Tweet
Crawford holds the WBO strap, against the 29-year-old Texan Spence. In fact, Arum said, if Haymon called him tonight, and said let’s do it, he’d cancel the planned Dec. 14 Bud Crawford title defense against Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
“Yeah, fine,” Arum said, he’d shift plans and give so many fans the superfight they crave now, and end the marination stage for the Nebraska vs. Texan mashup.
Arum said that it makes sense to make Spence vs. the 32-year-old Crawford for the titan of industry Haymon, because, Arum believes, Haymon will not make money on this last Spence bout. He thinks the reclusive deal maker lost money in the previous Spence PPV, when Spence scrapped with Mikey Garcia. Arum speculated to me that Spence PPVs “cost him millions . . . I don’t know what the hell Haymon is doing!”
Haymon never speaks to reporters, so what he does or doesn’t pocket off Spence’s latest faceoffs is not something revealed in a million years. That aside—Arum said he’d see it differently if instead of Spence and Crawford, we were mentioning Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
But these guys aren’t those guys, he said.
Hardcore fans know that Arum has in fact been “pro marination” when it comes to his heavyweight, the loquacious traveler, Tyson Fury. Fury scrapped with Tom Schwarz in June and Otto Wallin last month, the better to get Fury known to non-hardcores. Exposure on ESPN has proved beneficial, Arum continued.
To that end, he said, ESPN execs told him that ESPN got more subscriber sign ups to their OTT service off Fury’s last two bouts than Eddie Hearn has garnered as lead promoter in heading up the DAZN boxing slate, which is over a year-plus existence.
“Fury is now really known to people all over, casual fans and non-boxing fans,” Arum said. “Now, hopefully a disaster doesn’t happen, in Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz 2, though I think Wilder does OK, and probably knocks out Ortiz. Then, we’re ready to do Wilder-Fury 2.”
Marination will then have proved to pay off, in that many more PPV buys, he foresees.
Back to his guy Crawford . . . Arum is less consumed with the appeal of the Spence clash from the Joe Blow Fan perspective, the thinking shared by so many who want to see two prime specimens clash at their peak. I told Arum that I’d be less inclined to lobby to get Crawford v Spence soon, if it were announced that Spence was to fight Shawn Porter again, or if Manny Pacquiao were to accept underdog status against the power hitting Texan.
“Pacquiao is not gonna fight Spence,” Arum answered. “And I don’t blame him. Manny should fight Amir Khan in Saudi Arabia.”
Haymon holds the leverage handle, Arum said in so many words, and he would accept the lack of current interest in making Spence vs. Crawford if Spence were manufacturing mad moolah for his rival.
“Then, I’d say, ‘Listen, it’s business,’” Arum said.
But he maintains that Haymon’s path forged for Spence is not proving to be a net positive in earnings for the PBC poohbah.
“So, what’s the purpose,” Arum asked rhetorically. “What the f— is he doing?”
Arum continued, allowing that he knows the sting of losing money.
“We lost a ton of money on the Crawford vs. Khan PPV,” he said. “Haymon is not a ****** man.”
Why, he said, not take a shot now at what Arum believes is a certain revenue winner, Spence vs. Crawford?
“Yeah, fine,” Arum said, he’d shift plans and give so many fans the superfight they crave now, and end the marination stage for the Nebraska vs. Texan mashup.
Arum said that it makes sense to make Spence vs. the 32-year-old Crawford for the titan of industry Haymon, because, Arum believes, Haymon will not make money on this last Spence bout. He thinks the reclusive deal maker lost money in the previous Spence PPV, when Spence scrapped with Mikey Garcia. Arum speculated to me that Spence PPVs “cost him millions . . . I don’t know what the hell Haymon is doing!”
Haymon never speaks to reporters, so what he does or doesn’t pocket off Spence’s latest faceoffs is not something revealed in a million years. That aside—Arum said he’d see it differently if instead of Spence and Crawford, we were mentioning Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
But these guys aren’t those guys, he said.
Hardcore fans know that Arum has in fact been “pro marination” when it comes to his heavyweight, the loquacious traveler, Tyson Fury. Fury scrapped with Tom Schwarz in June and Otto Wallin last month, the better to get Fury known to non-hardcores. Exposure on ESPN has proved beneficial, Arum continued.
To that end, he said, ESPN execs told him that ESPN got more subscriber sign ups to their OTT service off Fury’s last two bouts than Eddie Hearn has garnered as lead promoter in heading up the DAZN boxing slate, which is over a year-plus existence.
“Fury is now really known to people all over, casual fans and non-boxing fans,” Arum said. “Now, hopefully a disaster doesn’t happen, in Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz 2, though I think Wilder does OK, and probably knocks out Ortiz. Then, we’re ready to do Wilder-Fury 2.”
Marination will then have proved to pay off, in that many more PPV buys, he foresees.
Back to his guy Crawford . . . Arum is less consumed with the appeal of the Spence clash from the Joe Blow Fan perspective, the thinking shared by so many who want to see two prime specimens clash at their peak. I told Arum that I’d be less inclined to lobby to get Crawford v Spence soon, if it were announced that Spence was to fight Shawn Porter again, or if Manny Pacquiao were to accept underdog status against the power hitting Texan.
“Pacquiao is not gonna fight Spence,” Arum answered. “And I don’t blame him. Manny should fight Amir Khan in Saudi Arabia.”
Haymon holds the leverage handle, Arum said in so many words, and he would accept the lack of current interest in making Spence vs. Crawford if Spence were manufacturing mad moolah for his rival.
“Then, I’d say, ‘Listen, it’s business,’” Arum said.
But he maintains that Haymon’s path forged for Spence is not proving to be a net positive in earnings for the PBC poohbah.
“So, what’s the purpose,” Arum asked rhetorically. “What the f— is he doing?”
Arum continued, allowing that he knows the sting of losing money.
“We lost a ton of money on the Crawford vs. Khan PPV,” he said. “Haymon is not a ****** man.”
Why, he said, not take a shot now at what Arum believes is a certain revenue winner, Spence vs. Crawford?
Bob Arum appeals to Al Haymon for Spence-Crawford ASAP @woodsy1069 @trboxing @errolspenceJr @terencecrawford @premierboxing https://t.co/3SBwlZ2tLr
— Bible of Boxing (@ringmagazine) September 30, 2019
Comment