by David P. Greisman
The first four fights in Evander Holyfield’s comeback had been taken, in terms of importance, with the proverbial grain of salt, a slight step up from the tepid response given to most of the returning heavyweights whose best days were at least a decade ago.
Of former Holyfield rivals Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer and Mike Tyson, “The Real Deal” fought seven bouts in the nineties against the trio, winning four times and losing twice to Bowe, once to Moorer. Since then, Bowe, who spent eight years outside of the ring, returned as the living embodiment of his “Big Daddy” nickname, jiggled to a controversial 2005 split decision win over Billy Zumbrun and has not fought since.
Moorer, after losing his 1997 rematch with Holyfield, never again worked his way back into contention, struggled with deciding whether to retire or to become a full-time trainer and, coming out of a two-year layoff, he has taken on three straight designated opponents. Tyson, meanwhile, always carried the curiosity factor, though he admitted after essentially quitting against Kevin McBride in 2005 that his time was 15 years gone. Tyson last showed up on a pay-per-view sparring session with Corey Sanders that apparently couldn’t find enough suckers.
Holyfield, despite his being a middle-aged man once coming off of three straight losses and a forced 21-month sabbatical, still had enough suckers – er, fans – who would fill arenas in Texas or empty their wallets to watch him on a couple of pay-per-views. It mattered little that the opponents’ names were Jeremy Bates, Fres Oquendo, Vinny Maddalone and Lou Savarese – not as long as Holyfield took his comeback seriously and fought often.
The man, at 44, is still marketable, enough of a presence that World Wrestling Entertainment chose the former two-time heavyweight champion for a televised angle instead of titlists Ruslan Chagaev, Sultan Ibragimov, Oleg Maskaev and Wladimir Klitschko, and instead of any other American big man.
And why not Holyfield? Boxing’s marquee division hasn’t exactly had a marquee year, not when the title fights have been Shannon Briggs against Ibragimov, Klitschko against Ray Austin and Lamon Brewster, and Nicolay Valuev against Jameel McCline and Chagaev.
The lone excitement on the horizon had been an Oct. 13 unification bout between the World Boxing Association beltholder, Chagaev, and Ibragimov, the World Boxing Organization titlist.
Chagaev, however, was forced to withdraw due to medical issues. Suddenly, it was Holyfield’s name, more than his recent accomplishments, that had made him a suitable replacement. Though Ibragimov’s WBO strap means little when Holyfield’s goal is to become “the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world,” people were still curious, especially as the bout, airing live from Russia, could serve as an appetizer before that night’s Juan Diaz-Julio Diaz lightweight entrée.
ESPN was reportedly going to buy the rights to Ibragimov-Holyfield. But with Saturdays in fall belonging to college football, heavyweight boxing would have to find a home on ESPN Classic.
The flagship ESPN network reaches more than 93 million households, as does ESPN2, according to the company’s corporate Web site. ESPN Classic, by comparison, is in more than 65 million homes, but it is not as much of a channel-surfing destination as ESPN or “The Deuce.”
ESPN2’s telecasts of “Wednesday Night Fights” and “Friday Night Fights” don’t come close to breaking any ratings records, but recent history shows the drawing power of a decent heavyweight match-up. A July 2006 elimination bout between two lesser-known big men became ESPN2’s most-watched boxing match ever. One of those heavyweights was Ray Austin. The other? Sultan Ibragimov.
The promoters of Ibragimov-Holyfield, it seems, found ESPN Classic a class below their expectations. Neither Seminole Warriors Boxing nor Main Events were satisfied with the deal, according to ESPN.com scribe Dan Rafael, and they instead chose to put a heavyweight title fight on what will probably be a minor-pay-per-view.
It is, in all likelihood, a classic mistake.
Marketed correctly, Ibragimov-Holyfield could have been an investment, a chance to attract regular boxing fans to a free show while attempting to draw new viewers to the fray. Now, only the most hardcore will order the pay-per-view, especially when the next four months have an asking price of $200 between September’s Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez bout, October’s Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch, November’s Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley clash and December’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton showdown.
In the short term, Seminole Warriors Boxing and Main Events can use the proceeds to recoup their expenses, much of which will be made up of the two principals’ paychecks. But this bout, now, will do little to help either boxing’s marquee division or the sport itself, meaning the fighters, in the long run, will pay the price.
The 10 Count will return in two weeks.
David P. Greisman’s weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com
