Comments Thread For: “Fighting Words” — Stevenson Gives Kovalev the Business

[MDPopescu]

Any synopsis is good -- it has to be bookmarked...

But anytime I come into a synopsis I instantly remember the "synoptic Gospels" (St. John's fell outside the syntagm)...

[Black Barty]

I agree HBO made the best move for them at the time. That said, this fight should have been held in 2013 and the cost of the Fonfura bout only became an issue because Herschman's failed to lock both fighters up earlier last year.

He left an opening and Sowtime took full advantage. If we did that on our jobs you already know what happens.

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have let the fight "marinate", but I'm not sure Stevenson would have taken the fight in 2013, unless he had gotten paid an unreal amount. He is not the youngest, and I think he wants to hold on to his title for as long as he can. Kovalev was/is very high risk and relatively low reward for him, he has safer options that pay just as well or even better.

[VG_Addict]

It's sad but it's true: Boxing is a business first, and a sport second.

[Russian Crushin]

It's sad but it's true: Boxing is a business first, and a sport second.

Except when faced with the best fight business wise (kovalev), he declined and wanted an interim bout for lesser money against Fonfara.

[JDD1]

Except when faced with the best fight business wise (kovalev), he declined and wanted an interim bout for lesser money against Fonfara.

SHowtime is supposedly paying stevenson $1.75 mil for the fonfura fight. Do you know How much was HBO going to give him for KOvalev?

[JDD1]

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have let the fight "marinate", but I'm not sure Stevenson would have taken the fight in 2013, unless he had gotten paid an unreal amount. He is not the youngest, and I think he wants to hold on to his title for as long as he can. Kovalev was/is very high risk and relatively low reward for him, he has safer options that pay just as well or even better.

Yeah, good point. I thought it was funny when stevenson yelled out about fighting bhop and carl froch and the audience barely responded.

So in the end Stevenson gets a huge sum for fights with fonfora and bhop, kovalev gets a HBO multi fight deal with no one to fight and the fans get nothing.

[Fangedgrowl]

JDD1 Excellent post. I couldn't agree more. Plus ESPN has been having tourneys in the Lightweight and i believe middleweight division. Kind of like the contender. They should do that with all the weight classes.

[Russian Crushin]

SHowtime is supposedly paying stevenson $1.75 mil for the fonfura fight. Do you know How much was HBO going to give him for KOvalev?

It doesnt matter, this is hindsight bias

Showtime didnt offer him 1.75 mil when he agreed to fight Fonfara 2 months ago. When presented with a more lucrative fight in Kovalev, Stevenson chose Fonfara instead.

[JDD1]

It doesnt matter, this is hindsight bias

Showtime didnt offer him 1.75 mil when he agreed to fight Fonfara 2 months ago. When presented with a more lucrative fight in Kovalev, Stevenson chose Fonfara instead.

I was just asking my man. If you don't know its ok.

[Russian Crushin]

I was just asking my man. If you don't know its ok.

No clue. But it would certainly be more than 1.25 mil that HBO gave Steveson for Fonfara, to which he agreed on