13.12.06 – By Michael Marley, BoxingConfidential,com: NEW YORK–Professional boxing in this country is staggering and glassy-eyed. Now it looks like USA amateur boxing, which has been in the dumps for two decades, has been hit with a knockout blow which might send it down and completely out in terms of being competitive in world tournaments and the Olympic Games..
I have learned exclusively that Michael King, the multimillionaire media mogul who with brother Roger used to own the King World TV empire (“Oprah,” “Wheel Of Fortune” and other smash hits which raked in such cash that CBS eventually bought it outright, has pulled the plug on his ambitious, some would say revolutionary, attempt to revive the struggling American amateur boxing program.
King and other well-heeled investors formed a group which was buying the TV rights, apparel deal rights and other licenses from USA Boxing Inc. King and his cronies formed a company which wanted to revitalize a barely-functioning national amateur ring organization. At the last Olympic Games, for example, America (Andre Ward) only won one gold medal. That is a far cry from the USA’s zenith in 1976, the Montreal Olympics at which Howard Davis, Ray Leonard, Michael and Leon Spinks and Leo Randolph all captured gold medals in the ring.
“This is a huge blow, especially coming a year before the 2008 Games in Beijing,” a source close to the situation told me. “We got one gold and one silver in 2004 and now the amateur program has no TV deal and is in complete disarray. Some thought Michael King and his real and substantial money would rescue USA Boxing, Inc., but King pulled the plug. He had a $60 million war chest but his board of directors told him they wanted out. Right now, USA Boxing does not even have a boxing equipment deal. It’s a joke. How do you think we will do in China?”
King’s rescue mission was not strictly a charitable mission. Under his A2P, or Amateur 2 Pro program, the top American boxers would be supported by stipends paid by King and his backers. Any boxer so supported would then have to give King’s group a first deal/first refusal right to sign the boxer to a pro contract. That seeming strong arming of amateur boxers drew heavy criticism in some quarters and some legal experts said it would never withstand scrutiny in litigation.
My source begs to differ.
“Why wouldn’t it stand up? It’s like when Shelly Finkel threw money at Oscar de la Hoya when Oscar was an amateur,” the source said. “Oscar dumped Finkel and went with some other guys but he had to repay the money to Finkel. The money was viewed as a loan and de la Hoya had to repay it.”