News
Item: Deontay Wilder rejects a multi-fight agreement from Jay-Z's
Roc Nation company, which would have paid him $2M in his first fight against
heavyweight titleholder Bermane Stiverne.
News
Item: Middleweight titlist Peter Quillin relinquishes his belt
and turns down $1.4M from Roc Nation instead of facing mandatory challenger
Matt Korobov.
As reported by ESPN's Dan Rafael, Wilder was forced to reject Roc
Nation's aggressive bid (10 times his highest purse to date) because his
adviser, Al Haymon, refused to bless the
agreement. Similarly, Quillin turned down a career-high payday earlier this
year because Haymon wouldn't sanction it.
Haymon
instructed his fighters to refuse these offers without even giving them an
immediate, face-saving opportunity. It wasn't as if Quillin was guaranteed a
purse of $1.1 M to face another live body as a make-good gesture. No, Wilder
and Quillin lost their biggest paydays and had to swallow that awful medicine
on their own, resulting in money out the door, derision and a loss of respect
within the boxing community. I believe that the lack of a face-saving maneuver
on Haymon's part is an indictment of how he conducts business. Isn't the job of
a manager or an adviser to maximize his fighter's worth? How is making a boxer
an object of mockery helping his future earning potential?
These
specific moves by Haymon were clearly designed to block Roc Nation's entrance
into boxing promotion. With a huge bankroll, Jay-Z has been looking to make a
splash in the sport. (It also has been widely speculated that there is some
personal bad blood between Haymon and Jay-Z going back to Haymon's days in the
R&B concert promotion business.) Haymon was wary of letting his boxers ply their trade under a
well-heeled, new promotional shingle, one that might encroach upon his future plans
in the sport. Give Wilder multi-millions for a fight and suddenly he might
not be so amenable to the status quo under Haymon.
But let's
examine these events in a broader context. Ultimately, a fighter signs with a
manager so that he can have an advocate who maximizes his opportunities and
earning potential while protecting his career. Whatever else a manager or an
adviser does, money and fighter protection are his chief
responsibilities.
In both
news items listed above, Haymon implored his boxers to reject life-altering
financial opportunities for no apparent net gain to the boxers themselves.
Remember, fighters have no pension plan after they retire. They face
significant physical and mental risks in the sport. Boxers have a notoriously
short life span; the need to maximize earnings at their peak is paramount. The
sport is hard enough as it is but now these two fighters have to turn down
life-changing money because of Haymon's personal pique? That doesn't sound like
a good deal to me.
As Haymon
has amassed an impressive roster of clients – including Floyd Mayweather,
Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Amir Khan and many others – he has
steadily shied away from matching his best against those whom he doesn't
control. Thus, for Maidana and Matthysse to get big opportunities, they had to
sign with him. Even a former titleholder like Khan, who has generated a lot of
money without Haymon's support, felt obligated to align himself with Haymon to
receive a realistic shot at Mayweather.
The
fruits of Haymon’s labor have produced a stellar bloc of exciting fighters –
mostly between 140 and 154 lbs. – who have several world title belts and a
network (Showtime) eating out of Haymon's hand to televise them. In fact,
Haymon has generated so much leverage with Showtime that he has successfully
earned dates from the network for unappetizing matchups like Danny Garcia-Rod
Salka, Lamont Peterson-Edgar Santana and Keith Thurman-Julio Diaz.
But these
are not the only criticisms of Haymon, who has been in boxing for over a
decade. Perhaps the most damning one is that he has yet to produce a bona fide
superstar on his own. True, he has been instrumental in taking Floyd Mayweather
from a pound-for-pound titlist to the highest earner in sports, but Mayweather
was carefully developed into a champion under Top Rank's eye.
Removing
Mayweather from the equation, Haymon has exhibited a pattern of failing to
develop his most prized fighters. Andre Berto's welterweight reign was ended by
the first puncher that he faced. Haymon marched Adrien Broner from lightweight
to welterweight and put him in with one of the division's most feared sluggers
in just his second fight at the new weight (Maidana). Haymon secured a title
shot for Gary Russell Jr. (who was completely untested in his development) and
he was summarily beat down by one of the most accomplished amateur boxers of
the modern era (Vasyl Lomachenko). Leo Santa Cruz has won two belts without
meeting a top fighter. Who knows how good he really is? (Haymon had him turn
down a fight against fellow titleholder Scott Quigg.) Now, Deontay Wilder has
been set to fight for a title shot with scarcely beating a top-ten
fighter.
All of
these boxers have not made it past the titleholder level and many have wilted
when facing top opposition. They are not among the truly elite fighters in the
sport even if they possess elite skills. The (lack of) development under Haymon
can help explain why their careers have stalled out at the highest level of the
sport. These are Olympians, prized amateurs and top prospects, yet they haven't
reached the sport's pinnacle.
