In the aftermath of last weekend’s Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley II clash, I have seen a handful of articles in the media covering a subject long familiar to observers of the fight game: how the bitter promotional rivalry between Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy is damaging the sport by shutting down the match-ups fight fans want to see, with Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao first and foremost on the list.
Adding fuel to both the Arum vs. de la Hoya fire and the coverage of it was last weekend’s “Postergate:” the MGM Grand, host of Pacquiao vs. Bradley, was actively pumping up Mayweather and his May 3rd fight date at the hotel instead of the fight at hand during the Pacman vs. Desert Storm weekend. Power plays of this kind leave a bad taste in the mouth, and the idea that Arum’s and de la Hoya’s squabbles are hurting the sport is true insofar as it goes. Yet some say it is destroying boxing, and that is overstating things quite a bit.
Boxing is not locked in a bi-polar Cold War, with two huge, hostile superpowers and no other major players. At the end of May is Carl Froch vs. George Groves II, a fight that will likely break UK boxing attendance records and see PPV buys around the world. Not only are neither Froch or Groves working for Top Rank or Golden Boy, but neither is even promoted by an American company. The World Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, is self-promoted, Sergio Martinez works for Lou Dibella, and Sergey Kovalev is at Main Events.
Even inside the Top Rank vs. Golden Boy rivalry, I think the effects are a little overstated. At certain times, the main obstacle to making Mayweather vs. Pacquiao happen were the fighters themselves and not their promoters. If both of them were determined to make the fight happen at the same time, the fight would happen no matter how much Arum and de la Hoya hate each other. Never forget that Arum had a similarly tense relationship with Don King for years, and that didn’t stop that pairing of promotional giants from striking the odd deal, nor did that rivalry destroy the sport.
Moreover, there are intriguing rumors swirling these days that Arum and de la Hoya have been mending fences. The real issue at hand could be internal Golden Boy strife – as in, de la Hoya versus long-time partner Richard Schaefer. Mumblings include Schaefer teaming up with Al Haymon, separately from Golden Boy. While that would create its own set of issues and promotional battles, it would potentially open up the doors for a slew of Golden Boy and Top Rank fighters to face one another.
Finally, the more damaging rivalry is actually between networks HBO and Showtime. Ostensibly, HBO and Top Rank have been partners, and Showtime has teamed up with Golden Boy, although other promoters also work with each network. The ties between the networks seem even more strained than between de la Hoya and his one-time boss, Arum. Therein lies the problem, as the aforementioned Kovalev, for instance, will likely be denied his chance to face Adonis Stevenson, as “Superman” ducked his cape between his legs and bolted for Showtime.
While the animosity between boxing’s two biggest promoters has divided the 140, 147, and 154 lbs weight classes to a large extent, plenty of freedom of action remains everywhere else. Furthermore, should the fighters want it and the money is there to justify it, no amount of animosity in the world will prevent a deal from being made.
At the end of the day, the business of boxing always remains business. Besides, right now there may be bigger fish to fry, with the potential de la Hoya vs. Schaefer split, and the ongoing HBO vs. Showtime battle royale.
