Bob Arum Offered Mikey Garcia a potential fight with Terence Crawford as an alternative to Errol Spence, and told him he'd get Vasyl Lomachenko afterwards regardless of whether he wins or loses to Crawford.
It's like people forgot Arum said he won't negotiate with Mikey for the Lomachenko fight. It's a take it or leave it offer. And that was only a couple of months ago
Or him saying Spence-Crawford didn’t make sense unless it could sell 500K PPV
Bob just to copy what Eddie Hearns is doing with Josh Kelly right now you can see Eddie is moving Kelly to go after Thurman. Just put one of your guys (Besputin) in that spot.
Bob Arum Offered Mikey Garcia a potential fight with Terence Crawford as an alternative to Errol Spence, and told him he'd get Vasyl Lomachenko afterwards regardless of whether he wins or loses to Crawford.
... just where and when Arum did offer this???
I didn't find this "offer" in the news...
... on another hand: Al Haymon made Spence vs Garcia a PPV fight on FOX and placed it at AT&T Stadium... :)
Fat boy Garcia no balls to fight Loma.
Spence is a bigger challenge, other fighters should follow his lead and dare to be great. I dont see Lomo wanting the best at 147.
Win lose or draw give Mikey his dues,Spence is a hell mountain to climb for a LW.
Both those fights are better than Gacia vs SpenceWhy in the hell is Crawford vs Mikey a better fight than Spence vs Mikey????? Please don't tell me it's because Spence is a giant welterweight because that is not true. Crawford weighed a reported157 pounds on fight night for Horn. Spence weighed a reported 156 pounds on fight night for his last fight. So who is the huge welterweight. Mikey called out Spence loud and clear because that's the fight Mikey wants next the most. Was Spence supposed to say no to the biggest money fight of his career because Mikey is smaller. Mikey chose him not the other way around. Mikey beat the hell out of Broner but if Spence was fighting Broner everybody would be OK with that fight. It looks like Mikey is fighting Spence next and anybody who doesn't like it is out of luck but they don't have to watch the slaughter. MAN DOWN!
It's hard to devise a better strategy to maximise his income, and like you say there's always a risk, but he's either gonna be giving up a lot of weight to Spence and Bud or he'll have to drop a lot to reach Loma at 135 in a coupla years time... that's one thing in your 20s but can be a whole other story when you're 31, 32 - at least from what other fighters say. I think if he were to fight Spence and Bud the Loma fight would have to take place at 140 minimum.
There is always risk, but at some point, the risk doesn't make sense in terms of your long term health, and your career.
Hypothetically, if he makes it through spence competitively, and loses he can come back down ( how well he does that is yet to be seen, but history says it usually doesnt work out so well ).
If the plan is to fight Spence, Crawford, then Loma. That wont happen.
If he is turning down the Crawford then Loma offer from Arum, provided its legitimate, to fight Spence, and he does well vs Spence, even in losing, he isn't getting the Crawford fight.
The Crawford fight would be on the table first from Arum because Crawford has moved up to 147 and is comfortable enough at the weight, that Mikey Garcia moving up to 147lb for the first time is disadvantageous enough for him to make Arum feel like its a good fight to make.
If Garcia is competitive with Spence, its more than likely the Crawford fight is something Arum is no longer willing to make.
If Garcia gets beaten down, again, he is not getting a Crawford or Lomachenko fight.
Topranks success hinges on Arum keeping both of his stars looking great in every outing, and a Garcia that just came off a beating is not a fight anyone would want to see right away.
If anything, Arum would offer him Lomachenko to make Garcia drain back down to 135lb. Which was clearly the strategy in offering him Crawford at 147lb then Loma at 135lb.
Arum offering 2 fights, is clearly him saying, you are a risky fight to take, so I need to make money off of 2 of your fights to make it worth it to put you in with 1 of my guys.
If Mikey were moving up to face Danny Garcia, or Thurman, or Porter, I'd be in 100%
But he is moving up to face the current class of the division, who is a bit of a weight bully who realistically, could be fighting at 160lb right now without problems.
There is an old axiom in boxing, a great big man, always beats a great little man.
Spence is a great big man, Garcia is a great little man.
I just hope he doesn't end up damaged.
Thats the business they are in. Any fight can be your last fight. Everyone who walks into the ring is taking a risk to die or to not be the same guy they previously were.
