eight-heavyweight elimination tournament on horizon

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 By KEITH IDEC HERALD NEWS NEW YORK -- Stephen Duval and Warren Spooner expected resistance when the Australian entrepreneurs pitched their "Superfighter" concept to boxing's power brokers in America. In what has historically been lambasted as an ethically bankrupt business, fighters, managers, promoters and television executives almost always approach each other at various levels of mistrust. They've learned together that, especially in this often unscrupulous sport, if something sounds too good to be true, that typically is the case. All Duval and Spooner pursued was the opportunity to prove that they're an exception, that the lucrative eight-fighter, elimination event they've spent more thxan three years developing is a valuable endeavor for both boxers and the paying public. They've scheduled the inaugural "Superfighter" pay-per-view show for June 4 in Melbourne, Australia. They've thus far secured commitments from four of the eight heavyweights they will showcase in the event, which will afford the winner $5 million (see box on page D2 for purse breakdowns). Duval and Spooner said they expect to have the final four slots filled by the end of March, at which time they'll schedule a press conference to officially announce the launch of the innovative venture, which they hope will eventually mirror the success they've achieved with similar experiments in cricket and tennis in Australia. The "Superfighter" format features four-round fights, a scoring system that heavily rewards aggression and fan-friendly television developments, including more camera angles and "super" slow motion. "We want people to understand that this isn't a one-shot, money-making opportunity for us," said Spooner, commercial director for "Superfighter." "We didn't put $30 million together for one good night in Melbourne. We have a five-year business plan that we intend to follow." The "Superfighter" executives would not divulge the heavyweights they've secured, but only faded former champ Evander Holyfield has turned them down. The 43-year-old Holyfield (38-8-2, 25 KOs) intends to fight again, but told them that at his age he didn't think he could succeed in an elimination tournament after heating up and cooling down between bouts. Retired former champ Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) and semi-retired former champ Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs, 2 NC) are not expected to compete that night, either. Several sources close to the negotiations have confirmed, however, that James Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs, 1 NC) and Samuel Peter (25-1, 21 KOs) are among the high-profile heavyweights expected to participate in the inaugural "Superfighter." Toney's inclusion could depend, though, on the outcome of his March 18 fight against World Boxing Council champ Hasim Rahman (41-5-1, 33 KOs) in Atlantic City. Whoever participates, the winning heavyweight will have defeated three opponents in one night, but won't fight more than 12 total rounds because all bouts are scheduled for a maximum of four three-minute rounds. Duval and Spooner contend that they'll all win simply by partaking in the event. Because of the foreign format, wins and losses won't count on a boxer's record. And they'll fight for more money than they could currently command for any one fight in a demanding market that devalues heavyweights. Peter, for instance, made a little less than $1 million for his 12-round decision defeat to Wladimir Klitschko (45-3, 40 KOs) on Sept. 24 in Atlantic City. Toney made less than $1.5 million for fighting then-World Boxing Association champ John Ruiz (41-6-1, 28 KOs, 1 NC) on April 30 at Madison Square Garden. If Toney is involved in "Superfighter," he could walk away with more money for winning the elimination event than he would have earned for fighting Ruiz and Rahman combined. The heavyweights Duval and Spooner approached about their tournament have loved the idea. Wayne's Mark Taffet, HBO's senior vice president of sports operations and pay-per-view, has told them he hopes "Superfighter" succeeds, too. Taffet has long been aware that his network needs all the help it can get in making heavyweights more marketable in the post-Lewis/Holyfield/Tyson era. Some promoters have hesitated to allow contracted heavyweights to participate, but Duval and Spooner hope those promoters can come to fully disclosed financial agreements by which the promoters are paid portions of their respective fighter's winnings. "We came over expecting that there might be some resistance to what we're doing," Spooner said. "That didn't concern us greatly, because it has been our experience in other sports that people tread wearily with any new product. That's only right. We need to prove our value to the sport and we need to do that over the long-term. We understand that. We can work with that. People will come to understand that we're not threatening anybody, we're not trying to ruin anyone's career. We're trying to enhance the sport." What they don't want is for fighters and understandably unconvinced fans to think this will amount to the 2006 version of "Fistful Of Dollars." Newark heavyweight Maurice Harris won that elimination exhibition three years ago in Atlantic City, but promoter Cedric Kushner paid Harris his $100,000 grand prize for winning the unsuccessful pay-per-view event in installments. Sports Finance Group, which raised revenue for the "Superfighter" project, was able to attain a $30 million budget because of the company's previous success via events like the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. "We wanted to be able to prove that this is happening," said Duval, the "Superfighter" founder and chief executive officer. "So we didn't approach anyone until the financing was secured. But in boxing, as in any business, you're only as good as your last deal." They suspect success with heavyweights will lead to deals for future "Superfighter" events with boxers from lower weight classes. They also think their addition to the boxing marketplace will help generate interest in a sport that has been losing fans for several years to the mixed martial arts popularity explosion in the United States. They'll therefore target non-boxing fans in more mainstream markets with some of an advertising budget they say stands at about $3 million. "Rather than being competition to the current boxing format, we believe that we can work together," said Duval, whose company will donate portions of its proceeds to the Retired Boxers Foundation (www.retiredboxers.org). "Going back to what we did in cricket, the two games co-exist perfectly, because it brings in more fans and creates a multi-million-dollar empire. "What we will do is try to stave off UFC and K-1, to allow more viewers to see boxing and start understanding who the people are and what the sport is. Then, when the normal 10-round or 12-round fights are on, people are going to be more interested. They'll say, 'Wow! I want to see this now.' " Reach Keith Idec at (973) 569-7073 or idec@northjersey.com.