BIG FIGHTS MAY FIND NEW VENUES

LAS VEGAS (INSIDE BOXING) Boxing promoters are seriously considering alternative locations for some major bouts with the hotel and casino wars heating up.

This past Friday, the Nevada Athletic Commission approved promoter Don Kings’ request for an April 14th middleweight bout between WBC champion Keith Holmes and IBF champion Bernard Hopkins followed by a May 5th bout featuring WBA middleweight champion William Joppy and WBA super middleweight champion Felix Trinidad.

The winner of the April 14th match should get the winner of the May 5th match in late August or September of this year. Both boxing matches are scheduled for the MANDALAY BAY HOTEL AND CASINO.

But the recent consolidation of the three major casino groups (MGM Mirage, the MANDALAY RESORT GROUP and PARK PLACE ENTERTAINMENT) has effectively alienated fight fans that elect to stay at one hotel while wishing to attend a fight held at another.

Past practice had promoters presented with no problems in selling tickets to rival hotels. Hotels could even be counted on purchasing a certain number of high priced tickets for some of their higher profiled customers. The new ideology prefers that fights staged in ones’ casino group prioritize those of another.

Seems like good business…or does it?

Both Don King (Don King Productions) and Bob Arum (Top Rank Productions) are feeling the trend and seeking alternatives to the Las Vegas scene. Should either of these two decide Vegas’ casino rivalries too much to deal with the status currently held by Las Vegas as the "big fight site" could be put in jeopardy.

Madison Square Garden in New York is being considered by King for the scheduled April and May Las Vegas events. Should the "Garden" representatives offer a more attractive package, King will not hesitate to move the event.

Most Las Vegas visitors arrive with the intent of some serious gambling. But the number of arrivals that come into town purely for major boxing is irrefutable.

The small size of Las Vegas does not allow for much of a bargaining position by boxing promoters. Should the climate remain as it now is, the three major hotel groups will direct the customers residing at their hotels to events staged at those hotels.

The savvy business sense of the two major players, Don King or Bob Arum, would never have them locking into an exclusive agreement with one individual casino group for their fights. The negotiating price of a scenario of that magnitude is mind boggling.

Could you imagine all Don King Production fights held at the MGM Grand Hotel? Or all Top Rank fights held at the Mirage Hotel? Neither would be able to handle the number of reservations requested much less the inability of the promoter to properly market his fight.

The city of Las Vegas, Nevada has become synonymous with "big time boxing". For either boxing or Vegas to deny this is plain stupid but apparently the line has been drawn in the sand with boxing designated the "odd man out".

Las Vegas can and will survive without boxing. Can boxing survive without Las Vegas? If things continue down the path currently taken, we will not have to wait long to find out.

Boy Wonder

02/19/01