I don't think Mikey's at anymore greater risk vs Spence then normal. And in fact I'd probably say he's at far less risk then some of Spence's previous opponents.
Mikey needs to do whatever he wants to do. And we all know Mikey is one of these no bs guys when it comes to money.
If you are paying him the money he'll fight the guy. And it would seem to be that he finally got offered what he wanted for a big fight. Remember this is a guy who sat for 2 years over money issues where he felt he was being screwed over. Money is at the forefront of his mind not legacy or P4P sh^t. That legacy & P4P sh^t will come with the money so no reason to worry about it.
And this is a no lose situation for Mikey as I see it. If he beats Spence he's on another level & if he loses to Spence he was supposed to lose & he can still go back down to fight Loma. Or he can fight Bud still to if Arum is willing to pay Mikey what Mikey feels he's worth.
The opposite is not true. If Mikey fights Loma & loses, as I suspect he would, then he's never getting the Spence or Bud fight.
Matter of fact the ideal hand to play here for Mikey with big fights is Spence (biggest risk & reward). He's the man if he wins & can fight anyone he wants. If he loses he can fight Bud. If he beats Bud he's still a player at 147 & would have a belt to get bigger fights/more money. If he loses to Bud he can go down & fight Loma. So Spence, Bud & Loma in that order is how Mikey can work it for maximum income.
You think those fights will be on the table after a loss to spence? If it was a legitimate offer to Mikey, continuing down the Spence path just makes zero sense.
He already looked maxed out in how far he could realistically move up at 140 vs broner, who also started at the lower weights.
Its not the same fighting a big kid like spence, who started at 147, is a monster, and can bang.
The odds of Mikeys power carrying up to 147 are basically zero.
He relies on that power to keep people honest enough to use his boxing skills.
I really love Mikey as a fighter, but I don't think he is slick enough or will hit hard enough at the weight to be able to discourage Spence, or to keep him off of him.
You can say oh, it wont be like a loss for him because he moved up in weight. Tell that to Rigondeaux, Khan, and Brook.
Whats happened to them since their failed weight jumps?
Mikey is a great little fighter who still has a lot of good fights left in him. But if things go badly with spence, there might be no more good fights in him.
As much as I believe in Mikey, I am 100% confident that this is a step way to far for him, and there is no need to see it.
There is no need to make fights like this.
Mikey 100% believes he can do it, but the people handling him need to steer him away from this fight.
Hopefully its just a negotiating tactic to secure better terms for a fight with Crawford, which is a fight I would love to see, or Loma which is another fight id LOVE to see.
People need to keep in mind that Spence is basically GGG's size and build, but he is young enough to boil down to 147 right now.
Spence has even said in interviews that its very hard for him to make 147lb because its not his natural weight. Talked about going up to 154lb because of his difficulties making weight.
Spence is basically a 147lb weight bully right now. You don't move from 135lb to 147lb to fight a guy that is taking advantage of the fact that he is so much bigger than everyone else at 147lb.
Especially one as fundamentally sound and aggressive as Spence is, that has reach on you, and height on you, is Southpaw, hits like a mule, can take a hell of a shot, and bangs to the body nonstop.
This fight makes as much sense as it did for Gamboa to go up for Crawford.
We have already seen Garcia at 140lb, and it looks like he was stretching how far up in weight he could go there. So to go to 147 vs the best guy in a the division, a guy who could be fighting at 160 right now is just crazy.
Even if Mikey somehow wins the fight, there is no doubt in my mind that earning that win will take a toll on him physically that he didn't anticipate.
If he's getting a really good payday, and plans to retire afterwards, it would make sense as a fight. But if he plans to continue to build his legacy, this fight makes no sense, compared to a Crawford or Lomachenko fight.
Thats the business they are in. Any fight can be your last fight. Everyone who walks into the ring is taking a risk to die or to not be the same guy they previously were.
I don't think Mikey's at anymore greater risk vs Spence then normal. And in fact I'd probably say he's at far less risk then some of Spence's previous opponents.
Mikey needs to do whatever he wants to do. And we all know Mikey is one of these no bs guys when it comes to money.
If you are paying him the money he'll fight the guy. And it would seem to be that he finally got offered what he wanted for a big fight. Remember this is a guy who sat for 2 years over money issues where he felt he was being screwed over. Money is at the forefront of his mind not legacy or P4P sh^t. That legacy & P4P sh^t will come with the money so no reason to worry about it.
