First, does such a scenario exist? In theory? And if so, what are the circumstances? Are there examples in history when a fighter lost and it was advantageous to the fighter's own promoter?
I'm sure Hearn was hoping Usyk would beat Bellew, he was plenty quick enough to put a contract in front of him after he won.
Oh yeah that happens, and that is why you always have an independent manager, and you better hope your manager has juice with the promoter. A lot of fighters, and the people around them, can be a royal pain in the ass. Maybe because they refuse to act civilized, very often because they don't understand business and numbers. So they will try to get you beat. Or if they are starting to think that the fighter is going to not be worth the investment, they will get you beat. It is up to your manager to argue for a change of opponent. You can see what is going on by the opponents they start trying to match you with- I have been through this and have seen it first hand.
It's such a shame boxing has come to the Promotors being the ones with power, despite the fact that they're the ones who're being employed by the fighters and not the other way around.
Promoters have always had that power because they are the ones taking the risks financially, and fighters need fights. In my experience, if a guy sells tickets, a promoter will take care of him. What a large scale promoter brings to the table is the ability to give a fighter exposure and to further his career; that is because of all the money that they pay to the governing bodies. And you will be shut out of opportunity if you don't have connections to people that can further your career. The fighter that I am going to be involved with shortly has won accolades but is kind of hitting a wall- he was just cut out a show on DAZN ( I think it was) and his fighting on a local show. But once some details are worked out and papers signed, he will be with G in a few days. Then the showcase fights will happen, and he will have access to the best sparring and training facilities.
Yeah I was wondering - are contracts rewritten when a guy loses? If so, it's easy to see why a promoter would want a boring fighter who can't sell tickets to finally lose. I also figure when a guy's on his last fight of a contract and he hasn't resigned, the interests start to diverge.
There's a Belief Arum Set Pacquiao Up TWICE; vs. Tim Bradley 1 and Jeff Horn..."Conveniently", BOTH were the Last Bouts of Pacquiao's Existing Top Rank Contracts @ the Time... Speaking of Dela, it Doesn't Seem He'd Be the LEAST Bit Bothered By a Ryan Garcia LOSS, These Days...The Ink on Jose Ramirez's New Golden Boy Contract AIN'T Even Dried, Yet Dela's PUBLICLY Speaking of Matching Him w/the Ry Guy???....Ryan's Next Loss Likely KILLS His Mainstream Drawing Power FOREVER, Yet Dela Had NOfuckingQUALMS PUBLICLY Pressuring His Own Fighter, 1 Bout Removed from an L, in THAT Fashion... As it Pertains to the Ry Guy, Dela and BHop are His DEMOTERS, Because They Damn Sure Ain't PROMOTING His Ass... REED
Top rank definitely will get a guy beat, whether it be to keep them around/build a viable opponent financially (Bradley pacquaio , horn pacquiao) Or simply because a prospect isn't agreeing to take the path they pave for him and resists what they plan/ talks shit (santos thrown in with Jantuah)
A few years back TR had a fighter that was 31-0 but his style was boring so they weren't trying to move him. But they used him, mostly as the "or else" club held over your head. When the TR matchmaker told you that one of your contractually guaranteed/promised fights was with that guy, you knew you had trouble. That meant that they were trying to get you beat or get you to look bad to teach you a lesson. It isn't 1939 when you could take a loss and learn from it and get better. Ultimately they fed that guy, after he aged and slowed down, to a prospect. Another boogeyman that they used was Abel Ramos. He came out of no where with a draw against a guy that was, if memory served, an undefeated Russian silver medalist. But his people, at that time, were not well connected, so he was often put in tough but he had skills and ability and he stayed busy and he got good sparring in Phoenix. I know that we dodged him, partly because the things that I mentioned gave him an advantage at the time and partly because he was too good to risk and the manager of the fighter that I was with was able to say no. When you can turn down Abel Ramos- he had just fought 2 weeks prior to the date but it was a second round ko- and hand pick Jake (Mike?) Giurecio...
I love the covert nature of greys posts Who could this fighter be he's referring to? The butler in the study with the candlestick?
I can imagine situations where it was a fighter’s last contractual match with a promoter, and it was obvious the guy would go to a new promoter. I remember when Arum and DLH split up, and then they worked back together again. I’m sure Arum knew that Oscar was working on GB Promotions and probably rooting for the cross dresser to lose.
When Oscar started Golden Boy, he stole many fighters from Ricardo Maldonado. Ricardo sued him for a variety of reasons. Years later the two of them sued PBC for essentially the exact same reasons. Now they are in business together on many levels.
I remember the reaction from Arum when he was asked about DLH who was considering becoming a promoter. Paraphrasing "Are you f'king kidding me? I've known Oscar forever. Believe me. That guy was lucky to pass high school." Oscar shot back calling Arum the biggest Jew at Harvard. Which didn't exactly refute what Arum said.
The best was at the post fight press conference for Barrera morales 3. Delahoya was translating for Barrera who had just answered some question about what this rubber match proved. Delahoyas translation was "this fight proves i am better than morales and golden boy is better than top rank" Arum cut right in and furiously shouted "REEEEAL CLASSY, OSCUH!!!"
