09.05.08 – By Vivek Wallace: Every Friday in the ‘Call ’em Out Friday’ session we bring attention to a new individual in the sport who has failed to carry out the fans expectation or request and blow the whistle on them if warranted. After calling out Mayweather, De La Hoya, and Manny Pacquiao, in this weeks session we shine the spotlight on the proverbial ‘powers-that-be’ in the sport of boxing. The promoters.. There are many reasons the best fights aren’t always made, and those same reasons are often at the center of controversy between those fighters in the fight, and the promoters who make the fights. In an effort to better understand the frustrations between fighters and promoters, today we take an in-depth look at the dynamics of the relationship. After we lay out the pro-perspective of the Arum’s, the King’s, and the Goldenboy Promotions of he world, we’ll also take a look at the perspectives many fighters consider totally against them, and in the end like always, you the reader decide as the debates continue.
Pro-Promoter Perspective: What is a boxing promoter? Apparently that’s the million dollar question because few truly understand the role of a boxing promoter. Without the extraordinary vision, the strategic planning, and overall skill of a great promoter, few realize that the final product often displayed on those highly anticipated Saturday nights would never quite be the same. Most understand that to be the role of a good promoter. What most don’t understand is that a promoter is not a manager. A manager basically is in place to oversee and ensure the demands and interest of the fighter, while the promoter is in place to oversee the legalities involved in the event, and the best interest of the promotion itself – which is his own. This is the proverbial ‘crossroad’ between fighters and promoters. Promoters use personal capital or invested capital to promote fight events and assume COMPLETE financial responsibility for the promotion, whether it be a success or a flop when it’s complete. Every penny spent to promote the event – including everything from pre-fight commercials, to beverage cups to the weigh-in scales – is all fronted by the promoter. Acheiving success in a promotion is never a given, which is why things like venue locations can make a huge difference. Great promoters typically pick the best possible demographic when scheduling a fight. Some fight fans may associate this with Top Rank’s Miguel Cotto, who has rarely fought away from the New York City/Madison Square Garden area, which is rich in it’s Puerto Rican association, thus allowing the promoter to successfully entertain the audience. Another example of this is the fact that Top Ranks Bob Arum, years ago, made a concerted effort to concentrate on southwestern venues (L.A. and Las Vegas), and fighters located in that demographic after citing a survey showing that Boxing was the most popular sport amongst Latino’s. Fighters he developed and promoted in this region included Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Antonio Margarito, and many others. When considering all of the money involved and responsibilities that falls on the men who promote these fights, the vision as to why they choose to take part in certain fights and perhaps delay the possibility of others becomes a bit more clear. Each fighter is an individual investment, and as we all know, investments are better when they grow, not as they go. Alot of times it appears that fighters are being protected and sheltered from perennial competition, but this typcially has more to do with growing that investment (fighter), and ultimately allowing both the fighter and the promoter to benefit by receiving the fruits of the collaborative labors. Unfortunately the promoters often feels that they are due more financial reward as a result of investing so much time and personal capital in the events, while the fighters often feel that they should receive the most financial reward because there is no event without them. This is where things often go down hill between the two parties.
Anti-Promoter Perspective: In the world of promotions, there is an unspoken rule that most promoters understand, yet few of their fighters do. That rule is that in the game of promotion, there is no law governing the term ‘fair’ between the promoter and the boxer. Basic ethics make us all think there is, but at the end of the day, it’s the job of a boxers manager to know, understand, interpret, and employ the arranged agreement between the two parties. Promoters understand this full well, and in doing so, there’s often many situations where fighters end up eventually broke or ill-prepared for life after boxing. So many boxers of today have walked away from promoters feeling they’ve gotten the shorter end of the stick, which is why most have decided to basically represent themselves. Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya and a few other highly notables would be part of that list. Two of those fighters would categorically go down as perhaps the most gifted of this era (Mayweather/Jones), yet neither were ever able to be the true draw that their talent would suggest because of what they perceived as poor marketing at the hands of their promoters. Marketing is part of where the promoters money is expected to go, yet these fighters (and many others) felt like that was one in a million duties spoken of but never quite carried out to the extent they would have desired. One other argument from a fighters perspective is that his monies are split amongst trainers, managers, etc, where-in the promoters money is primarily for him; which is why the figthers have reasonably argued that they deserve a larger portion of the pie. These are only a few minor examples of why fighters and promoters haven’t been able to see eye to eye, and why things often go sour between the two parties.
Bottomline Perspective: Two of the largest named fighters of this era (Dela Hoya/Mayweather) who both fell under Arum eventually brought suit against him, claiming to be underpaid during their tenure at Top Rank. Less than a year ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr. made the statement: “I would only get $2M to $3M per fight under Arum, when I should have been getting closer to $6M; then when I cut the middle man out, It became $15 to $30M”! Oscar De La Hoya made very similar claims. When asked about Mayweather and De La Hoya’s claims, Arum competitor Don King chimed in on the matter saying that “Oscar De La Hoya would never be where he is today without him [Arum]”. He then went on to say “Mayweather is the most talented fighter I’ve personally seen since Ali, but he still would not be getting the money he has gotten from De La Hoya’s Goldenboy Promotions in his two past fights without Bob Arum either”, citing how Arum effectively built Oscar De La Hoya who promotionally helped build Floyd Mayweather. King completed his statement by giving a better understanding for the growth of the two fighters’ earning potential by saying that in this sport, fighters have to “crawl before they can walk”. Meaning that all those years under Arum, the fighters’ monies were minimal because more was being poured into marketing them and related fees, which eventually catapulted them to their current statuses. That whole segment pretty much sums up the argument, while also adding to the intrigue behind the issue itself. The never ending story here is that the promoters have to spend years building a fighter to ultimately reach the mega-fight status. No matter how talented a fighter is, none can ever reach that highest plateau without being on the receiving end of many promotions. Many promotions that the promoters own money went into. While I do think the fighters should be adequately compensated, I don’t think there’s an effective enough argument to make me feel that the promoters shouldn’t be either. The operative term here is the word adequate. Both sides have a total different interpretation of what that means…And until that changes, this struggle shall remain. Bottomline, a successful promoter doesn’t have to know how to fight, but for a fighter to branch out on his own, he has to learn how to promote. How does he learn it? By being under that same guy he’s at odds with. Score one for the promoter here!
(Got Questions or Feedback?: Write ESB’s Vivek Wallace at vivexemail@yahoo.com or show some love at www.myspace.com/anonymouslyinvolved)