And this is a no lose situation for Mikey as I see it. If he beats Spence he's on another level & if he loses to Spence he was supposed to lose & he can still go back down to fight Loma. Or he can fight Bud still to if Arum is willing to pay Mikey what Mikey feels he's worth.
The opposite is not true. If Mikey fights Loma & loses, as I suspect he would, then he's never getting the Spence or Bud fight.
Matter of fact the ideal hand to play here for Mikey with big fights is Spence (biggest risk & reward). He's the man if he wins & can fight anyone he wants. If he loses he can fight Bud. If he beats Bud he's still a player at 147 & would have a belt to get bigger fights/more money. If he loses to Bud he can go down & fight Loma. So Spence, Bud & Loma in that order is how Mikey can work it for maximum income.
It's hard to devise a better strategy to maximise his income, and like you say there's always a risk, but he's either gonna be giving up a lot of weight to Spence and Bud or he'll have to drop a lot to reach Loma at 135 in a coupla years time... that's one thing in your 20s but can be a whole other story when you're 31, 32 - at least from what other fighters say. I think if he were to fight Spence and Bud the Loma fight would have to take place at 140 minimum.
But a Year Ago...
and 3 years Ago...
Boxing is just full of Hypocrites, promoters and fans just stick their foot in their mouth only to have to backtrack shortly after :lol1: Bob Arum seems to be stuck in Neutral with no big matches to give ESPN, as posted some weeks ago I think the Pressure is on from ESPN to deliver some of these big match ups, some big Match Ups he can't deliver without Haymon...How Ironic!
Arum better go all in for GGG, they kinda need him at this point. I honestly cant think of 1 potential ESPN PPV Match up that Arum can give them right now In House and maybe that is why he is scrambling a bit :dunno:
If he's giving him the same money he's getting for Spence Mikey would be stupid not to take those fights.
I doubt very highly he is doe.
This isn't a legacy thing this is a money thing. Legacy just comes along with the money he's getting for Spence if he wins.
Its also a fight that could ruin him and his ability to earn money in the future.
Hes 30 years old, he doesn't need to be taking a spence fight, he needs to be clearing out the fighters around his size who are also p4p level, like loma and crawford. Both of whom are significantly smaller than spence, who will probably end up as a middleweight.
If Garcia had stayed with Top Rank he would have faced Lomachenko and Crawford already. Now Spence is about to break his face. The main reason this fight is happening is because Spence is Haymon's golden boy and he needs a name like Mikey to feed to Spence in the hopes of making him a big PPV star. Hence why Mikey is being offered so much to take this fight.
Uh Mikey was the one that called out spence
Lol Mikey is already in deep negotiations with Spence...where was this when he wad available?
The chronological order is hilarious too...why fight the bigger guy first? So move up to 147 first, try to get him beat then give Loma the damaged goods?
If Bob was reasonable he'd offer Loma first, after Loma sparks out Pedraza in that 4 round beating he's going to give him, then offer Crawford.
Again the timing of the offer too...why now when Garcia-Spence is pretty much all but signed/sealed? Man o man.
Then to go and say "Well I offered the fight but they went a different direction..." Lol so predictable.
If Garcia had stayed with Top Rank he would have faced Lomachenko and Crawford already. Now Spence is about to break his face. The main reason this fight is happening is because Spence is Haymon's golden boy and he needs a name like Mikey to feed to Spence in the hopes of making him a big PPV star. Hence why Mikey is being offered so much to take this fight.
He needs opponents for Crawford and knows the situation at hand right now. Unless he can get one of the PBC WWs, then Crawford will be wasting the last years of his prime fighting over matched opponents. So what Arum is doing is he putting it out to the media that he is ready to make the Spence fight now or he has offered Garcia this deal to show Crawford, "See, it's not me, it's Haymon that is preventing all these fights!" I'm sure when Crawford re-upped his deal with TR, it is written in contract that Arum will do everything possible to make those fights with PBC fighters. I wonder if eventually one of the PBC WWs come to ESPN to fight Crawford while in return Arum gives up Zurdo to one of his SMWs, in particular Benavidez down the road?
I doubt it. Not unless they lose and aren't as useful. The lines have been drawn and I think Arum's gonna get squeezed. He is impressive though. People still believe his BS after all these years.