Bernard Hopkins of Golden Boy Promotions feels that it’s a good thing that Showtime is leaving boxing because sees that as part of the “New World order.”
To Hopkins, it’s not a negative that Showtime will no longer be broadcasting boxing after this year because someone else will. He feels anyone that gets stressed out about Showtime’s exit is “suckers.”
Fans don’t see it the way Hopkins does because Showtime leaving the sport could be a signal that boxing is being phased out by network platforms due to it being a marginalized sport.
It’s below the major sports, NFL, NBA, NHL & MLB, and some would argue that UFC has surpassed it. Amazon Prime could soon be showing boxing fights, but it’s rumored that they’ll only be focusing on PPV events, and won’t bother with regular fights. If that’s the case, it’ll be a poor replacement for Showtime.
“I think it’s good. That’s why I say rest in peace,” said Bernard Hopkins to Fight Hub TV when asked if it’s good or bad that Showtime will no longer be broadcasting fights on their network.
It’s definitely not good Showtime leaving boxing. You got to wonder whether Hopkins’ cavalier attitude about this is because of his huge wealth. He’s quite rich, and he doesn’t lose anything if boxing is narrowed down to just DAZN & ESPN in North America. If both of those networks go away, Hopkins will do fine.
“Why wouldn’t it be good & why wouldn’t it be bad?” said Hopkins. “You got to look at the new world order, Curtis Mayfield. I don’t look at Showtime getting out of boxing as a bad or good thing. They want you to think that way. I can say I don’t care, but I do. It’s a change. It’s a new world order. It happens in business, too.
“‘Oh, they’re leaving, they’re out of boxing. Is that bad?’ No. Rest in peace. It’s over. If you ain’t going to live forever, do you think everything is going to last forever?
“Only suckers are afraid of change. Real men are not afraid of change. They embrace it, they grab it, and they execute every possibility to survive whatever the change is. That’s what a real man does. So let’s see the real men step up in boxing, no matter if every network leaves.
“Who are you now as a company? That goes for everybody. That doesn’t exclude Golden Boy. That excludes everybody. I want to put that challenge out there. It would be great if more would leave.
“You got to do it the old-school way. Flat foot hustler promoting. When they didn’t have TV. What happened when they didn’t have TV to give them the big check called the license fee?
“Suckers crying about HBO leaving [boxing]. ‘How do you feel, Bernard?’ So? [Showtime president Stephen] Espinoza ain’t mad. Do you know how much money he made? Do you know the pension he’s going to get? But the suckers who are doing interviews and getting pennies off a dollar are talking about, ‘What do you think?’
“Don’t be a sucker, man up, whether it’s business, whether it’s your job. Whether it’s anything, you got to stand up. Suckers. ‘What are we going to do now?’ Put your grown man draws on and man up or get out of the way. Get the f**k out the way.
“What are you in the way for? You’re going to get ran over, or somebody is going to push you over or stomp you to death, so get out of the way. I just said ‘New world order,’ and you said ‘transition.’ What’s the difference?” said Hopkins.
