What the HBO and Bob Arum rift could mean

A recent move made by TV broadcaster HBO could be about to change the whole scope of the boxing world. Recently they decided that they were going to show Sergio Martinez’s fight with Sergiy Dzinziruk instead of the Miguel Cotto fight with Ricardo Mayorga on the same night. This has already to repercussions that boxing fans will be aware of, Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Sugar Shane Mosley will be shown on Showtime, a giant coup you may think for Showtime, though it could well be the first in a string of major fights on Showtime. It seems as if HBO’s decision has angered one of the promotional power houses of professional boxing, Bob Arum, the head of Top Rank who appears as if he’s taken his ball and carried it to Showtime’s play ground as a result of the Cotto snub.

HBO were seen as the premier division of boxing, fighters had “made it” when they became HBO fighters, Showtime were seen as the minor players, they’d have good fights but the big names went to HBO and their bigger cheque books. Though the past few years saw HBO become almost the network of Oscar De La Hoya’s “Golden Boy Promotions”, a rival promotional company to Top Rank. Although HBO would occasionally show other fighters, most notably Andre Berto, they stuck many of the key dates to Golden Boy, often seeming to over-pay for the fights as well. Showtime on the other hand were working directly with promoters to put on their fabulous Bantamweight tournament and the experiment “Super Six Boxing Classic”, often putting on much better nights of action than HBO though lacking the big names.

With Arum taking his proverbial cash cow, Pacquiao over to Showtime the boxing world could be further split than ever. Arums stable includes other great names, Cotto being an obvious one, Juan Manuel Lopez also being a big favourite as is Yuriorkis Gamboa, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Nonito Donaire, Fernando Montiel, Ivan Calderon, the Peterson brothers, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Humberto Soto. All these are either current or recent world champions, or challengers, and HBO could well have lost out on all of them (except for a currently signed fight between Montiel and Donaire which could be the last time a Top Rank card is shown on HBO).

You might view it as Arum spitting out his dummy, though personally it’s hard not to view it as a power shift of sorts in the boxing world. HBO had been king for years as had Arum, though know it seems like the promoters and the TV networks are really going to be going head to head. We could have competing cards featuring Manny Pacquiao on one broadcast and Floyd Mayweather Jr on the other, the fighters fighting not against each other in the ring, but in houses across the US. Fight fans would have to decide on one card or the other, Golden Boy perhaps having a slight upper hand due to the recognition of HBO, though with the names Arum would be taking over to Showtime it’s undoubtable that Showtime would suddenly earn a lot of respect almost over-night.

Boxing fans maybe rejoicing, they are going to have alternatives and hopefully the cards are going to be better as each promoter and TV company tries to out do it’s rival, their will also be more dates available for fights. Though the Arum and De La Hoya saga merely enters a new chapter. The two men are known to have a dislike for each other stemming from Arums promotion of De La Hoya in the 1990’s, this was furthered by Manny Pacquiao signing contracts with both promoters and more famously the Mayweather v Pacquiao, will they won’t they saga. Golden Boy Promotions have threatened to sue Top Rank over falsified documents over a payment owed to Golden Boy due to Pacquiao and basically they’ve stopped talking. Fights between the two promoters have all but ended. This dispute will see the two promoters getting even further from making some of the great matches we, the fans, want to see,

Imagine these match ups never being made:
Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather Jr
Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez III
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr v Saul Alvarez
Jose Benavidez Jr v Frankie Gomez
Nonito Donaire v Abner Mares (although Mares has fought on Showtime before)
Yuriorkis Gamboa v Adrien Broner

Their wouldn’t be any “ducking” or “avoidance” it’d just be contractually impossible. The face of the boxing world looks to be ready to change, whether it’s for the better or the worse is up for debate, though it’s going to change.