By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: I’m not going to discuss the lawsuit that Top Rank has filed against the seldom seen but known Al Haymon. But I’m going to look at this matter for what it really is. For years, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions were the number one and number two powerhouses in the sport with Golden Boy being number one.
Before Golden Boy parted ways with Haymon, there were slew of Haymon fighters that fought on Golden Boy fight cards (a lot the fighters were not signed to Golden Boy and some were). They had a good relationship with HBO and had no problem getting TV dates. That changed some time down the road as HBO began to complain that the quality of fights dropped off. This caused Golden Boy to join Showtime.
Things got murky after that. Richard Schaefer resigned from his CEO spot at Golden Boy, Haymons fighters followed shortly, Golden Boys stable became depleted of many big names, Golden Boy went back to HBO. They now only have three big names in their stable and they are Saul “Canelo” Alvarez” Lucas Matthysee, and David Lemieux. Top Rank has that same problem right now. With Manny Pacquiao losing to Floyd Mayweather, his stock has dropped.
True, Top Rank has named fighters such as Terrance Crawford, Tim Bradley and Nicholas Walters but nobody was being groomed as the next cash cow. Both Golden Boy and Top Rank are equipped enough to have to put on fight cards, but not the really big ones. But let’s get down to what’s really going on. First, Haymon’s take over did not just happen overnight. This move was probably going on longer than we all know. Neither Golden Boy nor Top Rank had any plans of taking boxing back to regular television. In fact Top Rank was busy trying to break new ground in Macu, China. They were content with HBO dates because at one point in time their respective stables were deep. Just imagine how then Goosen/Tutor Promotions, Lou Dibela Entertainment and other smaller promotional companies felt when they had to play second fiddle to Golden Boy and Top Rank. The only real splash these other promoters made a real splash is if they put on their fighters against a Golden Boy or Top Rank fighter.
Second, While Haymon was busy putting his plan in place, CEO of Top Rank Bob Arum and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya put aside their differences and became friends again. The two promised to work together to bring exciting fights to the fans. But we have yet to see, on a major scale anyway, a big fight between Golden Boy and Top Rank. I believe that relationship was only resolved because they saw Haymon’s emergence happening. Haymon has made TV deals all over the place thus giving his fighters more opportunity to be seen. And so far, the viewership has been above expectations. Let’s face a little reality. Money talks and Haymon is speaking very loudly. If I’m a TV producer, I’m going to with the guy who has a host of fighters and can put on decent to above average fight cards. To me, it’s pure worry on the part of Golden Boy and Top Rank. They are not in charge anymore. Things have shifted. How long can Haymon sustain this momentum remains to be seen. But with his stable growing rapidly, I say he has a good shot.
Comments are closed.