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by David P. Greisman - If the status quo sticks, by the time 2014 ends Andre Ward will have gone 13 months without a fight. It will have been 11 months since Mikey Garcia last stepped in the ring. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s gap between bouts will be at 10 months and counting.
These are the three most prominent current cases of boxers battling with their promoters: Ward with Goossen Promotions, whose head, Dan Goossen, recently passed away after being diagnosed with cancer; and Garcia and Chavez Jr. with Top Rank. Ward and Garcia filed lawsuits attempting to extract themselves from their promoters, while Chavez himself was hit with litigation asserting that he still under contract.
All three could’ve fought had they swallowed their pride and accepted the money and terms being offered to them. They didn’t. That’s their choice and their prerogative. This isn’t like football, where a quarterback or wide receiver who holds out ends up missing important practice reps that get him ready for the season and in rhythm with his teammates. There is no other sport in which the athlete has a greater right to think of himself first. Boxers put their brains and bodies on the line. Doing so needs to be worth it to them fiscally if they are going to pay for it physically.
Yet it’s maddening to many of us fans and observers, who feel that boxers are wasting prime periods of their career and losing money in the process. You don’t get paid if you don’t perform. Boxers already have a limited shelf life before the wear and tear begins to show and age begins to slow them down.
That’s why we praise those who take short money or tough opponents for the potential of what winning those fights will do. Two of the more notable examples in recent years were Zab Judah, who accepted $100,000 for his rematch with Cory Spinks because it meant he had another opportunity to gain the welterweight championship. Judah scored the stoppage; the decision paid off. And last year Terence Crawford came in on short notice and moved up in weight to face Breidis Prescott, all so that he could debut on HBO. Crawford won, impressed and is now one of the network’s regularly featured talents and a budding star. [Click Here To Read More]
These are the three most prominent current cases of boxers battling with their promoters: Ward with Goossen Promotions, whose head, Dan Goossen, recently passed away after being diagnosed with cancer; and Garcia and Chavez Jr. with Top Rank. Ward and Garcia filed lawsuits attempting to extract themselves from their promoters, while Chavez himself was hit with litigation asserting that he still under contract.
All three could’ve fought had they swallowed their pride and accepted the money and terms being offered to them. They didn’t. That’s their choice and their prerogative. This isn’t like football, where a quarterback or wide receiver who holds out ends up missing important practice reps that get him ready for the season and in rhythm with his teammates. There is no other sport in which the athlete has a greater right to think of himself first. Boxers put their brains and bodies on the line. Doing so needs to be worth it to them fiscally if they are going to pay for it physically.
Yet it’s maddening to many of us fans and observers, who feel that boxers are wasting prime periods of their career and losing money in the process. You don’t get paid if you don’t perform. Boxers already have a limited shelf life before the wear and tear begins to show and age begins to slow them down.
That’s why we praise those who take short money or tough opponents for the potential of what winning those fights will do. Two of the more notable examples in recent years were Zab Judah, who accepted $100,000 for his rematch with Cory Spinks because it meant he had another opportunity to gain the welterweight championship. Judah scored the stoppage; the decision paid off. And last year Terence Crawford came in on short notice and moved up in weight to face Breidis Prescott, all so that he could debut on HBO. Crawford won, impressed and is now one of the network’s regularly featured talents and a budding star. [Click Here To Read More]
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