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And now you see why arum was just praising the franchise belt in an article yesterday... It's a belt that condones avoidance of certain fighters. Haney is a threat to Loma and whether he wants to admit it or not, arum knows it. Saying there are 10 guys better than haney at lw is a complete joke. Who does he have above him? Commey? Gamboa? Ryan Garcia? Gtfoh
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"But Floyd is a boxing guy, unlike Eddie Hearn. Floyd doesn't want his guy, Davis, to fight against Lomachenko until he's sure he has the experience to even be competitive. Eddie Hearn, it's all about the name and bullsh-t and all that stuff…"
When Arum is giving praise to Floyd, you know he really hates Eddie Hearn! That's good news for Hearn. It means Arum feels he a threat. Hearn better Lawyer up! We know what Arum does to those he feels is a threat!Comment
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Props to Jake Donovan for telling it like it is: Arum has blocked Haney's path to Lomachenko several times.
It takes courage to tell the truth. I hope Arum doesn't retaliate now by freezing Jake out of getting access to Top Rank fighters.Comment
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Bob Arum: The real problem with boxing is people are not buying tickets to the fights
Will Esco
Bad Left Hook
February 4, 2020
In this interview with Fight Hub TV, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum fields a few questions about the state of the WBC’s new ‘franchise’ distinction, believing there’s 10 lightweights who are better than Devin Haney, and what problems the sport is currently facing. Check out some excerpts below...
Arum on what he makes of Lomachenko being named WBC Franchise Champion:
“I think with two guys like that (Lomachenko and Canelo), I think it’s justified. I don’t think you do it very much. Now if, for example, Spence is not going to be carrying on for a while and somehow Crawford expands his titles in the welterweight division I can see down the road Sulaiman making Crawford a franchise champion.
“...as long as these fighters fight the best fighters available who wants to burden them with mandatories that people aren’t interested in?”
On Devin Haney being elevated to full champion when he was looking for a fight with Lomachenko, and if the franchise title doesn’t in fact prevent some fights from happening:
“Devin Haney is wet behind his ears. Devin Haney has to show that he can fight at a level of a Lomachenko. Right now I look at Devin Haney as being — maybe there’s 10 lightweights that’s better than he is. I mean, really and truly, because Eddie Hearn threw money at Devin Haney, what suddenly made Devin Haney a star?
“You contrast a Devin Haney and what they’re doing, pushing him and all that stuff, with Floyd’s kid Gervonta (Davis) — who I think is more advanced than Haney and probably a more exciting fighter. Now Floyd knows that any time he’s ready, we’re prepared to make a Lomachenko-Tank Davis fight. But Floyd is a boxing guy, unlike Eddie Hearn. And Floyd doesn’t want his guy Davis to fight against Lomachenko until he’s sure that he has the experience to even be competitive for Lomachenko.
“Eddie Hearn — it’s all about the name and the bull**** and all of that stuff — nobody judging whether Haney even belongs in the same ring with a Lomachenko or 10 other lightweights that I could name.”
On some fans believing Haney could be competitive with Lomachenko right now and if he thinks they’re wrong:
“Fans don’t know. Fans think they know, they don’t know. Now some do, obviously, but the professionals know.
“If Floyd gives me the signal that Gervonta Davis is ready, that certainly would be a good competitive fight (with Lomachenko).
“What is the real problem in boxing? The real problem in boxing is that people are not buying tickets to the fights. And one of the reasons they’re not buying tickets to the fight is that unless there’s a rooting interest in one of the other fighters, people don’t care, they might as well stay home and watch it on television.
“Now how do you create a rooting interest? You create a rooting interest by stimulating the betting. And the only way people will bet on fights is if they perceive them to be competitive. So no matter how you promote a 10:1 fight or a 12:1 fight, you’re not really gonna sell a lot of tickets because it’s not a betting fight.
“When you make a fight that’s competitive, and it’s competitive not because some writer says it’s competitive — it’s competitive because the gamblers say it’s competitive — then you bring people in because then people wanna be there not only to root for one fight or the other but to root for their bet.”
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"Eddie Hearn, it's all about the name and bullsh-t and all that stuff…"
NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: THIS ANDRADE-CHARLO NONSENSE
Paul Magno
February 3, 2020:
I get the strategy in all this Charlo talk, though. Hearn and DAZN are willing to pay so much over market value because the objective is not only Andrade-Charlo, but Charlo, himself. The objective is to bring him aboard, tie him up in DAZN affairs, and keep him there. Then, maybe, he brings his brother and other PBC fighters with him. But even if Charlo turns down the offer, something useful can still come from the play. It gives Hearn another talking point with which to sell his fighter. Andrade is so good, he can crow, that everyone is scared to fight him.
All of this is just a game. Take nothing from it other than that DAZN desperately needs some bankable names in some bankable fights and that Hearn is desperate to show DAZN that he’s trying to get them these things.
My question is why, if this is only about finding worthy challenges for Andrade and a chance to unify titles, Hearn and the DAZN bossmen aren’t pursuing Gennady Golovkin with the same type of aggressive public shame campaign. Golovkin, after all, is already a DAZN contract player and he’s also a middleweight world champ. Logistically, there’d be a lot less to hammer out in pursuing a Golovkin fight than a Charlo fight. Also, Golovkin, as a bigger name than Charlo, would give Andrade a bigger piggyback ride.
Nobody’s ducking anybody in this whole Andrade-Charlo affair and I hope we’re not pretending that this my side vs. your side stuff isn’t a very real part of the game today and how the business is run. The reality is that any cross-company fight not offered on absolute neutral ground is pure promotion, an effort to make some headlines and, in a best case scenario situation, poach another company’s talent.
Andrade’s skill and talent is undeniable, but the first step in getting him next-level fame is getting him to put some real fire into his performances. The next step would be to get him in the door of his own house, where an all-DAZN fight with Golovkin would be ideal or all-DAZN middleweight bouts with Jaime Munguia and Liam Smith (both better, more marketable opponents, than anyone Andrade has been fighting) could be made without any cross-company drama. And if Andrade is REALLY itching for a challenge, how about doing what just about every other “avoided” fighter has had to do throughout history—Move up in weight. The in-house options are also there for him with Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Daniel Jacobs. And then there’s always the big fish, Canelo.
The options are there for Andrade to spend the next two-to-three years proving himself against high-end competition. The irony in this whole situation is that Andrade’s own promoter might be guiltier of avoiding him, in-house, than anyone outside-of-house.
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Arum is saying this to hype this future fight a little, so Haney stays relatively known and legit as a Loma's future opponent, this way Loma will get at least some credit beating himComment
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