Compared to Bradley’s actions, Lamont Peterson’s have a refreshing feel to them.
Like Bradley’s, they were calculated and involve some risk. The Peterson-Khan rematch is most likely to flop at the gate with it being one of five fights in Las Vegas between May 5and June 30. What makes Peterson’s actions unique is he took a similar deal that Bradley rejected last April, taking a fight that seemed more fan-friendly, considering his options.
Khan-Peterson I finished out the year strong with 1.5 million viewers. It was the highest rated appearance for Khan on HBO and while there isn’t a guarantee that a rematch would trump the first fight, the resulting controversy and how HBO ratings have jumped are encouraging signs that people might tune into the rematch.
Peterson’s toughest decision was to turn down a fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, which could have led to a Manny Pacquiao fight had Peterson gotten past Marquez. It would have been intriguing, no less an event if it landed at Cowboys Stadium.
Boxing doesn’t need another “event” right now. That sounds strange, considering that Top Rank has done a great job of promoting and attracting fans to come to these “events.” However, when events are made, there is usually a price tag that comes with them. In this case, Marquez-Peterson would have landed on pay-per-view.
With Floyd Mayweather fighting in May and Pacquiao fighting in June, how many fans would have bought Marquez-Peterson in July? Even with a solid gate, the number of viewers would be substantially lower than if the fight were to be on HBO. Instead of going through all this, Peterson skipped out on a fight with Marquez, decided to go directly to a rematch with Khan.
It’s a surprising move but is ultimately refreshing to see. It’s not often when an immediate rematch makes sense and actually happens. Among various outlets, Peterson has told the press that he wanted the Khan rematch the most.
Peterson went with his preference of rematching Khan to earn another victory and give HBO subscribers another fight to look forward to. Peterson could have taken less money against Marquez than he would have gotten for Khan, hoping it paid off in the long run by landing the Pacquiao fight.
Here’s what Bradley did: He made an astonishing million dollars to fight a shot Joel Casamayor last November and now hit the jackpot with Pacquiao.
Pacquiao-Bradley is not a bad match-up. Inside the ring, the fight could be very competitive. The way the fight was made, however, feels a little dampened by Bradley’s business decisions overshadowing the actual fight. It just doesn’t feel earned.
The sad truth is the fight doesn’t have to feel earned.
At the end of their fights, both Bradley and Peterson will be cashing career-high checks they’ve desperately wanted. Money is money. The way they went about their business…well, that’s a different story.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. the ever-dangerous TBA…
It’s a sad situation to see the 38-year-old, coming off perhaps the best performance in his career against Manny Pacquiao last November, have no one to fight. As great as it is to see Peterson-Khan II, Marquez now has no one to fight in late July. The only logical fight for Marquez is a showdown against fellow Mexican veteran Erik Morales.
For that to happen, Top Rank and Golden Boy obviously need to put aside their differences and judging from the latest episodes of Mayweather-Pacquiao’s ongoing drama, that isn’t happening.
Hershman’s Media Days…
A couple of weeks ago, HBO President Ken Hershman was a busy man, conducting various interviews with the boxing media. Hershman’s answers were composed, giving off a vibe that he was indeed the right man for his new position. However, one topic I would have liked to have heard him answer a bit differently was the subject of putting a patch on Top Rank and Golden Boy’s relationship.
Hershman told Maxboxing’s Steve Kim, “I think that is certainly an issue for the sport that I wish wasn’t there but hopefully, it’s temporary and that we can get a lot of great fights between these two promotional outfits. But it’s not anything that I think is unique to those two individual firms. There’s been issues between promoters and promotional outfits all throughout my tenure. We’ve got to navigate through them and put people in a position where they feel comfortable that they’re getting a fair shake and hopefully, that leads to some great fights.”
Hershman did an excellent job at Showtime, dealing with all sorts of promoters’ personalities to bring forth the “Super Six” tournament. While Hershman mentioned navigating through it, the sport will still hurt if the two promotional companies don’t sort out their differences.
Even if Golden Boy and Top Rank don’t see eye to eye, I would have like to see Hershman take a stronger stand so the best fights possible can be made. It might be nitpicking but in-house matchmaking prevents some of the sport’s best match-ups from being made- but I really don’t have to tell any of you this.
Substance not Names…
I understand putting Saul Alvarez against Shane Mosley on the undercard of Mayweather-Cotto. Whether fans like it or not, it makes sense for Mayweather’s (most likely) next opponent to fight a name the general public will recognize. The match-up itself is awful but at least it’s on PPV to where HBO’s “regular” budget isn’t wasted.
That said, this card would fall flat if the rumors of Winky Wright making a comeback are true. A televised return of Wright against Peter Quillin would be atrocious. Wright, who hasn’t fought since 2009, hasn’t won a fight since 2006, defeating Ike Quartey by unanimous decision. Why should fans- already shelling out $59.99- have to see that televised? If Wright wants to make his return on the card, fine, but this should not be on the televised bill.
If anything, make it like when Nate Campbell made his return against Danny Garcia on the undercard of the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales PPV. In this instance, the untelevised portion of the undercard was available for free. Good luck getting Quillin to agree to that.
The card isn’t finalized and could improve but right now, it does not look good.
One last thought on Khan-Bradley’s fallout…
While Bradley-Khan is now a thing of a past, perhaps its most frustrating aspect was that the decision cut into a younger fighter’s activity. Bradley, 28, should not be fighting only twice a year.
The Khan fight would have been a career-high payday and his contract with Gary Shaw would have still expired, leaving him free to sign with Top Rank afterward. Bradley fighting in July still could have given him time to fight Casamayor last November on the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez III.
Heaven forbid a younger boxer fight three times a year.
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