Comments Thread For: Duva: MSG, MGM Want Kovalev vs. Stevenson Clash

[i'm a fun haver]

Cmon man you can't let that old **** go now that we could actually see the fight?

And at least be honest about the facts. 1)there was no contract for Kovalev vs Stevenson to happen, 2)Stevenson got a better offer from Showtime & 3)HBO had the matching rights & refused to match them thus allowing Stevenson to go where he was going to get paid more. So the blame should be equally put on both Stevenson & HBO & the only thing you can really honestly say is it wasn't Kovalev's fault the fight didn't happen. And personally I'm always gonna side with the guy who's trying to take the job that pays better if the opportunity presents itself in our capitalist society over the company who's got millions upon millions, but lowballs guys.

Kovalev got all of those "big fights" that Stevenson ran away for.
There was nothing standing in the way and Stevenson chose to run from the fight.

[Shadoww702]

Adonis doesn't want it. Dude is a coward.

You got it twisted homie! It went to bid and Duva got cold feet.

[Shadoww702]

Just when it looked like the path was relatively clear for the light heavyweight unification showdown between champion Adonis Stevenson and three-belt owner Sergey Kovalev, a big wrench was thrown in the plans on Tuesday.

The fight is by far the most anticipated in the 175-pound weight class, but the chances that it comes off this fall as many hoped were greatly diminished when Main Events CEO Kathy Duva, Kovalev's promoter, decided against participating in a WBC-mandated purse bid on Friday in Mexico City.

[Shadoww702]

Funny thing is Duva was the one that ASKED for it and Tilted...

[Eff Pandas]

Kovalev got all of those "big fights" that Stevenson ran away for.
There was nothing standing in the way and Stevenson chose to run from the fight.

And? Again let you go bro lol. No one should care at this point. The fight seems likely to happen. Hopefully we'll be watching this fight in 6 months.

And again HBO wouldn't pay Stevenson what he was worth so yea Stevenson RAN towards the better money. Sometimes when a company is trying to lowball you you gotta go elsewhere just outta principle.

I mean lets break this down rationally, if company A is paying you $10/hr to mop the floor or whatever you happen to do sir & company B is willing to pay you $12/hr to mop a floor that is even easier to mop & you go tell company A about this situation & that you'll stay with them if they give you a raise to $12/hr & they turn you down are you telling me you're still gonna mop the floor for $10/hr with company A?

[Hougigo]

I don't think it sells seats very well in either place
:s

[Outwest Exp 355]

Never forget, in Nov. 2013 Kovalev and Stevenson fought on the same card on HBO in Canada.
They were supposed to fight each other next.
When there were no obstacles in the way of making this fight, Stevenson ran in the opposite direction and signed with Haymon.

No obstacles? A sh.itty offer isn't an obstacle?

[about.thousands]

Never forget, in Nov. 2013 Kovalev and Stevenson fought on the same card on HBO in Canada.
They were supposed to fight each other next.
When there were no obstacles in the way of making this fight, Stevenson ran in the opposite direction and signed with Haymon.

Actually that's not what happened but never let the truth get in the way of a good narrative. The first thing you have to realize is that Adonis had been working without a manager before he even signed with Haymon. Main Events, HBO, & GYM tried to take advantage of Stevenson during this time knowing he didn't have a manager. He would take his contracts to a lawyer before he signed. The deal was for Stevenson to fight Fonfara and Kovalev to fight Agnew and then meet. Main Events agreed to the deal. HBO agreed to the deal. Kovalev agreed to the deal. GYM agreed to the deal. Stevenson didn't agree to the deal. The main reason he didn't agree to the deal was because he didn't have a fight contract with HBO while Kovalev did. Adonis wanted more money per fight since he didn't have the security of a fight contract. I think that's more than reasonable. He was the A-side, the fight was going to be in his hometown and he was the WBC/Lineal champ. That's when he went out and hired Haymon. He knew he was being screwed over and that deal benefited everybody but Stevenson. Haymon stepped in and said more money for the Fonfara fight and they'll discuss a Kovalev fight later. You have to remember, Stevenson didn't go with Showtime until a month after signing with Haymon. Showtime made an offer for the Fonfara fight and a chance to fight Hopkins for a unification after the Shumenov fight. HBO declined to match the offer so Stevenson left. The Stevenson-Kovalev fight would've been made if they had given Stevenson a multi-fight contract or more money for those two fights like he was asking for before he signed with Haymon. Stevenson should've never been working without a manager and letting his promoter dictate the pay and terms of his fights. Duva got pissy and started suing everybody. Golden Boy fired Shaefer and got scared and Hopkins went to HBO to fight Kovalev for less money. But nobody ever says he ducked Stevenson.

HBO coulda wrapped up Stevenson 2-fight deal while ago but got really cheap all of a sudden and it looks like it'll come back to haunt them.

— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2014

We'll know soon if HBO is going to blow Stevenson-Kovalev. They have a deadline coming to match Showtime's offer for Stevenson-Fonfara.

— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2014

And now you know the rest of the story

[SouthPawHitman]

Duva should join The View. She loves to talk.

She actually has been a guest on The View several times. She's a very interesting lady.

[Cinci Champ]

it just sucks that its hbo or bust its such a shame not because i dont want it on hbo but its such an obviously terrible fork in negotiations they cant even have highest bidder get the fight