Garcia was just a pawn in Haymons big plan to turn Spence into a PPV star.

Spence will never be a "PPV star".

Now that Mikey got his money he will go on another 2 year vacation.

naw since Big Al seems to care about Mikey way more than Arum did, Garcia is collecting check after check & staying active

Gonna have to bump my old thread.. i said it back then and i said it now. Haymons plan: fight a mexican american to turn Spence into a PPV fighter, next fight vs Porter probably not on PPV because those numbers would be much lower and show that he is not a better draw than Crawford. So you’re upset that Haymon is building Spence through progressively tougher fights with the other top ww yet You loved it when ggg beat bum after bum after being gifted a title belt in the boardroom. Spence/ Manny, Spence/Porter and Spence/Thurman are all marketable fights that move the division forward. You complaining suggests you have another agenda.

I read not too long ago that Mikey had to walk into Haymons office and beg for this fight himself when it first got brought up. I even heard Haymon was trying to talk Mikey out of it along with Robert and his dad. Maybe I'm just being nieve for believing what's being written up as articles. No, that is actually stuff that Mikey said. I don't know in those words, but he stated that the first time he told Haymon he wanted Spence, he just brushed it off. But the second time he told him, Haymon asked him if he was sure and asked him what his brother/father thought of the fight. Haymon wasn't the one demanding this fight out of Mikey, that's just foolish to believe. Mikey is one of his other biggest stars, so what good does it do to him if Spence emerges as a star but then Mikey's future is impacted? This was just Mikey wanting a fight badly and he ended up getting his wish. If Haymon truly wanted to use a fighter as an pawn to make Spence a star, then he would make the Pacquiao fight ASAP. No other fight brings as many buys as that one and no other opponent has Pacquiao's name value.

Gonna have to bump my old thread.. i said it back then and i said it now. Haymons plan: fight a mexican american to turn Spence into a PPV fighter, next fight vs Porter probably not on PPV because those numbers would be much lower and show that he is not a better draw than Crawford.

Interesting thoughts

I read not too long ago that Mikey had to walk into Haymons office and beg for this fight himself when it first got brought up. I even heard Haymon was trying to talk Mikey out of it along with Robert and his dad. Maybe I'm just being nieve for believing what's being written up as articles.

Ok i said that long ago, when Mikey suddenly called out Spence, that was all initiated by Al Haymon. It was Haymons plan from the beginning. Spence is a good fighter, and maybe the most talented and gifted fighter in the whole PBC stable. Haymon pays his fighters good money, theres probably alot of fighters that dont even break even and turn out to be a loss for Haymon, but if he can build 1-2 PPV superstars ala Mayweather, from his stable, it has all paid off eventually. Spence was Haymons chosen one. Who can help turn Spence into a PPV fighter? Oh lets look at Floyd, how did Floyd become big?? Oh yeah Oscar, we need a Mexican fighter, the mexican fans buy the most PPVs and are the most loyal boxing fans. The only good fighter around Spences weightclass, that Haymon had connection to was Mikey Garcia. So he met Mikey and made him an offer he couldnt refuse and told him how it was a Win/Win situation for Mikey, that he could become the biggest star in the sport by beating Spence, and if not, he could still fight Loma or other champs at 135-147 since losing to Spence is not so bad, so Haymon paid Mikey a ton of money + PPV upside and Mikey toook it. The fight got promoted very well, many people actually believe Mikey had a chance, which is weird, but it happened, even on this forum. Spence fought well and won, sadly no knockout, but still a good performance, some of the Garcia fans will probably turn over and become Spence fans. Next step (end of 2019) Manny Pacquiao Haymon will pay Manny a boatload of money to fight Spence and Manny probably wont turn it down, we see the fight next. Spence again gets a major exposure vs a legend and he himself becomes a bigger draw. Haymon to sign Pacquiao and pay him good money was also part of his plans for Spence. Manny will do better than Garcia, but at 40 years and with the huge size disparity, even if the fight goes to the cards, Haymon has Spence covered and there is no way he loses a decision to Manny, who already lost to Jeff Horn a couple years ago. Next step (2020) Porter and Thurman Both Thurman and Porter will try to keep their belts until they have to face Spence eventually. Both of them are not as big of a draw as Mikey, but still decent opponents. Thanks to his win over 40 year old Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia, Spence already has built his own fanbase and can carry the PPV. Spence is the huge favorite vs both and beats both fighters. Next step (2021) move up to 154 No, Spence wont fight Crawford, that fight is too dangerous and Haymon cannot control the fight nor the opponent, also Spence will have problems making 147 and he can easily fight for a vacant belt at 154 because Hurt moved up or he fights another Haymon fighter that holds a belt at 154. I mean its quite obvious isnt it? The plan is to create a new PPV fighter that brings in the big money to cover losses that other, less popular fighters cause. It's not really about best fighting the best, its about planning your career and move your fighters away from the highest risks. Haymon just playing the game every major promoter (- or manager or whatever Haymon calls himself) is playing. Spence wins he's beat an arguable P4P level fighter with a name. Mikey somehow wins, hell he's straight up to #1 in the P4P lists and he can be the next PPV star - hell he even pulls in the Mex American crowd which is probably even more lucrative. Whether it was a consideration or not (and Al is a smart man in my estimation, so I doubt this was overlooked) it also shuts down a Lomachenko fight - at least when it would have been most significant - which was the next biggest option for Mikey but ran the risk of him losing to a competitors fighter and, possibly, helping build a competitors brand. Like most business dudes Al would prefer to keep that **** in house as much as possible. Haymon's a businessman and can only be judged in that context. What happened was the smart business move, and it's exactly the kind of thing we see out of other promoters unless or until the financial rewards overcome the natural preference to cut their rivals out of the loop.