By Edward Chaykovsky
Jim Lampley, the face of HBO's broadcast team, held nothing back during his year-end edition of "The Fight Game" - Lampley's boxing news and information series, which is televised by HBO.
Lampley covered several topics of note - including the 2014 run of powerful adviser/manager Al Haymon.
Haymon was named by Lampley as the "TFG Person of The Year."
Since the start of 2014, Haymon went on a signing spree with at least 50-60 fighters joining his stable in the last twelve rounds. Haymon reportedly has between 130 to 140 fighters under contract, with Floyd Mayweather Jr. being his biggest client.
In the opinion of Lampley, Haymon is safeguarding his fighters and selectively putting them in situations where they can make the most amount of money with the lowest amount of risk.
Lampley mapped out how Haymon maneuvered many of his clients, throughout 2014, into situations that were less risky.
It should be noted that Haymon does absolutely no business with HBO, and that most of his stable fights primarily on rival network Showtime. For many years, HBO showcased several of Haymon's fighters against lackluster competition. In early 2013, there was a serious falling out and HBO cut their business ties with Haymon.
Regardless of Lampley's network affiliation, many industry experts and promotional figures were in agreement with his commentary on Haymon's business practices.
"We keep returning on TFG to the depiction of boxing as a risk versus reward equation. Our person of the year is a man who is widely acknowledged to have, on behalf of his star client Floyd Mayweather, mastered that equation like no other manager in history. But our designation of Al Haymon as the year's most influential figure has little to do with his advice to last year's 'Person of the Year' - Mayweather. It's about what he is doing with the other reported 130-plus fighters who now make up his clientele," Lampley said.
"If you had a sense 2014 was a year somewhat devoid of compelling top-level competition you would not be off base. Light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson had opportunities to fight three fellow stars - Sergei Kovalev, Bernard Hopkins, and Jean Pascal. He avoided all three. Middleweight titlist Peter Quillin gave up a belt and a career-high purse to avoid a fight with Matt Korobov. Talented junior featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz fought a sparring partner on the undercard of Mayweather-Maidana II. Adrien Broner and Lucas Matthysse, logical opponents for each other, fought lesser opponents on the same card."
"Danny Garcia fought a 140-pound opponent [in Rod Salka] so under-qualified even the governing bodies that market his belts wouldn't dignify the enterprise by charging a sanctioning fee. Rising welterweight force Keith Thurman fought long-faded former lightweight Julio Diaz, then fought a 40-year old nonentity. All these stars are advised by Al Haymon, and that's the proverbial tip of the iceberg."
"It would be great for boxing, great, if one brilliant entrepreneur managed an astonishing client list of 130-plus fighters with the consistent objective of making the most attractive and competitive fights available, within reasonable limits to protect their health and business prospects. But that hasn't been Haymon's game. He's about avoidance of risky competition.
"His formula has worked for star client Floyd Mayweather for a variety of reasons, among them that Mayweather took the right perceived risks earlier on, versus Genaro Hernandez and Oscar de la Hoya, to get to where he is now. But the Mayweather approach is not the right approach for the overall enhancement of boxing. Boxing fans want to see great fights, without which it is difficult to earn an identity as a great fighter."
"It's widely reported that for the next two years - Haymon will provide talent for as many as 40 boxing telecasts on NBC Sports Net and NBC. This would normally be cause to rejoice for everyone in the business. But no one is rejoicing now, unless the philosophy changes, and viewers get to see the best fighting the best. And based on what happened to Haymon's clients in 2014, that's the last thing we can expect. So in gathering together the largest concentration of boxing talent in the history of the sport, and then mostly shielding that talent from the kind of competition that would make him a hero to the boxing world - Al Haymon is the 2014 TFG Person of the Year."
