So
what’s next? Will we see a rematch (Pacquiao indicated he would enforce
the rematch clause at the post-fight presser) or will Top Rank (which
promotes both boxers) go in a different direction?
“First
thing that has to be done, ain’t going to be any rematch unless there
is a thorough investigation by law enforcement,” said Arum, from his
offices in Las Vegas. “They have to investigate the commission, how
these guys were appointed, what was told to them before the fight, if
anything. We have to investigate the judges; we have to investigate the
betting pattern and we have to investigate the promoter- that’s me. And
till that is done, I’m not going to even consider a rematch.”
You
get the sense that Arum wants this investigated to clear his own name
as some have speculated he wanted Pacquiao knocked off, for whatever
reason. When asked about these allegations, Arum told Maxboxing, “I
respond to these allegations by saying that there has to be a complete
investigation and see what the facts are. I’m not going to respond to
anything that I find ludicrous like that. You know I have nothing to do
with picking the judges. I never talk to the officials; I have nothing
to do with that. A promoter doesn’t- particularly in Nevada- but let
that all come out in the investigation.”
It’s
doubtful that an investigation will really come up with anything
substantive. But this much is clear; perhaps it’s time for Nevada to
begin shuffling the deck, regarding who is ringside scoring its biggest
events.
“Here
is the big problem: the big fights generally come to Nevada because of
the casino support. It’s a good place to hold a major event,” explained
Arum. “Problem is, the fights are regulated by the commission of Nevada
and the state commission has a major qualification on officials- that
they live in Nevada. Which means that the same pool of officials are
selected on a rotating basis for every major fight and that’s not good.
We have competent officials around the U.S; we have many competent
international officials. You remember when this Thai guy [Anek
Hongtongkam] was so good, he used to be a judge [for a lot of fights in
Vegas] or Stanley Christodoulou? And we’ve got to have a panel of say,
30 Americans, 20 foreigners and from that panel, officials are chosen.
Not the same old Nevada officials rotating. It became incestuous and do I
believe Duane Ford is an honest man? Yes, I do but he’s so inbred that
he applies voodoo judgment to these fights. It’s voodoo judging that he
sees something nobody else sees.”
You
get the sense that certain judges are like that old senior citizen who
should have his car keys taken away before he plows his car into a group
of innocent bystanders on the sidewalk. “Well, then they’ll say, ‘Who’s
he to talk? He’s older than I am.’ Yeah, but I’m not judging,” said
Arum, who’s into his 80s.
PRESSER
On early Monday night, this press release was sent out by Top Rank:
LAS VEGAS, NEV. (June 11, 2012) – Bob
Arum, Chairman and CEO of Top Rank, said today that he has submitted a
formal request to the Nevada Attorney General’s office for a full and
complete inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the scoring of
Saturday’s WBO welterweight championship fight between defending
champion Manny Pacquiao and
challenger Timothy Bradley. The Pacquiao-Bradley welterweight title
fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“The
public has a right to know. The fighters have a right to know," said
Arum. “The only way to restore fans’ confidence in boxing is by letting
an independent body investigate every detail of the fight no matter how
big or small. Sunshine never hurt anyone.”
VEGAS
There
wasn’t quite the usual buzz for a Pacquiao fight this past weekend in
Las Vegas. There were patches of empty seats inside the MGM Grand Garden
Arena and tickets could be had for less than face value on the
secondary market, rare for a Pacquiao fight in the 702. Is it time to
take Pacquiao back out on the road like back in 2010 when he performed
twice at Cowboys Stadium, fighting in front of over 60,000 fans that
year?
Arum
answered, “We did real well. The gate, you wouldn’t do a gate like this
at any place, anywhere. The gate was over $9 million. That’s pretty
Goddamn good and it was without pulling tickets and giving them away. We
don’t do that. So I think that was very, very good.”
According
to the veteran promoter, the problem is that, unlike a Juan Manuel
Marquez or Shane Mosley, Bradley was a relative unknown to the casual
fan. “Tim didn’t bring a fan base, doesn’t have a fan base. Maybe he
will now. And that was the difference.”
