Wilder-Stiverne: Showtime Interested, HBO Noncommital

By Jake Donovan

With the clock winding down before the imposed October 1 deadline, it appears that the proposed heavyweight title fight between Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder is destined for a purse bid hearing.

The two camps have been granted what seems like an eternity to hammer out a deal, with the World Boxing Council (WBC) even delaying the ordered purse bid by more than two weeks. However, Stiverne’s side—specifically Hall of Fame promoter Don King—has dragged out matters to the point where communication has been minimal at best.

Stiverne (24-1-1, KOs) won the vacant title with a 6th round knockout of Chris Arreola in their rematch this past May. The bout was his first since scoring a landslide decision over Arreola last April, with his stretches of inactivity due in part to injury, but also his own battles with King, as the two haven’t quite seen eye to eye over the direction of his career.

Oscar de la Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions has served as promoter of record for most of Wilder’s pro fights, has attempted to work with King to avoid the bout going to the highest bidder. He has also vowed his willingness to work with anyone and at anytime.

However, where the find winds up could depend on two things: the promoter who wins the bid, and if in fact both sides go through with the fight.

While Wilder (32-0, 32KOs) is claimed as promotional property of Golden Boy Promotions, he also fights under the advisory banner of Al Haymon. Once upon a time, the involvement of the high-powered normally meant higher than normal paydays for his clients, regardless of the risk.

However, that dynamic has changed. Proof came in Peter Quillin opting out of a middleweight title defense versus Matt Korobov, one in which he stood to earn $1.4 million, by far the biggest payday of his career and far more than such a fight is worth. Instead, the unbeaten middleweight inexplicably passed on the fight and vacated his title, citing familial reasons as his wife recently gave birth to their second child.

Whether or not it’s the real – or only – reason is a question that can be answered only by Quillin and those closest to him. Speculation ran rampant that the middleweight was persuaded to give up his title upon the advice of Haymon, due to the involvement of the winning bidder for the fight – Roc Nation Sports, headed by rapper/music mogul Jay-Z (Shawn Carter).

The conflict between Haymon and Jay-Z stems from a 2011 lawsuit, in which Beyoncé Knowles—the worldwide music superstar and Jay-Z’s wife)—claimed Haymon and her father, Mathew Knowles conspired to defraud the award-winning R&B recording artist. 

It remains to be seen if a similar situation plays out should a conflicting promoter win Wednesday’s purse bid; Haymon has not directly done business with Top Rank in years, nor have any of his clients appeared on HBO since last March, a status that also finalized the mass defection of fighters under the Golden Boy banner to rival Showtime.

de la Hoya is working hard to extend industry-wide olive branches. Two of the biggest stars under the Golden Boy banner, Bernard Hopkins and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will appear on HBO during the 4th quarter of 2014. Hopkins—the last major Golden Boy fighter to headline a card on HBO with his March ’13 win over Tavoris Cloud—returns November 8th to face unbeaten light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev.

Less than a month later, Alvarez heads “home” to the network following a five-fight stint on HBO and its pay-per-view arm.

An intimate gathering with a small group of reporters was held Tuesday afternoon at HBO’s headquarters in New York City to loosely discuss the long-term deal between Alvarez and the network. One question raised during the session was the extent to which Golden Boy fighters will begin appearing on HBO, namely its interest in this particularly heavyweight fight.

Ken Hershman, the former head of Showtime Sports who has assumed a similar role at HBO Sports since early 2012, declared that he is willing to entertain all offers from anyone in the industry. The exception is that the network will not stand to be used as a showcase outlet while searching elsewhere for bigger and better deals.

Officially, the answer was noncommittal. Indirectly, the response was viewed as more of the same, that Haymon’s fighters—while not outright banned from HBO—aren’t necessarily welcomed back with open arms just yet.

Should HBO officially make such a declaration at some point, the choices are limited as to who would wind up promoting the fight. ESPN played host to Stiverne’s title win over Arreola, and its sister network ESPN2 presents out-of-season shows on back-to-back Wednesdays in October.

Wilder has served as a regular on Showtime since Dec. ’12, including coverage on its flagship network and ShoExtreme for each of his past four starts. It’s very possible the biggest fight of his career could further extend that relationship.

“We are definitely interested in the opportunity to televise a U.S. Olympian challenging for the world heavyweight title,” commented Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Showtime Sports.

Wilder is the last American male fighter to have captured an Olympic medal, earning the bronze during the 2008 Beijing Games. The last U.S. Olympic boxer to have held any portion of the heavyweight crown was Chris Byrd, whose second stint as a heavyweight titlist ended with a repeat loss to Wladimir Klitschko in April 2006.

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