Sauerland Event: $2 million is Not Fair For Klitschko-Valuev

By Rick Reeno

Chris Meyer, the managing director for Sauerland Event, reached out to BoxingScene.com to respond to the recent comments that were made by Shelly Finkel, adviser to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Meyer's company co-promotes former champion Nikolai Valuev with Don King. The two sides have been trying to finalize an agreement for a possible May clash between Klitschko and Valuev.

After a few weeks of negotiations, the talks have hit a wall. Valuev's side is requesting at least $4 million dollars for the fight. Klitschko's side will not go above $2 million dollars. Valuev's side proposed a 60-40 revenue split in favor of Klitschko, which Finkel told BoxingScene will never happen.

“He’s coming off a loss and the fight before that I believe he lost, even though he got the decision against Evander Holyfield. If $2 million dollars is not enough, I don’t think we’re going to do it,” Finkel told BoxingScene.com on Friday.

Meyer does not agree with Team Klitschko's position. He says K2, the promotional company owned by the Klitschko brothers, is forgetting about Sauerland's contractual obligation to German television network ARD. The Klitschko brothers have a deal with rival German network RTL.

To solve the issue with the cable networks, Meyer proposed a deal that works for everyone by having the two networks bid for the fight. The network with the highest bid lands the fight and the two sides agree to a fair split of the profits. Meyer says a $2 million dollar guarantee would leave Klitschko's side with almost all of the money.

"We offered to auction certain rights to maximize revenues. Also this mechanism would resolve the problem of the two rival tv networks in Germany, ARD and RTL. The network with the best offer obtains the TV rights. We already spoke to [WBC president] Jose Sulaiman, and he agreed to conduct such a bidding process," Meyer told BoxingScene.com on Saturday.

Meyer says Klitschko's WBC title is a minor piece of the puzzle. The fight itself would create one of the biggest boxing events that Germany has seen in the last few years. While Valuev lost his last bout to David Haye, Meyer says Klitschko put on a stinker in his last fight with Kevin Johnson.

"This bout has it's magnitude, not from Klitschko defending a champiomship, but from Valuev fighting Klitschko. [The fact that] Vitali is also a WBC champion, is not so important for the revenues generated from this bout. The fact that K2 suggested the Schalke Soccer Arena in Germany, is self explanatory. This bout promises to deliver one of, if not the highest revenue generated in tickets sales in Germany for a boxing match," Meyer said.

"Valuev may have lost his last bout, however Klitschko didn't look good or impressive when he fought the last time. Why should K2 fill their pockets with cash on the costs of Valuev, DKP and Sauerland? Instead of blunty refusing to [a] co-operative solution to resolve the dispute, K2 are asking for a buyout [while] ignoring the contractual obligatons of Valuev, DKP and Sauerland towards German ARD television."

Meyer is willing to continue negotiations, but not if the offer stands at $2 million dollars.

"I am not sure whether K2 really wanted the Valuev bout. I assume that Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko are scared not to make as much money as they normally do when they fight underpaid opponents instead. It's up to K2 to return back to negotiations, if they really want this match," Meyer said.