Comments Thread For: Sources: Ross Greenburg Parting Ways With HBO Sports

[LeadUppercut]

this isn't just based on Pacquiao but years of ineptitude on Greenburg's part to get quality fights without over inflating their budget

Good point.

[LeadUppercut]

in all honesty this is a job to kill for given the bigger budget HBO has over Showtime

so here is a question for all those on here

what would you do if given the chance to run HBO's boxing division?

I would

1. have a sit down with Haymon and advise him that while his concert business is something we need we will not be held hostage by him in forcing his big contracts on our boxing division. If he wants his fighters on they have to earn it like every other fighter

2. lose whatever contracts HBO has and adopt a strategy to signal not only the best fights but the best potential match ups down the road

3. go to shows actual fight cards to see the talent that's being peddled to you. Seeing them on DVD or youtube is not enough you have to see what type of reaction these fighters get and what type of potential they have in bringing audiences to your programming

4. revisit the heavyweight division but only in a manner that makes sense. The brothers are fine and should be on HBO but the opponents they face, short of Haye, shouldn't. Have a few of the heavyweight hopefuls appear on some BADs first to establish who really does deserve a shot then your audience has familiarity with the opponent facing either brother.


5. limit the amount of PPVs and do not be held hostage to having a PPV just because a promoters contract with said fighter is too high for regular HBO. Case in point no way should Hopkins vs Dawson be on PPV but considering the lack of a true budget left and both guys having high minimums forces their hands

6. the mentality that the best fighting the best does not always work for great fights. Having the best matchups is a better model to follow.

7. stop over pricing for fights. Paying ___ for Bradley Alexander then promising them future fights at ___ only hurts your budget towards the end of the year. If you fight on HBO it should be a privelage not a right

I agree with most of what you said, except for #6.

Boxing dies completely the day that the best stop fighting the best.

We need clarity, one sanctioning body, and less in-house rubbish.

I do agree with you that the best fighting the best does not always make the best fight, but it is vital for the integrity of boxing. We can still have good match-ups.

[LeadUppercut]

in all honesty this is a job to kill for given the bigger budget HBO has over Showtime

so here is a question for all those on here

what would you do if given the chance to run HBO's boxing division?

I would

1. have a sit down with Haymon and advise him that while his concert business is something we need we will not be held hostage by him in forcing his big contracts on our boxing division. If he wants his fighters on they have to earn it like every other fighter

2. lose whatever contracts HBO has and adopt a strategy to signal not only the best fights but the best potential match ups down the road

3. go to shows actual fight cards to see the talent that's being peddled to you. Seeing them on DVD or youtube is not enough you have to see what type of reaction these fighters get and what type of potential they have in bringing audiences to your programming

4. revisit the heavyweight division but only in a manner that makes sense. The brothers are fine and should be on HBO but the opponents they face, short of Haye, shouldn't. Have a few of the heavyweight hopefuls appear on some BADs first to establish who really does deserve a shot then your audience has familiarity with the opponent facing either brother.


5. limit the amount of PPVs and do not be held hostage to having a PPV just because a promoters contract with said fighter is too high for regular HBO. Case in point no way should Hopkins vs Dawson be on PPV but considering the lack of a true budget left and both guys having high minimums forces their hands

6. the mentality that the best fighting the best does not always work for great fights. Having the best matchups is a better model to follow.

7. stop over pricing for fights. Paying ___ for Bradley Alexander then promising them future fights at ___ only hurts your budget towards the end of the year. If you fight on HBO it should be a privelage not a right

Great post btw.

[Eaner0919]

I agree with most of what you said, except for #6.

Boxing dies completely the day that the best stop fighting the best.

We need clarity, one sanctioning body, and less in-house rubbish.

I do agree with you that the best fighting the best does not always make the best fight, but it is vital for the integrity of boxing. We can still have good match-ups.

well let me amend this a bit

I am not saying the best should never fight the best

what I am saying though is that it shouldn't be the benchmark as to how to make fights

guys like Gatti and Ward would never be on if this was the approach we took solely.

one should look at the overall picture in making fights happen

[The Gambler1981]

I feel you even if I don't agree completely on everything but PPV.

I feel PPV have got a bum rap, it is not the ideal way to create a large viewing audience but it is a good way to make fights happen that would otherwise be tough to make, I would rather a fight be on PPV and happen rather than languish on the burner because it is impossible to make in a timely fashion.

Plus it lets the audience really show how big a star someone is, if a guy is demanding a lot put him on PPV and see if they can sell, it is the ultimate sink or swim test in regards if a guy is a true star or not and if their demands are worth meeting.

[edgarg]

Thomas Hauser was right about his "inside" sources, indicating Greenburg's firing.

M0nths ago, within a week or even a few days after Arum began negotiating or even the rumours spreading that the fight might go to Showtime it was published by several journalists on this and other sites, that both Greenburg and the other guy were finished, and wouldbe gone within months, weeks or days.

in fact,reading something announced by greenburg a month or so ago, on behalf of HBO surprisedme that he was still there. I thought that he and his colleague were both gone.

[AnimalisticMeth]

If Grenburg din't let the power he had go to his head and started thinking he was a promoter he would still be at HBO but no he had to **** with Arum. Everything started when he turned down a couple of Cotto fights and gave the Cotto date to Martinez. After that Arum was an Angry angry ***.

[edgarg]

I was implying that it wouldn't reasonable for Arum to purposely try and get Greenburg ousted because they share the same ***ish background. I was always under the impression that the ***s always looked out for one another.

As far as HBO is concerned, I think it would be smart to front that huge sum in order to land Pacquio/Marquez. I think it would be a hell of a lot better investment than throwing it down the drain by giving Al Haymon's scraps million dollar paydays.

No ***s don't always look out for one another. They found and fund charities and make huge philantropic donations to all denominations, not even mostly to ***ish Charities, in truth, but, for example a ******* ***, like most of the American ***s, will vote for *****, who is antagonistic to Israel and favourable to the medieval Arabs.

Why... because they ALWAYS vote ******** even if only a hopeless fool were the candidate. this is a deeply engrained LOYALTY relic of the early days of ***ish immigration when they received Social aid mostly from ********ic Organisations.{although much of the funding was supplied by charitable ********** sponsors}

When it's business, they can understand each other better than others might, and can cut out a lot of posturing and messing around and get to the nub of the deal. And they make sure it's a good deal all round, both for themselves, the Sponsors and, particularly the fighters, to whom they have deep commitments. That's why Arum is the recognised best promoter for his fighters.

[edgarg]

He will be replaced by Al-Haymon, and first fight will be Andrea bertha vs Devon Alexander with each fighter getting 20m and there will be no more shows until end of year.

That seems to be delving into the realms of the fantastic, as no doubt it was intended to do.

[JoeDaWg]

No ***s don't always look out for one another. They found and fund charities and make huge philantropic donations to all denominations, not even mostly to ***ish Charities, in truth, but, for example a ******* ***, like most of the American ***s, will vote for *****, who is antagonistic to Israel and favourable to the medieval Arabs.

Why... because they ALWAYS vote ******** even if only a hopeless fool were the candidate. this is a deeply engrained LOYALTY relic of the early days of ***ish immigration when they received Social aid mostly from ********ic Organisations.{although much of the funding was supplied by charitable ********** sponsors}

When it's business, they can understand each other better than others might, and can cut out a lot of posturing and messing around and get to the nub of the deal. And they make sure it's a good deal all round, both for themselves, the Sponsors and, particularly the fighters, to whom they have deep commitments. That's why Arum is the recognised best promoter for his fighters.

Great post