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When Ross Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports, said that he would not buy heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko's September fight against Alexander Povetkin, it came as quite a surprise to the Klitschko camp.
The reason: Klitschko and his team, namely manager Bernd Boente and adviser Shelly Finkel, say HBO promised it would air the fight on Sept. 11 and that they had agreed on a price ($250,000 to show the bout on same-day tape delay).
"What HBO did to us is absolutely disgusting," Boente said. "Kery(HBO Sports senior vice president) promised me and also Shelly on the telephone that he will do the fight. We had agreed. The worst thing is that Kery said, 'We can do the fight on the 11th but not on the 18th.' Showtime could do it on the 18th but not on the 11th. We made a deal with HBO for the 11th and we said to the German soccer league before they planned their schedule to please make sure that on the 11th there is no home game for Frankfurt because we have an American TV station on board. They said OK. And then HBO screwed us and now we lose $250,000."
The Klitschkos are so upset with HBO that Boente said they will never again fight on the network, which has had a long association with them. He said they'll go so far as to ask HBO to remove their photos and bios from its website.
"If we knew HBO wouldn't do the fight, we would have asked for [the stadium on] Sept. 18 and Showtime would have shown the fight," he said. "Now we lose all that money completely, and it's HBO's fault.
"[Davis] should have talked to his boss first before you promise something. You can't promise me and Shelly and then not do it. Showtime played it very straight with us about their situation. HBO did not. I'll tell you one thing: If either brother ever fights David Haye, I will make sure and the brothers will make sure that HBO doesn't cover the fight and that it will go to Showtime.
"Wladimir is totally pissed and really disappointed. He thought a promise is a promise, and if you promise someone, you have to stand by your promise. We have been on HBO for 23 fights [between the brothers], but I guess that doesn't mean anything. Maybe Ross has something against Germany or Ukrainians.
Based on the way Boente spoke, even if those fights are put together, HBO won't get them under any circumstance.
"Whether Wladimir or Vitali fight Haye eventually, we will make sure the fight is not on HBO," he said. "HBO will not cover anymore Klitschko fights. On the Haye fight, Wladimir said to me that HBO thinks that they will have it 100 percent because they always overpay if they want something. But for him it is not about the money, it's about fair play."
When I asked Boente directly if that meant they would take less money from Showtime for a Haye fight, he said, "Yes, absolutely."
ESPN.com
The reason: Klitschko and his team, namely manager Bernd Boente and adviser Shelly Finkel, say HBO promised it would air the fight on Sept. 11 and that they had agreed on a price ($250,000 to show the bout on same-day tape delay).
"What HBO did to us is absolutely disgusting," Boente said. "Kery(HBO Sports senior vice president) promised me and also Shelly on the telephone that he will do the fight. We had agreed. The worst thing is that Kery said, 'We can do the fight on the 11th but not on the 18th.' Showtime could do it on the 18th but not on the 11th. We made a deal with HBO for the 11th and we said to the German soccer league before they planned their schedule to please make sure that on the 11th there is no home game for Frankfurt because we have an American TV station on board. They said OK. And then HBO screwed us and now we lose $250,000."
The Klitschkos are so upset with HBO that Boente said they will never again fight on the network, which has had a long association with them. He said they'll go so far as to ask HBO to remove their photos and bios from its website.
"If we knew HBO wouldn't do the fight, we would have asked for [the stadium on] Sept. 18 and Showtime would have shown the fight," he said. "Now we lose all that money completely, and it's HBO's fault.
"[Davis] should have talked to his boss first before you promise something. You can't promise me and Shelly and then not do it. Showtime played it very straight with us about their situation. HBO did not. I'll tell you one thing: If either brother ever fights David Haye, I will make sure and the brothers will make sure that HBO doesn't cover the fight and that it will go to Showtime.
"Wladimir is totally pissed and really disappointed. He thought a promise is a promise, and if you promise someone, you have to stand by your promise. We have been on HBO for 23 fights [between the brothers], but I guess that doesn't mean anything. Maybe Ross has something against Germany or Ukrainians.
Based on the way Boente spoke, even if those fights are put together, HBO won't get them under any circumstance.
"Whether Wladimir or Vitali fight Haye eventually, we will make sure the fight is not on HBO," he said. "HBO will not cover anymore Klitschko fights. On the Haye fight, Wladimir said to me that HBO thinks that they will have it 100 percent because they always overpay if they want something. But for him it is not about the money, it's about fair play."
When I asked Boente directly if that meant they would take less money from Showtime for a Haye fight, he said, "Yes, absolutely."
ESPN.com
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