The long-running feud between the two major players in the boxing promotions business is now taking its toll on the revival efforts for the rapidly declining public interest in boxing.
Top Rank Promotions (TRP) and Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) are the current leaders in the boxing promotions business and they control the top revenue-generating prize fighters in the world today.
Golden Boy is owned and controlled by ex-boxer Oscar de la Hoya while Top rank is owned and controlled by lawyer Bob Arum. Together they account for the most number of active boxing champions who keep the sports alive amid stiff competition from rival MMA.
Some of GBP's top fighters include Bernard Hopkins, Victor Ortiz, David Haye, Ricky Hatton, Canelo Alvarez, Marcos Maidana, Paulie Malignaggi, Abner Mares and Amir Khan, among others.
Top Rank popular fighters include Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Nonito Donaire, Antonio Margarito, Fernando Montiel, Shane Mosley, Kelly Pavlik, Yuri Foreman, David Diaz, Julio Cesar Chavez and Joshua Clottey, to name a few.
Despite the wide array of topnotch fighters under the management of these two giants in the boxing promotions business, the public has been left with limited choice of quality matches they can watch as the promoters create matches only from within their pool of fighters.
For instance, the probable reason a Pacquiao vs.Ortiz fight is not being pushed is perhaps due to the fact they don't belong to a single promoter. Same thing with Pacquiao vs. Martinez or Pacquiao vs. Bradley.
In these match ups, Ortiz belongs to GBP, Martinez is being promoted by Lou DiBella while Bradley is under Gary Shaw Promotions.
Boxing fans are saying the best fight boxing has to offer at this time is a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez. But the chance of getting this fight done seems remote at this time, unless Martinez is released by his promoter or his contract expires so he can sign up with Top Rank.
Obviously, Top Rank would prefer an in-house fight and if Martinez signs up, a fight can perhaps be made in a matter of hours so long as Martinez comes down to 147.
And one of the reasons the fight is not being actively pushed aside from the weight issues, is probably because Martinez doesn't belong to Top Rank. The same is true with Bradley who is being promoted by Gary Shaw.
It may be understandable for Bob Arum to shy away from fighters belonging to GBP because of the legal fight over a defamation case filed by Pacquiao, but to lure or even require Bradley to sign up with Top Rank in order to secure a fight, seems unethical or even unfair to both the fighter and his current promoter.
The same situation applies to a Pacquiao vs. Martinez fight..
But in fairness to Arum, his company has recently pitted some of his fighters against opponents belonging to other promoters, including the recent Cotto vs. Mayorga fight, with the latter being managed and promoted by Don King.
Still, boxing fans are continuously clamoring for a Pacquiao vs Martinez fight but Arum is standing by Freddie Roach decision not to allow Pacquiao to go beyond 145 even as Martinez agreed to go as low as 154.
“Because even if he beat Martinez, which I believe that he would, and even if he turns it into a fairly easy fight, because he's fighting someone who is a much bigger, stronger guy, he could get hurt like he did in there against Antonio Margarito,” he said.
Despite the mismatch issues being cited by Arum and Freddie Roach, boxing fans believe a Pacquiao vs Martinez match is the best fight boxing has to offer at this time.
Toronto Maple Leafs Western Conference Houston Dynamo Virginia Legacy Reading Rage
No comments:
Post a Comment