By Mitch Abramson

 

There was something almost theatrical about the most powerful man at HBO sports snubbing the most powerful fighters (literally) in boxing.

In comments he made last week, Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, admitted he’s passing up the chance to televise Wladimir Klitschko’s next fight against Alexander Povetikin on Sept. 18 in Germany. He’s also against televising brother Vitali’s next fight in October against an opponent to be named, essentially saying, thanks but no thanks, we’re fine without you guys.

On the surface, this didn’t seem like a big deal. The Klitschkos have always been sort of an enigma. They enter the ring, they conquer, they make it look easy, and do it over and over again. They’re good but just not overly interesting.

But the more I thought about it the more significant the cold shoulder treatment by HBO seemed. After all, Wladimir against Povetkin is a pretty good fight; Povetkin is a Top 10 heavyweight and has an Olympic gold medal, as does Wladimir. If HBO, the biggest and most influential broadcaster, was passing on the fight, what did it say about the importance of the division? What did it say about the need for boxing to have a high profile heavyweight champion? What did it say about the global reach of the sport?

So I decided to call the HBO boss to get his thoughts on the division and why he passed up the chance to televise, on paper, a pretty entertaining bout. In the days since his initial comments, Greenburg hadn’t softened his stance.

“I’m not hearing an outpouring of caring [about the heavyweights] from fans,” Greenburg said to BoxingScene.com in a phone interview on Thursday. “It’s odd, the fans don’t ask about the heavyweights anymore. It’s almost like it’s happening somewhere else at the moment- the entire division.”

He admitted to being fans of the brothers in the ring but not of their attachment to fighting overseas.

“Here’s how I feel about it,” he went on. “When they were fighting regularly over in the United States, they were starting to connect with the American public, and I think they’re great heavyweights and solid champions.”

He pointed to the bout between Vitali and the free-swinging Chris Arreola in Los Angeles last year, saying it did a very good rating. There was a time when the brothers felt strongly about establishing themselves in the United States, but their popularity in Germany (Greenburg called them “LeBron-like” figures over there) makes it financially savvy for them to remain overseas.

“For various business reasons, the Klitschkos have developed an economic model where by fighting in Germany or over in Europe, they’re able to generate a lot of revenue and probably get paid [more] there than they would if they fought in the United States,” he said. “What that has done is make it more difficult for United States broadcasters to acquire the fights. The reason for that is that you’re dealing with a six-hour delay, and five in the afternoon is not exactly prime time. We have difficulty figuring out a business model that works for us as an American broadcaster.”

He referred to the narrowness of the division and the lack of quality opposition for the brothers, noting that if a talented, dangerous opponent came along, HBO would certainly have interest in buying the fight.

“We will look opportunistically at heavyweight fights,” he said. “We’ll just be careful that the fights have a certain cache here in the states and opponents like David Haye or [Tomasz] Adamek seem to be appealing; we’ve showcased those fighters. They have a certain charisma to them; they have a fan base, so we’ll look opportunistically at future Klitschko fights.”

He added, “We’re not shutting out the heavyweight division here; that would be ridiculous.”

He highlighted the need to try and convince the brothers to ply their trade in the United States.

“That would be a secondary move to reignite the division in the United States,” he said.

I wanted to get the view from the Klitschko camp so I called their advisor, Shelly Finkel, to get his thoughts on getting snubbed by HBO. Predictably, he had a different viewpoint from Greenburg.

“He has the prerogative to say anything he wants, it’s his network,” Finkel began. “But I totally disagree with him. When he says that the brothers can’t be differentiated, how come up until the fight at Yankee stadium with Cotto, Klitschko vs. Arreola was the highest rated program they had in a year and a half? How come when the brothers have fought, their ratings were high? When Wladimir fought against [Samuel] Peter in Atlantic City, it was the highest rated program in two years.”

Finkel stressed the importance of the heavyweight division and the financial opportunities the brothers have fighting in Germany before crowds that reach “60,000” and the impracticality of leaving that type of financial cushion for lesser money stateside. He also noted that Haye refuses to fight the Klitschkos in the U.S. because more money can be made in Germany or in London. And that Showtime and Wladimir couldn't come together on a date to televise his fight against Povetkin after HBO turned down the right.

“They always said that as the heavyweight division goes, boxing goes,” Finkel said. “And for him to pass on Povetikin, it was his choice, but I disagree.”

Mitch Abramson covers boxing for the New York Daily News and for BoxingScene.com.