Tweet
Do writers get together and decide to start saying the same thing? I remember when the Kovalev vs. Stevenson fight fell apart when they were both on HBO. I also remember HBO being blamed for the fight falling apart, and rightfully so.
The tiny amount of money Dan is talking about is $100,000. Yvon Michel explained this when he released the emails between HBO and himself
" -
http://www.boxingscene.com/stevenson....WjiqrlfS.dpuf
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/boxin...5865--box.html
Another lie that's often repeated is Stevenson ran to Haymon to protect him. The actual fact is when Stevenson wasn't happy with the money offered Haymon wasn't even his manager. Stevenson had been operating without a manager
http://www.boxingscene.com/stevenson....WjiqrlfS.dpuf
So after Stevenson went to Showtime there was still an opportunity to make the fight happen. Duva went to the WBC and petitioned them to make Kovalev vs. Pascal I an eliminator for Stevenson's WBC title. And the WBC complied and also agreed upon a 50/50 split for a purse bid. The challenger was to get 50/50 against the challenger in a purse bid. And Duva pulled out of the purse bid!
http://www.boxingscene.com/wbc-prez-....yao1w54H.dpuf
Main Events admitted Kovalev didn't have a deal with HBO at the time of the purse bid. There was no reason whatsoever for them to pull out of the purse bid. Duva wasn't expecting Michel to ask for the immediate purse bid. With their history of working together he did the correct thing. An Main Events never wins purse bids.
Even after all that there was still talks of them fighting and Showtime offered a $4mil license fee to get the fight done
How does the narrative in boxing change? Do the writers agree to change it when they get together for the BWAA awards? How can Dan Rafael go from saying Mayweather-Pac was a good fight on fight night
To now saying the fight was bad and killed the sport?
Seems to me HBO about to blow Stevenson-Kovalev. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 24, 2014
@ChrisMannixSI If it happens, HBO brought it on itself. Could had this wrapped up ages ago for a tiny amount of additional money.
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2014
@ChrisMannixSI Exactly. Nobody to blame but themselves.
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2014
The tiny amount of money Dan is talking about is $100,000. Yvon Michel explained this when he released the emails between HBO and himself
"When Al Haymon came on board we were at an impasse. I met with him and both agreed we were going to do the best to keep Adonis with HBO and we set our parameters. After that I flew in to New York and met with Peter Nelson. In that meeting I made an offer that would have closed the overall deal. He told me their offer was the best he could do and [he said regardless] we were not going to get anything better anywhere."
"In his opinion, Showtime had spent all their money on Mayweather. I was persistent and came back 3 times with a lesser request each time. The last offer I made to him was the following: We wanted to pay Stevenson $300,000 more than we were able to pay him with the actual deal, for the Fonfara fight. So Al Haymon was going to take 100K from his pocket, 100k from mine and I requested HBO to add only 100K to the pot."...."I was stunned when Peter told me he was rejecting it. He also said - 'you see Yvon you have no other alternative and you can’t get another deal elsewhere so please tell Adonis to agree to the deal.' We then reached the deadline date set by HBO for my and Adonis’ approval [March 11]. The next day, March I2, I had a conversation with [Showtime Sports head] Stephen Espinoza, who asked me if he could make us an offer. On March 14 I got a proposal from Showtime. You know everything else. I immediately sent the proposal to HBO who had the right to match and they did not.
"In his opinion, Showtime had spent all their money on Mayweather. I was persistent and came back 3 times with a lesser request each time. The last offer I made to him was the following: We wanted to pay Stevenson $300,000 more than we were able to pay him with the actual deal, for the Fonfara fight. So Al Haymon was going to take 100K from his pocket, 100k from mine and I requested HBO to add only 100K to the pot."...."I was stunned when Peter told me he was rejecting it. He also said - 'you see Yvon you have no other alternative and you can’t get another deal elsewhere so please tell Adonis to agree to the deal.' We then reached the deadline date set by HBO for my and Adonis’ approval [March 11]. The next day, March I2, I had a conversation with [Showtime Sports head] Stephen Espinoza, who asked me if he could make us an offer. On March 14 I got a proposal from Showtime. You know everything else. I immediately sent the proposal to HBO who had the right to match and they did not.
http://www.boxingscene.com/stevenson....WjiqrlfS.dpuf
A lot of anger and bitter words can’t conceal fact HBO’s 2013 misstep led to loss of Adonis Stevenson
As fingers point in multiple directions in the fallout over the mess that saw Adonis Stevenson wind up on Showtime for his next fight rather than HBO, one salient point is being overlooked:
None of this would be an issue if HBO had done its job last year and made certain not to televise an otherwise meaningless doubleheader featuring Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev without first having an agreement in place for them to meet on HBO in their next fight.
