By Chris Williams: Oscar De La Hoya blasted PBC boss Al Haymon for ruining relationships with FOX and NBC and spending Showtime’s money. De La Hoya says what happened with the relationships going sour in those networks was due to Haymon.
Oscar questions whether Haymon would make things work if he moved PBC over to DAZN, as he always wants things his way.
On one hand, De La Hoya thinks it would be great for PBC to come to DAZN so that fights are easier to make, but he wonders whether it’ll work out.
De La Hoya doesn’t say specifically what Haymon would do to mess up DAZN and possibly cause it to dump boxing like Showtime did, but it could be the Mayweather-esque formula of marinating fights that fans want to see for years and years.
While the marinating process is going on, the top fighters in PBC, such as Gervonta Davis, are fighting scrubs with no chance of beating him, and fans who are wise to what’s going in regarding the weak match-making are turned off. The gullible, clueless fans drink it all in & love the mismatches, as they have no idea what’s happening.
If you’re one of the top brass for a network like Showtime or DAZN, you can’t be pleased if you have a huge boxing promotional company like PBC setting up lackluster mismatches for viewers.
What you get is low viewership & poor subscription rates. Yeah, it works for the fighters with PBC because they can good money by beating the soft opposition fed to them during the years that the marination process is going on.
De La Hoya blasts Al Haymon for ruining things
“I hear it’s a rumor, but that’s all it is,” said Oscar De La Hoya to K.O. Artist Sports about PBC possibly moving to DAZN following Showtime’s exit from boxing.
“Imagine PBC and Eddie Hearn and Golden Boy under the same roof. Obviously, it would make it that much easier to make fights happen, but my only concern is that if you take a look at what Al Haymon has done in the sport.”
It would be great if PBC comes to DAZN and Haymon is willing to pit his fighters against Golden Boy & Matchroom, Boxing. However, if Haymon chooses to just set up fights in-house between PBC fighters, and you get the weak match-making, it wouldn’t be worth it for him to bring his company to DAZN. Fans wouldn’t benefit.
“He ruined the relationship with NBC. He ruined the relationship with FOX, and he spent Showtime’s money. So, every network he goes to, he just ruins it because it has to be his way or no way,” said De La Hoya.
Whatever network that PBC goes to be it Amazon Prime or DAZN, the executives for the network need to ensure that they’re going to have high-level fights with the best fighting the best.
It’s useless if PBC goes to one of those networks, and fans are subjected to awful fights one after another with the marinating garbage taking place.
If mismatches are always scheduled, the ratings for the boxing events on DAZN or Amazon Prime will be too low for them to justify keeping it on their platform. As such, they’ll eventually cut their losses and give boxing the boot, just like Showtime is doing now.
“So I don’t know how DAZN will even entertain anything like that,” said De La Hoya. “I’m open to it and willing to work with anybody, but I just want to make sure people understand what has been going on with networks and why it’s been happening.
“Somebody just told me, ‘Well, yeah, because everything that Al Haymon touches turns to bronze, not to gold.‘ So it’s a concern, but if DAZN or whoever wants to facilitate and have everyone under one roof, yeah, it’ll be better for the sport so we can make those fights happen.
“You got to take a look at the economics of it. You got to take a look at those big fights taking place on pay-per-view, solely on pay-per-view. Al Haymon sprinkled Stephen Espinoza with a couple of good fights on Showtime but nothing to nothing to wow the executives, nothing to renew the contracts, and it’s an issue, it’s been a problem, it’s been an issue.
“What happened to NBC, what happened to FOX, and what happened to Showtime? Al Haymon happened,” said De La Hoya.
Coming events cast their shadows before. As De La Hoya points out, Haymon has ruined it at NBC and Fox, and now Showtime is giving up on the spot.
Oscar talks need for good management
“It is difficult, but there are people who handle business. There are people out there who know how to deal with networks and how to deal with negotiating at the table for your best interest,” said De La Hoya.
It doesn’t make sense to have a fighter at the table during negotiations because it would take time away from their training, create massive stress, and make the talks more difficult.
If a fighter doesn’t have faith in their management to negotiate on their behalf, they need to get a new team.
“What I was referring to is the fighter has a short window of opportunity,” said De La Hoya. “Get yourself a competent, smart team that you trust, that you can delegate to talk for you to negotiate for you, and you focus on your training.
“You focus in the gym, and you focus on the job at hand because your window is so small. Life goes by so fast, and that’s why you have promoters; that’s why you have a manager to pick the right people in order to take care of business for you outside the ring.
“I’ve been a fighter. I’ve tried to be at the same negotiating table with my opponent, with a manager on their side or a promoter. Too much ego. It will never work. ‘Oh, I deserve 60-40.’ ‘No, f**k you. No, I deserve this.’
“You know how fighters are. It just doesn’t work. Too many egos. That’s what I meant. There are too many egos at one table. Delegate your team, your smart team who you trust, and you take care of business inside the ring at the gym,” said De La Hoya.
Risk-taking
“He’s taking on a knockout artist. Ryan Garcia is serious about becoming a world champion, and first thing is first. He’s got to face Oscar Duarte, who has heavy hands, who is out here to win, he’s motivated, he’s ready for anything that Ryan brings to the table,” said De La Hoya about Ryan Garcia’s next fight on December 2nd on DAZN.
Ryan Garcia’s career could be on the line with this risky fight against Oscar Duarte on December 2nd. It’s good that Ryan is taking this kind of fight after his loss to Gervonta Davis, but the downside is, that he could lose, and there’s no coming back.
“If Ryan wins and beats Oscar Duarte, then we start talking about Teofimo, we start talking about Haney or Prograis, and we start talking about the champions at 140 lbs,” said De La Hoya.
Assuming this is a cash-out for Ryan Garcia before retiring, he should fight WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez because that’s likely the more significant money bout than fighting the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis winner.
“I’m not sure what [WBA light welterweight champion] Rolly [Romero] is going to do. I keep hearing a rumor that he’s going to retire. So, I’m really not sure,” said De La Hoya when asked if Rolly could be an option for Ryan. “I keep hearing that rumor for some strange reason.
“He is on medical leave, but I’ve heard some rumors that he’s not going to fight again, so who knows? If Rolly were to fight again, a fight against Ryan would be incredible,” said De La Hoya.
