oscar, it’s really been a travesty for boxing, that the best don’t fight the best. In what other sport does this happen? Only in boxing if there are wars between promoters, and in all the years I’ve been in the sport which is 50 years, I’ve never seen anything like when a major promotion company says they won’t deal with another company, that’s idiocy, but that’s been the case for the past three or four years.”
Lampley- “So, what fights come to mind Bob as you consider what business can now be accomplished with Oscar’s partnership?”
Arum- “Well, we’re going to talk, Oscar and I are going to talk later this week, but certainly one of them that comes to is one that every fight fan wants to see, and that’s middle weight champion Miguel Cotto against Canelo Alvarez.”
Lampley- “I agree, everyone wants to see that fight, one large obstacle Oscar, is that Al Haymon advises or manages a huge percentage of the fighters who appear under Golden Boy Promotions and there is abundant recent evidence that his advising is preventing a lot of desirable matchups from happening. How can you generate the kind of persuasion that is necessary to get Haymon’s fighters to take big fights?”
De La Hoya – “Under my helm, my leadership at Golden Boy, a lot has changed. The fact that I was a fighter for many years, I understand what the consumer desires. I understand what the fans are looking for; they are looking for the best fights possible. I have talked to Al Haymon about various possibilities, various fights that we can make, he has expressed a lot of interest. One thing Jim, about me, is that I want to satisfy the consumer, that’s the bottom line. Because the fans deserve the very best, and this is not easy to put together. This relationship between Bob and I is not an easy one where we can just make fights happen. The great thing about this relationship is that we already started the dialogue. The door is wide open to do some business in the future so, this will take time, but I can assure you and all the fans out there that we will make this happen.”
Golden Boy has been promoting quality fight cards so De La Hoya seems true to his word on giving the fans what they want as he continues to find a way to work through the political red tape with his former promoter. Conversely, Arum’s comments would imply that he seems to be ready to move in the same direction with the departure of former Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer no doubt softening up Arum’s position.
So, let’s pretend for a moment that the elephant in the room goes away and the promotional entities make the dream fights we all have been waiting for. Playing matchmaker for a moment, let’s delve in a bit deeper to dissect what fights might be possible.
Of course the crown jewel is the fight most are waiting for, Floyd Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, so for the sake of not beating a dead horse, let’s move on from that one and look at some other intriguing matchups in a few of the divisions.
Junior Featherweight/Featherweight – Leo Santa Cruz is going to be a busy man. Santa Cruz vs. Lomachenko, Mikey Garcia or Guillermo Rigondeaux would all be worth the price of admission. Russell vs. Garcia, Rigondeaux or Nonito Donaire. Can we finally see Abner Mares vs. Donaire?
Lightweight- Omar Figueroa Jr. vs. Mikey Garcia or Terrence Crawford, one word-explosive! Somebody’s O is going to go.
Let’s Have Some Fun At 140-147 – The biggest impact of co-promoted fights between Golden Boy and Top Rank would be felt here. While not feasible to list every possible matchup, I have selected a few fighters and listed potential opponents. Any of these matchups are must see TV.
Timothy Bradley vs. Mayweather, Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, or Robert Guerrero. Marcos Maidana vs. Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Bradley, or Mike Alvarado. Adrien Broner vs. Brandon Rios, Marquez or Bradley. Danny Garcia vs. Pacquiao, Marquez or Rios. Amir Khan vs. Pacquiao, Bradley or Marquez. Keith Thurman vs. Bradley, Marquez or Pacquiao.
Middleweight/Super Middles
Golden Boy holds most of the cards with Alvarez, Jermell Charlo, Daniel Jacobs, Peter Quillin, and Gabriel Rosado but potential matchups with Top Rank’s Cotto, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Glen Tapia or Matt Korobov could be intriguing.
Of course as mentioned by Arum, Cotto vs. Alvarez is a fan friendly fight that would be welcome. In addition, matchups with fighters north of this division either at division weights or catch weights opens up countless top level matchups.
The Heavies – Golden Boy’s Deontay Wilder or Luis Ortiz vs. Top Rank’s Andy Ruiz Jr. Another co-promoted fight between Golden Boy and Top Rank has occurred, this one in the welterweight division. Golden Boy’s Sadam Ali facing Top Rank’s Luis Carlos Abregu on November 8th on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev. Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti was quoted as saying that negotiating the bout with Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez was “easy,” another positive sign.
This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning a new kind of elephant in the room that could possibly derail this exciting new journey happening in the sweet science. Additional promotional competitors who don’t play well in the sandbox together.
What’s the angle of new promotional company Roc Nation? What if Jay-Z becomes an influential player?
In it’s second day in the boxing world, Roc Nation recently out bided both Golden Boy and Top Rank by nearly two million dollars on a purse bid for the rights to the fight between Golden Boy’s Peter Quillin and Top Rank’s Matt Korobov. Even though this fight will not take place due to Quillin vacating his title, the message sent by Roc Nation was loud and clear.
How about an empire built through a merger of Haymon and Schaefer, man your battle stations if that happens, assuming that Golden Boy’s contract stipulations that forbid Schafer to work with another promoter until 2018 are amended.
What if, after Mayweather retires and he raises Mayweather Promotions to the best in the game? Or, Mike Tyson says not so fast and becomes yet another threat, this time outside of the ring.
And let’s not forget the major player from across the pond, Matchroom Boxing. If these scenarios played out and increased the promotional landscape negatively, the Cold War era would seem serene compared to a next generation conflict between promoters.
In an age where pay-per-view boxing events cost consumers north of $50, the fans deserve nothing but the best matchups that can be made when spending their hard-earned cash which allows the sport to prosper. To keep the sport booming with new generations of fans and alongside new extreme sports, promotional squabbles must end and go back to a time when the best fought the best leaving one champion and a long line of contenders.
To quote lyrics from the legend Sam Cooke, “it’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will.”
– Rick Guerrero / @lapittrick
– Contributor to www.BehindtheGloves.com