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An excerpt from a Thomas Hauser article.
So let’s look at the lessons to be learned in the wake of Ortiz-Maidana.
At the start of 2009, HBO told boxing fans that the next generation of stars included Victor Ortiz, Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland, and Robert Guerrero. All four were put in soft to build their reputations.
Kirkland is now in jail. Angulo was exposed (and beaten) by Kermit Cintron. Guerrero begged out after being cut by an accidental head butt in a fight against 10-to-1 underdog Daud Yordan. Now, Ortiz has been knocked out.
A television network has the power to give fighters exposure. A television network has the power to steer fighters to a particular promoter. A television network cannot (repeat, cannot) create stars.
In boxing, stars create themselves. Very few people knew who Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Arturo Gatti were before HBO put them on Boxing After Dark a decade ago. But the public tuned in because they trusted HBO to deliver quality fights. And the fighters who delivered in those fights became stars.
Instead of trying to anoint stars, HBO should create the next generation of stars by continually matching the best young prospects against the best young prospects (not against overmatched foes). If a fighter doesn’t want to go in tough, let him fight somewhere else for ten thousand dollars.
Ortiz-Maidana was a great fight. It might not have been great for Ortiz or his manager or his promoter. But it was great entertainment for the viewers who watched it because Ortiz was in tough.
So apply the lessons of Ortiz-Maidana to the future.
HBO won’t televise another fight until August 22nd, when Paulie Malignaggi goes to Houston to take on Juan Diaz, the referee, and three judges. Let’s hope that, when the network finalizes its fall schedule, it demands competitive fights across the board.
* * *
Who would win a fight showcasing David Haye or Chris Arreola against Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko?
Either Klitschko would be heavily favored.
Okay. Who would win a fight between David Haye and Chris Arreola?
Knowledgeable fight fans are evenly divided.
So shouldn’t HBO press for Haye vs. Arreola? It would be an entertaining fight and the winner would emerge as a more credible challenger to either Klitschko than is now the case.
So let’s look at the lessons to be learned in the wake of Ortiz-Maidana.
At the start of 2009, HBO told boxing fans that the next generation of stars included Victor Ortiz, Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland, and Robert Guerrero. All four were put in soft to build their reputations.
Kirkland is now in jail. Angulo was exposed (and beaten) by Kermit Cintron. Guerrero begged out after being cut by an accidental head butt in a fight against 10-to-1 underdog Daud Yordan. Now, Ortiz has been knocked out.
A television network has the power to give fighters exposure. A television network has the power to steer fighters to a particular promoter. A television network cannot (repeat, cannot) create stars.
In boxing, stars create themselves. Very few people knew who Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Arturo Gatti were before HBO put them on Boxing After Dark a decade ago. But the public tuned in because they trusted HBO to deliver quality fights. And the fighters who delivered in those fights became stars.
Instead of trying to anoint stars, HBO should create the next generation of stars by continually matching the best young prospects against the best young prospects (not against overmatched foes). If a fighter doesn’t want to go in tough, let him fight somewhere else for ten thousand dollars.
Ortiz-Maidana was a great fight. It might not have been great for Ortiz or his manager or his promoter. But it was great entertainment for the viewers who watched it because Ortiz was in tough.
So apply the lessons of Ortiz-Maidana to the future.
HBO won’t televise another fight until August 22nd, when Paulie Malignaggi goes to Houston to take on Juan Diaz, the referee, and three judges. Let’s hope that, when the network finalizes its fall schedule, it demands competitive fights across the board.
* * *
Who would win a fight showcasing David Haye or Chris Arreola against Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko?
Either Klitschko would be heavily favored.
Okay. Who would win a fight between David Haye and Chris Arreola?
Knowledgeable fight fans are evenly divided.
So shouldn’t HBO press for Haye vs. Arreola? It would be an entertaining fight and the winner would emerge as a more credible challenger to either Klitschko than is now the case.
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