Rodney Berman Continues to Roll The Dice in Monte Carlo

By Jake Donovan

It was a sigh of relief promoter Rodney Berman wanted to take for a while, but knew he’d have to wait until Friday’s weigh-in before fully embracing the reality of a loaded show that has managed to remain intact.

The veteran promoter turns to picturesque Monte Carlo, Monaco for the fifth time in less than two years, as all eyes in the boxing fraternity will be on Saturday’s show topped by middleweight Martin Murray in a 12-round bout versus Domenico Spada.

Also on the show: strawweight sensation Hekkie Budler faces former titlist Xiong Zhao Zhang; unbeaten Randy Caballero travels abroad for his first title fight, facing ex-champ Stuart Hall who looks to regain his old belt in their vacant bantamweight title fight; and unbeaten light heavyweights Ryno Liebenberg facing Eleider Alvarez in a 12-round bout that could see the winner challenging lineal light heavyweight king Adonis Stevenson in 2015

“When played to script, the sport of boxing is as good as it gets,” Berman says of the show, which not only remained as scheduled, but has added elements to the event. The card will be showcased around the world, including live viewing in the United States, as it will stream live on ESPN3.com (1:00PM ET) and joined in progress live on ESPN Deportes (3:00PM ET).

Securing stateside television rights has been the one missing element from the shows in Monaco. Most famously, it became a point of contention for those hoping to catch unbeaten middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin in an eventual 7th round stoppage of Osumanu Adama this past February.

The bout was seen in over 100 countries around the world, but not among American fight fans – at least not legally. A late effort was made by HBO – who has Golovkin under contract – to air the bout, but the network claimed that logistics could not be worked out.

That is an issue that will never again happen, as Golovkin – who has fought in Monaco in each of the past two years – plans to return next February. HBO is already on board to present the bout live, as per the terms written into his new contract with the network.

His opponent could be decided in Saturday’s headliner, as Murray is the leading candidate to land the assignment. Such status brings that much more attention to the show, which is a good problem for Berman to have – but also one where he felt compelled to put his absolute best foot forward.

“I am beholden to promoting big shows here,” Berman states. “One thing of paramount importance is that boxing is the top draw in Monaco. There has been a big demand for this card, and for good reason. I really believe the bantamweight fight between Caballero and Hall can steal the show. Then you have my guy, Ryno Liebenberg, going in very tough against Alvarez. It’s a fight we wanted for some time, and now he has it.”

The fighter who has the chance to look the most spectacular is the smallest boxer on the show. Budler takes on Zhao Zhang, who made history in becoming the first ever major titlist from China with his strawweight title win two years ago. He has since lost the title, suffering a 5th round knockout to Mexico’s Oswaldo Novoa in a major upset earlier this year, and now goes up against arguably the best strawweight in the world.

Budler (26-1, 9KOs) has served as a staple among Berman’s shows at the Emperors Palace back home in South Africa, and now makes his second straight appearance in Monaco. The rangy titlist looked sharp in delivering a one-sided 8th round knockout of Pigmy Kokietgym in June, racking up his third straight knockout in as many title fights.

The streak came following the biggest win of his career, a 12-round split decision over countryman Nkosinathi Joyi last July. The four-fight stretch has emerged Budler towards the top of the strawweight division, perhaps having the place all to himself should Francisco Rodriguez Jr. opt to move up in weight. Should that happen, the real test for Budler will be finding suitable opposition. Case in point, he is perceived as a considerable favorite versus Zhao Zhong, an ex-titlist who still serves as a perennial Top 10 contender.

“We secured this fight because I felt it was important to show how superior Hekkie is to the rest of the division,” Berman points out. “I know we’re not going to get him on HBO or Showtime, since neither network seems keen on the strawweight division. But a fight like this is a chance for Hekkie to prove that superstars can be found at this weight.”

Budler is playing his part to stand out, complete with dying his hair pink in honor of October serving as Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The one fighter who really needs to shine, however, is Murray. While no fighter will ever admit to looking past the fight in front of him, the momentum generated of the Brit landing a coveted assignment versus Golovkin (or at least the payday that comes with it, if you ask most middleweights) is nearly impossible to ignore – not to mention that the unbeaten middleweight champ will be seated ringside to take in all of the action the night has to offer.

“We expect big things from Martin,” said Berman, who signed the Brit earlier this year, although under odd circumstances. Murray was supposed to be a part of the show in February that – save for Golovkin’s fight with Adama – threatened to come apart at the seams. However, a reported injury forced him to withdraw from a planned showdown versus Jarrod Fletcher, who went on to beat Max Bursak to earn the fight to face Daniel Jacobs for an interim title this past August.

Murray’s withdrawal came barely a day after Nathan Cleverly pulled out of his undercard fight versus Junior Makabu, whom Berman promotes.

The news didn’t sit well with him, especially after having to deal with his own in-house issues the day prior. Thomas Oosthuizen suffered injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident and had to pull out of a Jan. 18 HBO date with Alvarez. The incident was the latest in a growing list of differences between fighter and promoter, leading to Berman releasing him from contract.

The series of bizarre events stacked one after the other rightly prompted Berman to blow a gasket, though his Feb. 1 show eventually proved to be a success. The card was his first of three shows he will have now down in Monaco in 2014, following his pair of events in a 2013 debut in the area, centered largely around his $1 million four-man super middleweight tournament, which began last March and concluded in the summer.

Headlining the inaugural show was Golovkin, scoring a highlight reel 3rd round knockout of Nobuhiro Ishida last Febraury. The bout was the first of four knockouts in a 2014 campaign that saw the Kazakhstan native emerge as a rising star in the sport.

With the unbeaten knockout artist – fresh off of a 2nd round knockout over Marco Antonio Rubio last weekend in California – confirmed for his annual appearance next February on a show with HBO along for the ride, Berman gets to reap the rewards that came with a major rolling of the dice in promoting in the area.

“We have the right formula moving forward,” Berman believes. “The response for this show has been overwhelming. For future plans, we will stage two major shows per year. One in the 1st quarter of the year – somewhere between late January and March – and then the second around this time of the year, in the fall.”

Going this route in the future, Berman envisions, will create the big event atmosphere, rather than feeling compelled to putting on a show just for the sake of staging a show. The five cards to date – including this weekend – have all been well worth the viewing and price of admission. But that doesn’t mean he can’t continue to raise the ante.

“In the past two years, we did shows in the summer, which both turned out splendid. Rather than compete with summer travel, and patrons not necessarily coming here to watch boxing but to do other things, focusing our energy on present two big extravaganzas per year – and by that I mean even bigger than this weekend’s card filled with title fights.

“Our ultimate goal is to make Monte Carlo the mecca of boxing in Europe.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox