Tweet
Originally posted by hitking
View Post
Does anyone really think that Stephen Espinoza is defiantly and arrogantly toeing the Floydiot line, reciting the excuse ("NEVER doing business with Bob Arum") in the same pompous tone as Schaefer and TMT? Or is it possible that his quotes in the article were tinged with sadness, frustration, dashed optimism and embarrassment at having to relay Floyd's "ISSUE" to the boxing viewing public?
From some of the key words in the article, my guess would be the latter.
(If he said those words in a video-recorded press conference, I hope someone can post a link to the video so we can actually see it in his eyes & body language, so we can come to the correct conclusion.)
If I just go by what's in the article, without seeing a video, the key words that get me to lean toward the latter attitude are: "not confident" ... "I'd like to say I'm optimistic but there is a lot of politics involved" ... and, "I'm not optimistic that it can happen." I'm inclined to think he had confidence and optimism of being able to mediate a negotiation. But his hopes seem to be dashed by politics being stubbornly made an "issue."
Hitking, your reply to Pugilist seems to be mistakenly implying that Showtime and GB/Schaefer are one and the same entity in taking Floyd's "side." It's true that GoldenBoy brought their business to Showtime after being ditched by HBO, and Showtime signed Floyd to the six fight deal; but Showtime's contract with Floyd does NOT mean a joint contract with GoldenBoy. Since Mayweather Promotions isn't on the same level of GoldenBoy's promotional ability, Floyd contracts with them on a fight to fight basis. He's not contractually tied long-term to GoldenBoy like Pacquiao is to TopRank. In essence, Showtime contracted Floyd to fight for them regardless of who his promoter is. Shaefer knows he's expendable since Floyd can use any other promoter besides him, so he's screaming loudest about the promotional issue, reinforcing and amplifying Floyd's excuse. That's basically what Pugilist was saying in his comment.
You're right, it does NOT help Showtime to side with the GB/TMT excuse. They do NOT want another monetary loss like with the Guerrero fight. That's why Showtime wants Floyd to step up the competition to what the fans/viewers are willing to pay to see, and Espinoza was optimistic in working on mediating a negotiation. Like Arum was saying, "It takes two to tango." It looks to me like Espinoza was expressing frustration about his stubborn tango player.
I suppose Espinoza can be resigned and let it slide this early into the six fight contract. You can't "force" a grown ass man into doing something he doesn't want to do. I'd like to see Espinoza conceding to Floyd's cherry pick of Khan, then laughing in Floyd's face when Guerrero-like numbers come in and telling him, "I told you so" when he pays Floyd his guaranteed purse with NO percentage of PPV. Then after his fourth and/or fifth cherry picks do the same numbers, his last fight will have to be "forced" onto him. Or can Showtime terminate the contract before the sixth fight if he doesn't meet Showtime's expectations? Does anyone know how the six fight contract is structured? I don't, so I won't speculate any further.
Correction...I will speculate. I assume the $230-$250 million was not paid up front, and it's divided into the six fights. So can I assume that means a guaranteed purse of $38.3 - $41.6 million per fight, then a percentage of the PPV after Showtime makes back their money? Or something like that? I'm really curious to know how it all works. I'm open to education on the matter.
Comment