But HBO failed to lock up the fighters when it had the opportunity. That failure has directly led to the disastrous situation that boxing once again finds itself in, where everyone involved is blaming someone else, where the fight fans want to see can't be made because of politics, and where blame for the lack of a deal abounds.
As fingers point in multiple directions in the fallout over the mess that saw Adonis Stevenson wind up on Showtime for his next fight rather than HBO, one salient point is being overlooked:
None of this would be an issue if HBO had done its job last year and made certain not to televise an otherwise meaningless doubleheader featuring Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev without first having an agreement in place for them to meet on HBO in their next fight.
But HBO failed to lock up the fighters when it had the opportunity. That failure has directly led to the disastrous situation that boxing once again finds itself in, where everyone involved is blaming someone else, where the fight fans want to see can't be made because of politics, and where blame for the lack of a deal abounds.
Another lie that's often repeated is Stevenson ran to Haymon to protect him. The actual fact is when Stevenson wasn't happy with the money offered Haymon wasn't even his manager. Stevenson had been operating without a manager
BoxingScene has an email, dated February 13 from Stevenson's attorney Jonathan Freund, and directed to Michel - where he tells Michel that Stevenson was looking for more money on "his next three fights."
While Michel and Duva agreed to most of the terms, Michel says he was unable to convince Stevenson to accept the proposed purse and his team was unhappy with the license fee, and continuously cited that HBO paid over $3 million for Ward-Rodriguez. (Kovalev vs. Stevenson was #1 vs. #2 and they deserved more than Ward-Rodriguez)
That email is crucial, because it took place "before" adviser Al Haymon became involved with Stevenson. The Canadian star signed with Haymon on February 18. Most of those involved place Haymon in the center of the Stevenson/HBO negotiating issues. Michel says Stevenson was requesting more money long before Haymon came in the picture.
While Michel and Duva agreed to most of the terms, Michel says he was unable to convince Stevenson to accept the proposed purse and his team was unhappy with the license fee, and continuously cited that HBO paid over $3 million for Ward-Rodriguez. (Kovalev vs. Stevenson was #1 vs. #2 and they deserved more than Ward-Rodriguez)
That email is crucial, because it took place "before" adviser Al Haymon became involved with Stevenson. The Canadian star signed with Haymon on February 18. Most of those involved place Haymon in the center of the Stevenson/HBO negotiating issues. Michel says Stevenson was requesting more money long before Haymon came in the picture.
So after Stevenson went to Showtime there was still an opportunity to make the fight happen. Duva went to the WBC and petitioned them to make Kovalev vs. Pascal I an eliminator for Stevenson's WBC title. And the WBC complied and also agreed upon a 50/50 split for a purse bid. The challenger was to get 50/50 against the challenger in a purse bid. And Duva pulled out of the purse bid!
Sulaiman explained that his organization was approached by Kovalev's promoter, Kathy Duva of Main Events, to have her fighter become the mandatory challenger. Despite Kovalev being the world champion of three rival organizations, the WBC allowed Kovalev to leapfrog ahead of the fighters in the top ten and they approved his promoter's request to make him the mandatory challenger in late 2014.
Stevenson's promoter, Yvon Michel of GYM, claims Duva used the situation to angle a new contractual agreement with HBO for her boxer.
Stevenson's promoter, Yvon Michel of GYM, claims Duva used the situation to angle a new contractual agreement with HBO for her boxer.
Main Events admitted Kovalev didn't have a deal with HBO at the time of the purse bid. There was no reason whatsoever for them to pull out of the purse bid. Duva wasn't expecting Michel to ask for the immediate purse bid. With their history of working together he did the correct thing. An Main Events never wins purse bids.
Even after all that there was still talks of them fighting and Showtime offered a $4mil license fee to get the fight done
@StephenEspinoza wants to know why you turned down 4 million to fight Adonis
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) July 30, 2016
How does the narrative in boxing change? Do the writers agree to change it when they get together for the BWAA awards? How can Dan Rafael go from saying Mayweather-Pac was a good fight on fight night
I have Floyd up 106-103 as we go to the 12th of what has been a good fight. #MayweatherPacquiao #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) May 3, 2015
To now saying the fight was bad and killed the sport?
Comment