Rigo should leave TR and go to Golden Boy. Then we can get Rigo-Santa Cruz!
Rigo should leave TR and go to Golden Boy. Then we can get Rigo-Santa Cruz!
Mrs. Radam G's English is well. It is Russian that she doesn't understand. DA! Hehehe! Holla!
Mrs. Radam's can read English well. It is Russian that she doesn't understand. DA! Hehehe! Holla!Originally Posted by dino da vinci
Interesting stuff Shadow, so these alleged rumors are because Oscar is acting reckless and is hurting the business? They aren't just looking to leave for nothing?
And you criticize Ken Hershman because he cut off GBP from HBO?
That indeed is just a rumor. Nobody is buysing the UFC, taking it over, replacing it or pushing it aside with a new promotion--unless they have a billion dollars and then some to spend. The Fertittas and Dana White didn't put all this work into the UFC and hammer on the door of every U.S. commission to get it licensed (only NY keeps it out) only to make some money on their business. They already make monstrous dollars and love what they're doing.
That's why this thread is Shadow's Rumor Mill. Nice job shaking everybody up, Shadow.
-Randy G.
Oh I didn't mean the actual UFC taking over boxing, I meant Al Haymon attempting to take over boxing and place it under one promotion.
If Al Haymon continues to sign guys the way he has, he will indeed have a monopoly. Every top name fighter seems to gravitate towards him nowadays. And us journalists can't even get near him. He doesn't want publicity. He just wants fighters.
-Randy G
No, no that's not what I said. I had no idea there was friction. All I'm pointing out is that he's exhausted his use in a lot of ways. While he has value, he's also become a liablility.
If he's not there to talk and relate to the fighter -- something corporate suits and promoters could never do -- then all he is is a former fighter with abuse issues.
Hardly anything multimillion dollar corporations want to deal with.
I am not trying to "criticize" Hershman. The fact is you can tell a lot about a man's thinking by looking at his surroundings, his accomplishments -- the law of attraction is real.
Hershman, IMHO, is a perennial runner-up. I want to call him a loser but that would probably be taken the wrong way. He's accomplished, educated, successful and so forth. But he's not a winner.
You're the lovable No. 2 at Showtime during your reign, the creative juggernaut behind the Super Six (which he wasn't; that was all Sauerland's idea that Hershman ended up getting credit for), the little engine that could!
With a limited budget, Hershman managed to create stars and compelling matchups -- he was the Avis to HBO's Hertz! "We try harder!"
Then he lands the job at HBO with the biggest budget and the luxury of taking the fighters with him he helped build across the street.
What happens?
He loses fighters left and right -- including franchise player Floyd Mayweather, whom he refused to give a long-term contract -- gets butt hurt when his lowball offer (by comparison) is turned down and blames GBP, and effectively manages to do what?
Turn HBO into EXACTLY what Showtime was with him at the helm!
Then -- in spite of the fact that they have the biggest young stars and best roster of talent by a long shot -- he cuts ties with GBP, allowing them to take all their fighters to SHO with the logic of thinking they were hurting GBP and Al Haymon.
"We'll show them now!"
As a result, HBO sees SHO -- now under the leadership of a proven winner in Stephen Espinoza (and Les Moonves) -- eat into their market share at an alarming pace, outperform HBO in PPV sales by 3:1 while breaking ratings records multiple times during that period.
Those are the facts. Those are the results. I cannot disregard that as mere coincidence. I think it's an unequivocal reality -- Ken Hershman is, has always been, and will always be the perennial runner-up.
Which in this particular usage is simply a euphemism for what he really is -- a loser.
Last edited by The Shadow; 03-25-2014 at 05:18 PM.
Oh, no never ever did I say, indicate or even suggest that UFC was a target. I said the consolidation strategy of the UFC and the WWE was a blueprint, a benchmark for which GBP would like to emulate -- and I absolutely believe that is what we're seeing.
And another illustration of Ken Hershman's "remarkable" run at the top:
His latest stroke of genius can be traced back to the last GBP fight on HBO, Bernard Hopkins' record-breaking title win vs. undefeated champ Tavoris Cloud.
Hopkins, a proven, bonafide ratings juggernaut, had expressed a desire to make history by unifying the light heavyweight titles at 50 years old -- an unprecedented, borderline immortal, historic feat, should it happen. Something that should belong on HBO.
Instead, Hershman, out of nothing but unfiltered spite, tries to rob Hopkins of a shot at history (and another 1m+ viewers guaranteed) by freezing him out of the light heavyweight landscape for the next two years, effectively ending the ATG's career.
What happened instead is GBP, Hopkins and Al Haymon -- who yes, works with Hopkins -- answered fire with fire, went out and got the two champions that mattered, Shumenov and Stevenson (The Big Three are still WBA, WBC, IBF), and threw a monkey wrench in their Stevenson/Kovalev freeze-out attempt.
Now, Hershman, seduced by his position, stands to lose YET ANOTHER MARQUEE FIGHTER in Stevenson --whose repeated requests for a Hopkins showdown went ignored -- to rival SHO, leaving him with no notable opponent for WBO champion Kovalev.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix (he's the truth), Hershman could've locked down Stevenson vs. Kovalev months ago, but threw another lowball offer a fighter's way, thinking that the fact that they're "HBO" is enough to persuade a fighter to stay.
Now Stevenson refuses to sign the HBO deal while Espinoza has thrown him a sweet, sweet offer for his next fit, which HBO can match but appears they won't.
I can't argue with that Randy, and do you think that's good for fans in the long run?
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