How will the ‘inflation factor’ among fighters change the sport of boxing?
In the last two weeks boxing has offered two similar but nuanced economic models in the form of decisions made by fighters (and promoters by extension). It’s worth considering the pros and cons of each in today’s industry, and which would be the better route for prospective fighters. It’s also worth considering what kind of effects these fighters’ decisions will have on boxing down the line.
Case one: Alfredo Angulo, better known as the “turn down the big paydays and ask for outrageous ones” approach. A week and a half ago, Angulo turned down an opportunity to fight for the fifth time on HBO in his last six bouts. He nonchalantly waved off an offer of $750,000 for a career-high payday fight, and a title shot against WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. The reason: he felt entitled to more money. Reportedly Angulo wanted $1 million, and when it wasn’t there for him, called it at that.
Believe this: there’re not many fighters who will get to be on HBO period, let alone five times in a row. Part of Angulo’s success stems from his vicious knockout ability and his record, with 19 wins in 20 bouts (16 coming by way of knockout). A lot of that has to do with the promoters in his corner as well. But the fact is people love to watch Angulo, because chances are, no matter who he fights, it’ll be a dynamite show.
Assessing the rejection, Angulo’s manager Mike Criscio said: "There's not many people who can get built up the way that we did with Alfredo Angulo. But we may have created a monster while building him. I think that we did too good of a job building him up and getting him to where he is, and maybe that's our own fault."
A money-hungry, selfish monster maybe? Or a guy who simply thinks he’s entitled to more, and is willing to turn the money down until he gets it?
Angulo represents one example of a trend in boxing that is becoming more and more prevalent. Fighters are holding out on financial paydays (and competition) because they think they’re entitled to more. Whether they are or not is the question.
Case two: Andre Berto. Berto is the current WBC welterweight champion, and at that, he should be money. And relatively speaking, he is. But Berto hasn’t defended his title in 19 months, and fought more than questionable opposition to get it.
Last week the WBC ordered a mandatory bout between him and WBC Silver titlist, Selcuk Aydin. And what did Berto do? He flat out waived the bout, saying publicly it wasn’t important to him. His promoter, Lou Dibella, said that Aydin was a “nobody,” and that Berto was more interested in the big names of the division. Dibella even said that they would face the WBC stripping them of the title than taking on Aydin.
All of this, of course, is because Berto believes he deserves better opposition, but what that really means is better paydays. His ego is completely inflated. To his credit, he has reportedly tried to arrange fights with Miguel Cotto as well as Shane Mosley, but nothing has materialized. At the same time, Berto’s actions to official mandates are just like Angulo’s: rejection being the game, cash being the name.
With the increasing dominance of broadcasting companies, as well as huge promotional ones in boxing, the sport has changed by incredible sweeps. But whereas even now it is rather common to see promoters reject offers for better ones, today even fighters are doing that, fizzling out the role of promoters and dealing with financial and professional matters in their own hands.
Whether this is a good or bad thing is hard to say. But one thing is clear: fighters are more and more concerned first with paydays, and second with glory. There is nothing glorifying about turning down good competition, but there may be something financially advantageous about it.
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