Haymon
rushes specific fighters towards title shots while others he treats with
indifference. Danny Garcia was thrown to the wolves early in his career; he was
supposed to lose to both Erik Morales and Amir Khan. Only after he started
upsetting bigger names did Haymon seem to take an active interest in his
career. Keith Thurman is one of boxing's most exciting young fighters and yet
he has done nothing more than take on Julio Diaz in 2014. Lucas Matthysse is a
truly ferocious puncher who galvanizes boxing fans yet he still appears on
undercards. (He has been one of the few Haymon fighters who has been publicly
critical of the way that he has been handled.)
2014 has
been a lost year for many of Haymon's fighters; in a number of instances Haymon
is at fault. Broner has taken the year to consolidate his skills in a lower
weight class. Thurman had a meaningless fight and then was on the shelf with an
injury. According to him, he has received a clean bill of health and yet his
next bout has not been scheduled. Garcia took a step back with an ineffectual
performance against Mauricio Herrera and wasted time against an undeserving Rod
Salka. Shawn Porter lost in the second defense of his title. Russell Jr. went
down to Lomachenko and Haymon has nothing set up for him in the aftermath of
the defeat. Matthysse has been marking time again B-level guys at 140. Guerrero
had one outing against a semi-decent guy from Japan. Santa Cruz hasn't fought
anyone live all year. Quillin's opponent was a joke.
Surely, a
reason why many of these fighters haven't had impact bouts this year can be
explained by the restrictions of Showtime, both in terms of available dates and
dollars. With Haymon having so many television-friendly fighters and with only
one place to put them (HBO kicked him off its network last year), there just
hasn't been enough room in Showtime's schedule and budget to accommodate
everyone.
A further
complication for Haymon and his stable this year has been the legal problems
surrounding Golden Boy Promotions. After CEO Richard Schaefer
"resigned," it remained unclear which fighters were actually promoted
by Golden Boy and which were promotional free agents. Under the revamped
Golden Boy, President Oscar de la Hoya has been loath to give featured A-side
spots to boxers who don't have valid Golden Boy contracts (a reasonable
position). Thus, many of Haymon's fighters are in holding patterns until the
Golden Boy-Schaefer split is finalized. In short, Haymon needs more dates for
his fighters.
Reportedly,
Haymon has been working on this problem by trying to set up a deal with NBC
Sports Network. From Haymon's perspective, it makes sense not to lose any
additional assets until the new agreement is in place. An undefeated
heavyweight like Deontay Wilder has a lot of value to a network like NBC
Sports; whereas, if he loses or if Haymon loses the power to control him, that
star wattage is gone.
All of
this is fine and dandy but let it not obscure the essential point: a boxing
manager is supposed to work for the fighter. He or she should not stand in the
way of a career, and Haymon has been blocking opportunities for his fighters, a
cardinal sin for a boxing manager.
He has
potential stars in Thurman, Garcia, Matthysse and Wilder but in 2014 he has
refused to put them in contests worthy of their talent and stature. Not only do
these fighters miss out on bigger paydays by appearing in lesser matchups, but
they have also seen their respective statuses in the sport stall out. Haymon's
actions have reduced demand for these fighters, as well as many others in his
stable, ultimately suppressing their earnings – again, the number-one thing
that a manager should not do.
To date,
with the exception of Mayweather or anyone who fights him, not one of Haymon's
fighters is getting the really big money. Many are making comfortable
six-figure purses for each fight (a few crack seven), but who else has been
allowed to reach for the stars? Why wasn't Danny Garcia put in a huge fight to
capitalize off of his Matthysse win? Why hasn't Thurman gotten a title shot?
Why have Wilder and Matthysse been fighting on undercards? Are any of these
fighters really maximizing their earning potential?
Right now
Haymon is having his moment, but if enough fighters are forced to give up
millions, his current modus operandi will be unsustainable.
Someone will come along who offers more money, better guidance and more
enticing opportunities. Don King generated billions in boxing and yet he was
unable to maintain his stable as more equitable players came into the sport. As
of now, Haymon has all the fighters he could ever hope for, but how many of
them are truly happy with their careers?
This article has been updated to reflect the purse bid process. Language was removed that mischaracterized a certain feature of purse bids.
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
Really good article. Haymon is failing as a promoter (he is one even if he calls himself an advisor) by taking away big fights from his boxers and by keeping boxing fans from these fights. I think he will start losing momentum to end up doing what he did at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteGreat article...another example would be Haymon's handling of Adonis Stevenson....a pseudo mega-fight is happening at light heavyweight, and Stevenson has to watch from the sidelines...
ReplyDelete