Wlad vs Chagaev to be aired on ESPN Classic

[The Gambler1981]

Atlas has picked, I think, every opponent of his since he won the IBF belt. It's f.ucking ludicrous that you would pick against a boxer who consecutively wins fight after fight- and usually in dominant fashion...

Yea, it is pretty crazy I still think it has to do with how Teddy feels about the mental side of the game, I think he believes that once you fold once it will eventually happean again but he has been predicting this for a minute now as you say. I also think that Wlad is a cold calculating sort, while Teddy prefers the firey sort.

Atlas should probably reasses his though process on Wlad, because he has basically been proven wrong.

[mrpain81]

It could not be how he constantly calls Top Rank the best promotinal outfit around. I think Golden Boy is getting up on Arum at this point, GOlden Boy is getting ESPN card, Versus cards, and a bunch of HBO cards. Arum's only outlets are pay tv (HBO, Showtime), whatever Spanish language networks he works with and his little PPV's

If this path continues as it currently sits Golden Boy will eventually come out ahead.

He actually calls Top Rank "The only real promoters left on Boxing" talks **** about PPV's then hails Arum's small PPV's like him fighting the system and not needing the HBO or Showtime money.

This was pretty funny from the other day.

I'll never forget in 2006, during the apex of the cold war between Top Rank and Golden Boy/HBO when I got a link from Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune, who broke the news of a June 10th pay-per-view match-up between Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver, just 100 miles away in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This after Arum believed he had gotten a promise from the network to do Cotto's bout on that same date against Paulie Malignaggi.

As soon as I scanned Richardson's story, I called Top Rank publicist, Lee Samuels (after Arum's phone went straight to message mode), and told him what I had just read. That evening a tribute dinner in honor of Gil Clancy and Emile Griffith was being thrown in Las Vegas, and Clancy would work that weekend’s broadcast of a small pay-per-view telecast produced by Top Rank that featured Antonio Margarito's bout versus Manuel Gomez. Samuels would nervously tell me that tonight was probably a bad night and that Bob most likely wouldn't be able to talk.

Well, about 20 minutes later, I got a call from Samuels, who frantically informed me "Bob wants to talk to you right now." I asked Arum about his reaction to the news of Hopkins-Tarver being consummated and what he would do with his show. I assumed, like any other promoter, he'd move it.

"Mano y mano. Mano y mano," Arum would state unequivocally, without hesitation, in his distinctive, raspy Brooklyn ascent. While General Douglas MacArthur once stated he would return, this crazy S.O.B. wasn't going anywhere, he would go head to head, on his own dime versus the corporate monolith. He wasn't budging.

The show that night, while a critical success, was at best, a modest success financially. But there's a much bigger picture - he acted like a real promoter, held his ground, and decided to keep cultivating and creating a marketplace for his client. He would not be dictated to by any network or outside forces. And by staying steadfast, he and Cotto are now reaping the rewards. The event this weekend should be filled to capacity at the Garden.

Arum is such noble guy fighting the good fight, while raping Versus and the fans with his JCC jr PPV's.

[The Gambler1981]

He actually calls Top Rank "The only real promoters left on Boxing" talks **** about PPV's then hails Arum's small PPV's like him fighting the system and not needing the HBO or Showtime money.

This was pretty funny from the other day.



Arum is such noble guy fighting the good fight, while raping Versus and the fans with his JCC jr PPV's.

Yea I remember reading that, small PPV are alright with me becaus it lets fans get to see fights that they would probably not otherwise see, but to say taht Arum is in some noble pursuit is crazy if he was not making money I doubt he would be so gung ho about the Latin Fury cards.

PPV are fine for fights that would not other wise be on TV but they are not the best way to really build stars, which is Kim's whole ppoint behind calling Top Rank the "only real" promoters.

Steve Kim has a point in that some promoters are not real promoters but Top Rank is not the only one.

[¤¤¤]

why do they use espn classic to air these fights? why can't they show them on espn2?

[dans]

Good news. Kudos to ESPN.

[PittyPat]

If not HD, will it at least be widescreen? I'm getting pissed at all the posted fight videos being in 4:3 lately, despite pretty much the whole Western world owning widescreen TVs. :box2:

[JakeNDaBox]

One difference (among many) between Arum and Golden Boy is that Arum, while yes resorting to PPV, will do so while paying for the entire show out of pocket. Golden Boy's "independent" PPV's are almost always distributed by HBO.

Some of Arum's shows are also HBO-distributed but independently produced (like Diaz-Morales, for example), but the Latin Fury cards are all on his dime.

If there's a criticism to be made, it's that for the budget he received from VERSUS, that's where the Latin Fury series really should've landed. There's no question that he screwed the pooch for the duration of the two years in which he was VERSUS' sole boxing provider.

That aside, Arum's one of the few who will put on a show featuring notable fighters without waiting on a network to ante up. Golden Boy rarely if ever makes a move without someone else's money. Ditto for Shaw.

Main Events also deserves credit for putting on shows first, seeking television outlets later.

Trying to figure out how this discussion went from Wlad-Chagaev and ESPN Classic to Top Rank/Golden Boy... but anyway there you have it.

[The Gambler1981]

One difference (among many) between Arum and Golden Boy is that Arum, while yes resorting to PPV, will do so while paying for the entire show out of pocket. Golden Boy's "independent" PPV's are almost always distributed by HBO.

Some of Arum's shows are also HBO-distributed but independently produced (like Diaz-Morales, for example), but the Latin Fury cards are all on his dime.

If there's a criticism to be made, it's that for the budget he received from VERSUS, that's where the Latin Fury series really should've landed. There's no question that he screwed the pooch for the duration of the two years in which he was VERSUS' sole boxing provider.

That aside, Arum's one of the few who will put on a show featuring notable fighters without waiting on a network to ante up. Golden Boy rarely if ever makes a move without someone else's money. Ditto for Shaw.

Main Events also deserves credit for putting on shows first, seeking television outlets later.

Trying to figure out how this discussion went from Wlad-Chagaev and ESPN Classic to Top Rank/Golden Boy... but anyway there you have it.

We were discussing Steve Kim who this report came from. Arum is a great promoter no doubt, he knows the business well. I just think he is kind of messing up currently by letting Golden Boy dominate basic cable boxing (in English to go with the dominence Golden Boy already posesses with HBO).

To me he needs to find another outlet for his younger guys so they get more exposure. Still he is great promoter he has the gift of gab (to go along with his great business mind).

[JakeNDaBox]

why do they use espn classic to air these fights? why can't they show them on espn2?

It's easier to add to ESPN Classic because they're otherwise almost always airing archived content. ESPN and ESPN2 usually have live events going on at that time - for example, ESPN is showing the College World Series and ESPN2 is showing MLS Game of the Week and then NASCAR.

[dmaclv]

anyone gotta time Classic will air it?