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Reasons To Be Cheerful - Tszyu Makes It Clear He Wants Hatton Fight - by James Mcdonnell
Talk of a proposed Tszyu v Hatton clash has been doing the rounds for what seems like an eternity already, and so far I’ve had no reason to conclude that this fight is any more or less likely to happen than any of Hatton’s other mooted contests throughout 2004, of which enough has already been written. Suffice to say, that after having been bitten so many times before, I was not ready to toss my hat in the ring and say that on this occasion I was ready to believe. Having chewed up Mike Stewart, punished Ray Oliveira, and already turned down other mandatory shots against the likes of Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, DeMarcus Corley, and Vivian Harris, where is there left to go but up the final level? Showtime also appears eager for the fight to happen, with Jay Larkin seeming very positive.
On opening my email for the first time in almost two weeks this week, I found what I can only put into the ‘reasons to be cheerful’ category. Aside from the chirpy communications from my compadres here at maxboxing who had given me up for dead over the holidays, there were scant calls after my well being, but there was one little nugget that glimmered in the mire.
On the 3rd, I was contacted by a reliable source, close to Tszyu on personal terms, who told me that he had been contacted by team Kostya, who asked him to relay the following information.
Kostya is apparently happy with the purse on offer by Frank Warren’s Sports Network, and is more than happy to face Ricky Hatton on his home ground in Manchester. To happen, the fight must be in June, when Kostya will have had time to prepare fully after taking a layoff in the New Year, and will have to be shown at 4.00 am in the morning to accommodate the paymasters Showtime.
As far as Kostya is concerned there is no problem with the money on the table, which is in excess of $5 million after all, and his management team are happy with all the arrangements. However, it appears that there may be some negotiating left to be done between Tszyu and his promoter, who is the one at the bargaining table on Tszyu’s behalf, and has already given interviews on Sports Network’s website, frankwarren.tv.
Tszyu wants to make it clear that any hold-up in proceedings is not of his making, and that the onus is on his promoter Vlad Wharton to make the deal.
It’s worth noting that although Tszyu is earning very well from this fight on paper, the numbers for this one could be pretty impressive.
With a capacity crowd expected at the MEN guaranteed (they fit almost 20,000 when Tyson fought there) if the fight materialises, plus the revenue from a PPV card which would air on both sides of the Atlantic, there’s likely to be a lot of money to play with.
PPV numbers of over the 500,000 mark are not inconceivable, and then there are TV rights in other parts of Eastern Europe where Tszyu is a big name, and of course Australia. There’s a lot of potential cash flying around, and my guess it that Tszyu wants to ensure that he’s earning his share from the pot. Fair play. Despite the ease with which Tszyu dispatched Mitchell to reaffirm his status, I believe Tszyu sees the fight as a genuine risk, and wants to ensure the reward balances out the equation.
I’ve long believed that the two most important pieces of any big fight negotiation are the fighters themselves, and their wanting to fight, and this would seem to be a clear indication that both Tszyu and Hatton are happy with the terms on offer, and that this surely paves the way, barring the interference of promotional wrangling, for the fight to happen.
Frank Warren has had his critics when it comes to the career of Hatton, but on this occasion it appears that the only hiccups remaining on putting this fight together are between Tszyu and his promoter. The fight with Hatton is probably the biggest available with all of the other titleholders save for the unwanted Vivian Harris engaged, now only the balancing of the ledgers remains for the fight to be made. It’s not a done deal, but it’s getting pretty close.
Talk of a proposed Tszyu v Hatton clash has been doing the rounds for what seems like an eternity already, and so far I’ve had no reason to conclude that this fight is any more or less likely to happen than any of Hatton’s other mooted contests throughout 2004, of which enough has already been written. Suffice to say, that after having been bitten so many times before, I was not ready to toss my hat in the ring and say that on this occasion I was ready to believe. Having chewed up Mike Stewart, punished Ray Oliveira, and already turned down other mandatory shots against the likes of Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, DeMarcus Corley, and Vivian Harris, where is there left to go but up the final level? Showtime also appears eager for the fight to happen, with Jay Larkin seeming very positive.
On opening my email for the first time in almost two weeks this week, I found what I can only put into the ‘reasons to be cheerful’ category. Aside from the chirpy communications from my compadres here at maxboxing who had given me up for dead over the holidays, there were scant calls after my well being, but there was one little nugget that glimmered in the mire.
On the 3rd, I was contacted by a reliable source, close to Tszyu on personal terms, who told me that he had been contacted by team Kostya, who asked him to relay the following information.
Kostya is apparently happy with the purse on offer by Frank Warren’s Sports Network, and is more than happy to face Ricky Hatton on his home ground in Manchester. To happen, the fight must be in June, when Kostya will have had time to prepare fully after taking a layoff in the New Year, and will have to be shown at 4.00 am in the morning to accommodate the paymasters Showtime.
As far as Kostya is concerned there is no problem with the money on the table, which is in excess of $5 million after all, and his management team are happy with all the arrangements. However, it appears that there may be some negotiating left to be done between Tszyu and his promoter, who is the one at the bargaining table on Tszyu’s behalf, and has already given interviews on Sports Network’s website, frankwarren.tv.
Tszyu wants to make it clear that any hold-up in proceedings is not of his making, and that the onus is on his promoter Vlad Wharton to make the deal.
It’s worth noting that although Tszyu is earning very well from this fight on paper, the numbers for this one could be pretty impressive.
With a capacity crowd expected at the MEN guaranteed (they fit almost 20,000 when Tyson fought there) if the fight materialises, plus the revenue from a PPV card which would air on both sides of the Atlantic, there’s likely to be a lot of money to play with.
PPV numbers of over the 500,000 mark are not inconceivable, and then there are TV rights in other parts of Eastern Europe where Tszyu is a big name, and of course Australia. There’s a lot of potential cash flying around, and my guess it that Tszyu wants to ensure that he’s earning his share from the pot. Fair play. Despite the ease with which Tszyu dispatched Mitchell to reaffirm his status, I believe Tszyu sees the fight as a genuine risk, and wants to ensure the reward balances out the equation.
I’ve long believed that the two most important pieces of any big fight negotiation are the fighters themselves, and their wanting to fight, and this would seem to be a clear indication that both Tszyu and Hatton are happy with the terms on offer, and that this surely paves the way, barring the interference of promotional wrangling, for the fight to happen.
Frank Warren has had his critics when it comes to the career of Hatton, but on this occasion it appears that the only hiccups remaining on putting this fight together are between Tszyu and his promoter. The fight with Hatton is probably the biggest available with all of the other titleholders save for the unwanted Vivian Harris engaged, now only the balancing of the ledgers remains for the fight to be made. It’s not a done deal, but it’s getting pretty close.
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