HEAVYWEIGHTS IN BOXING
I'm not talking about Hasim Rahman. Rahman is just lucky. How else can you
explain professional boxing has a world heavyweight champion who can't fight?
I'm talking about the real heavyweights, the people who make the multi-million
dollar purses happen. I'm talking about HBO, Showtime and more importantly...
YOU.
Only in America will you find multi-million dollar contracts frantically pursuing a fighter masquerading to be an almighty heavyweight champion. I'm confused. Where is the interest? Can there be that much public interest in a Rahman vs. Brian Nielsen world championship fight to justify a $5 million purse for Rahman? A Rahman vs. Nielsen fight is not even worthy of being a preliminary bout on the Ali vs. Fraizer (daughters) event.
Now that Rahman has "flipped off" HBO and Showtime, where does he think the money will come from to fulfill the agreement he has signed with Don King? King's agreement is $5 million for a fight against Nielsen, $15 million for a fight against the winner of the Evander Holyfied vs. John Ruiz rematch, $20 million for a Lennox Lewis rematch and $30 million for a Mike Tyson fight.
King made his agreement look pretty impressive, laced with astronomical numbers. But he also knows the likelihood of a Rahman vs.Lewis or Tyson fight is not very good. Scratch the $20 million and the $30 million. Rahman does not have the skills to carry him that far into the agreement. The $15 million to fight the winner of the Holyfield - Ruiz bout is on shaky grounds as well. Rahman will have to beat Nielsen to earn that shot, and frankly, Rahman and Nielsen are on the same level. It will not be an upset if Nielsen wins. The HBO and Showtime deals are starting to look pretty darn good again.
Looks like the King deal - although highlighted with huge numbers - is not such a good deal after all. Under King's agreement, Rahman is guaranteed only the $5 million for fighting Nielsen. Should he lose, the deal's done. Hasta la vista, baby. HBO and Showtime both had guarantees in excess of $15 million, plus guaranteed fights even should Rahman lose.
Let's say for the sake of argument, Rahman gets past the winner of Holyfield and Ruiz. It will still be up to "heavyweights" HBO and Showtime to buy the rights to the fight. And with a price tag of somewhere around $50 million (20-30 million for Rahman plus 20-30 million to the opponent) look for the "heavyweights" to "flip off" Rahman and pass on the deal. Leaving it up to YOU to buy the fight on a pay-per-view basis to cover the bill.
You either admire him or hate him but one thing is for sure. King is the heavyweight when it comes to boxing.
-Blackbull-