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GYM, and the general boxing public for that matter, knows exactly how things would've played out; everyone would've gone to their camps, GYM/Haymon on one side Main Events/HBO on the other side, with things forced to a purse bid 30 days after the talks began anyway (which now appear that Duva was planning on backing out anyway). GYM was simply seeking to speed up the process.
Duva was the one that talked up the Pascal fight being the last bout owed to HBO (which was largely why the WBC agreed to make the bout a for the mandatory challenger position). no need ignoring that nowComment
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If negotiations had opened, nothing would've come of it, outside of running the clock a few extra months; Duva would've brought forward what she believed HBO was willing to pay, Michel would've brought what he believed he could get from Showtime/PBC, and Duva would've stalled the talks (not wanting to risk her tangential relationship with HBO). The fight would've still gone to purse bid and Duva would've still walked away.
Only difference is that she would've walked away in August, rather than walking away in April. (The WBC wouldn't have likely made the unprecedented move of making another organization's champion their mandatory challenger if there was any idea that Kovalev still owed fights to HBO)Comment
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This is fine. Kovalev just fought Hopkins and Pascal. Hopefully Braehmer and Pascal 2 are next.Comment
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Why would Michel take a fight exclusively to HBO, without even being allowed the opportunity to find the full value of the fight on the open market? Maybe that's a tricky square to circle but that's where the entire crux of the fallout rests on.She offered to negotiate a deal with GYM for the fight to happen on HBO.
"In a letter to Yvon Michel, we proposed to make a voluntary deal for Sergey to fight Adonis Stevenson on HBO or HBO PPV on a 50/50 basis. In this proposal we have included provisions to determine how the various aspects of the promotion would be decided and conducted. These provisions have worked successfully in the past when Main Events participated in co-promotions of bigger events than this one with Top Rank, Golden Boy and Don King, among many others. Based upon Mr. Michel's recent statements to the media, we were very happy to learn that no contractual prohibitions exist that would prevent Adonis from fighting Sergey on HBO. So let's make the fight."
Michel confirmed that he recieved the letter Duva is talking about here.
If Duva/GYM are able to get HBO up to a $2m US TV rights fee for the fight, why shouldn't GYM be allowed to see what Showtime or the PBC channels (NBC/CBS/ABC/ESPN) are willing to pony up for the US TV rights?
No one who's backing Duva's position has ever been able to answer that very questionComment
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Adonis Stevenson is a 38 year old champion, chasing every dollar he can get, for as much of the career that he has left. He made the move to Showtime over money, and money was the reason why he didn't end up getting Hopkins (Kovalev had to take a 25/75 split to get that fight) or Pascal (Kovalev had to take a 45/55 split to get that fight).
Stevenson, with GYM doing stellar business for him in Canada, and Haymon having the TV platform stateside, in addition to the relationships he has with fighters in the weight class, is in a pretty decent position (as long as he keeps knocking off whomever they put in front of him) to make good money.
The same can't be said for Kovalev, if we're being honest, especially if he gets by his mandatory defense. Kovalev hasn't established himself as a ticket seller anywhere and, outside of an in-house fight against Chilemba, you can't even point to two other fights that are worth anything for Kovalev.
Stevenson and his camp have the high ground, and they know it.
Stevenson likely misses out on the $4m-$5m for Stevenson-Kovalev, but he can easily pocket $2m-$3m per fight, fighting three times a year in Montreal against whomever GYM puts in front of him.
Kovalev doesn't have that luxury, as will be made absolutely clear once the purse numbers get released for Kovalev-Mohammedi.Comment
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The WBC would've never decreed that another organization's champion would be their mandatory challenger if a TV deal was in the way; the only reason that the HBO contract is even an issue would be if A)Duva blatantly lied to the WBC when she was pushing for the mandatory distinction or B)She and Kovalev immediately signed a new deal with HBO, knowing that doing so would kill the fight that they were pushing for.
Stevenson has plenty of fights to work through, likely making 2-3 times whatever Kovalev is going to get for his own scrub fights.Comment
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