 There's a New Shaw-riff in Town
By Steve Kim (AUG 24, 2005) Photo © HoganPhotos.com
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Promoter Gary Shaw opened more than a few eyes on Monday afternoon when he put out a press release announcing that he had inked Manny Pacquiao to a promotional contract. With this recent acquisition, Shaw now has Winky Wright, Jeff Lacy, Diego Corrales, and Pacquiao under his promotional banner.
This could be the strongest quartet since Bobby Cox's starting rotation of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery, that put a stranglehold on the National League as the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves a decade ago. And forget the fabled the defensive line of Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier and Merlin Olsen of the Los Angeles Rams that terrorized quarterbacks in the 60's; Shaw has the 'Fearsome Foursome' it seems.
"Yeah, for sure," he said laughing loudly, at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club on Tuesday afternoon, where he was in town to check out his newest fighter. "As a matter of fact, on the plane over here today I was looking at the pound-for-pound list and it had Corrales, it had Pacquiao, it had Wright; I believe that Lacy should be on it. So in my mind I have four of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the top 10 in the world, recognized three for sure, I believe I have four."
Pacquiao had just recently freed himself from Murad Muhammad.
"Maybe one of the greatest pickups I've ever made," said Shaw, proudly. "He's not a gold-chipper, he's platinum. When I had the opportunity, I shook my head
myself because I believe he's a huge star. There are great fights in front of him at 130-pounds, there are so many guys there and it's very meaningful to Gary Shaw Promotions."
2005 has been a stellar year for Shaw, who saw Corrales win the fight-of-the-millennium against Jose Luis Castillo in May and then a week later Wright would shut out Felix Trinidad. Then just a few weeks ago Lacy would pack the house in knocking out Robin Reid in his hometown of Tampa, Florida.
"Thank God nothing's gone wrong and the biggest thing is my parents are alive, so that to me is the single best thing that makes 2005 a great year," he says. And he adds, "I'm not celebrating New Year's Eve because I'm not letting 2005 go."
It was just three years ago that Shaw, on the week of Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson in Memphis, Tennessee, had resigned as the COO of Main Events, ending his three year run with the company.
It was anything but an amicable split. And it was one that left Shaw in an abyss, with an unsure future in the business.
"When I resigned from Main Events I honestly thought that might be the last fight I ever did on the promotional end. And for awhile I didn't think I was going back on the promotional end," he admitted. "If you would have told me - even kidding around - that one day we'd be sitting doing an interview, I'd have three of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, probably four, and some great young kids coming up, it wouldn't have been a believable discussion because I'm a realist.
"And sometimes I wake up in the morning and I still can't believe this is happening."
For Shaw, leaving Main Events was more than just a business move.
"It was personal for me because I really like Kathy (Duva) and I tried to do the best job I could for the company, and when she was in college getting her law degree and going through some health problems," Shaw said. "I mean I worked endless hours at nights and I thought I did the best job.
"But in the end there were some internal problems where I felt that everybody wanted to be the promoter and I didn't believe you could be successful running a company that way because I have a lot of inter-personal relationships with the fighters. So for me, it was just best to resign. I'm sorry that they don't like me, I don't have anything against them. I would do a fight with any of their fighters on any show I had.
"But that's just not the way they operate."
Pacquiao currently has a multi-fight deal with Bob Arum to fight Hector Velasquez on September 10th as the co-headliner with Erik Morales. If both should win at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, they will have a rematch of their thrilling March bout, which was won by Morales.
So if that's the case, why does Pacquiao even need a promoter at this time? What can Shaw bring to the table?
"I can do the same thing I did for Shane Mosley when Shane beat Oscar the second time," he explained. "I believe the fighter needs representation, whether it's picking the right officials, dealing with the commission, making sure there's zero outside distractions. The only thing Manny Pacquiao will have to worry about on September 10th - and God willing he wins that fight - and on that rematch, all he has to worry about is getting into the ring.
"He's no longer going to have to worry about tickets and rooms and gloves and who picks the gloves or any of that. Everything will be laid out and it'll be so simple for him they'll think they're not even fighting."
One of the reasons why Shaw was able to sign Pacquiao is because he's the Geico to everyone else's Allstate or State Farm.
With Shaw, you can save a bundle on your promotional fees. He makes no bones about it.
"Yeah, absolutely," he says unequivocally. "I've always believed in being a singles hitter, not a grand slam home run hitter. I keep forgetting they call him 'Pac Man' but I've always believed in the game 'Pac Man' - eat one dot at a time and eventually you win the game. I don't have to be the richest guy. I've been in boxing since '71; I love boxing, I love the boxers and sometimes I feel how lucky I am to get paid for doing something I love to do."
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E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com
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