He
also pointed out, “Also, there’s another difference we didn’t realize,
because there was the EDC (the Electric Daisy Carnival. No wonder why I
saw bunch of people wearing fluorescent leg warmers and tights), so Las
Vegas prides itself on rooms being so cheap. Well, rooms were going at
the MGM Grand and the Cosmopolitan for over $500 a night because they
have pyramid pricing. So that killed a lot of who would’ve come in for
the fight.”
JMO
A
few thoughts: first, I wouldn’t do an immediate rematch of
Bradley-Pacquiao for a couple of reasons. If just about all the fans and
media believe Pacquiao was the decisive winner, by doing a return bout
so quickly, you might actually be validating the scorecards from this
past weekend. Also, if you do this rematch so quickly, you actually give
fuel to those who believe the original contest was rigged.
Secondly,
while Pacquiao continues to do robust numbers in “Sin City” alongside
Floyd Mayweather, there’s almost a “Been there, done that” kind of feel
to his promotions there. I know state taxes basically eliminate any
chance of him fighting ever again in California or in New York but it’s
my belief that if you put him in another non-casino venue in a big
city/big event market like Miami, there would be a lot of buzz
surrounding said event.
But
there is this economic reality: where else could Bradley-Pacquiao have
procured a $9 million gate? This is probably why the “Pac-Man” will
finish out his career on the Las Vegas strip.
CHAVEZ JR
So
if Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. successfully defends his WBC middleweight
belt versus Andy Lee this Saturday night at the Sun Bowl in El Paso and
does so with flying colors, will Chavez and Company begin negotiations
with Sergio Martinez’s camp for a fight in September or October?
“Oh,
absolutely,” claimed Arum. “We got the basic parameters spelled out, 60
percent for us and 40 percent for Lou DiBella. He’ll make his deal with
Martinez and we’ll make our deal with Chavez.” (When reached by
Maxboxing, DiBella stated, “Seeing is believing.”)
A date Top Rank has reserved for pay-per-view is September 15th, which just happens to be the date Golden Boy says they will do their own pay-per-view promotion featuring Saul Alvarez.
“Well,
that fine; that’s OK. In other words, we have the number one channel on
On Demand and they’ll have the number two channel. That’s happened
before and they will go at the MGM Grand and we’ll go either in the
Alamodome [in San Antonio] or the Thomas and Mack [Center in Las
Vegas].”
Yeah, this Cold War isn’t thawing anytime soon; is it?
MOVING ON
It
looks more and more like the fight between Mikey Garcia and Celestino
Caballero will not take place for the WBA featherweight title. Bottom
line is that Sampson Lewkowicz, who won the purse bid, is having
problems finding a place for that fight. The word is that his bid was
financed by Floyd Mayweather (who’s currently busy right now) and may
not have the capital to stage this fight.
I’m
being told that Garcia could face WBO beltholder Orlando Salido in
October now. Garcia last fought in early March in support of Salido’s
exciting knockout of Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico. Salido is
scheduled to go again in Mexico on July 28th and Garcia could be added to that show before they face each other in the fall.
Salido-Garcia? Sign me up.
KING FLURRIES
On Tuesday morning, Golden Boy Promotions is making a “special” announcement regarding their September 15th event. Many believe it will be to announce that if Victor Ortiz beats Josesito Lopez on June 23rd,
he’ll face “Canelo” next...Just my two pesos but Salido-Garcia belongs
at the Home Depot Center...For the record, watched Bradley-Pacquiao
again. My original score was 117-111 for the “Pac-Man” from ringside; I
had it 116-112 from my laptop vantage point...Here’s a great look back
at Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney from Carlos “The Assassin” Acevedo: http://thecruelestsport.com/2012/06/11/imagine-a-day-at-the-end-of-your-life-larry-holmes-gerry-cooney-revisited/...So
Ochocinco is now with the ’Phins? Don’t even know what to think about
that...Yes, I will be in Newark this weekend for the Tomasz Adamek-Eddie
Chambers fight at the Prudential Center...