The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of February 9
This week in the hottest storylines in boxing, we take a look at the latest developments in the never-ending saga that is the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao negotiations.
Golden Boy Promotions has lost another fighter, and is it because he's ducking a dangerous challenge?
Roc Nation Sports' honeymoon period is apparently over. We assess the latest developments to hit Jay Z's boxing enterprise.
Finally, we look at Peter Quillin's next opponent and the latest on a potential clash between two of boxing's most lethal sluggers.
Let's get right to the action.
The Latest on Mayweather-Pacquiao
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The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao talks jumped the shark years ago, but so long as it remains in the news and a possibility, we'll continue to bring you the new developments.
The latest word in the saga comes from Showtime Sports executive vice president Stephen Espinoza, who told Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News that only a "handful" of issues remain to be resolved before the fight can become a reality.
Espinoza also pointed out that while Mayweather remains committed to a Pacquiao fight as his "first choice by far," a backup plan is already in place for the pound-for-pound king's next fight on May 2. Should the Pacquiao negotiations fall apart—again—Mayweather would face former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan or current WBC and lineal middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.
So what does that all mean?
Espinoza is generally the guy dispatched to throw cold water on many of the thousand-or-so rumors that fly into the media from the sordid negotiations on a daily basis.
When TMZ reported last week that a fight deal had been finalized, prompting champagne corks to be popped everywhere, it was Espinoza who said not so fast.
His close personal relationship with Mayweather—he signed him to a record deal with Showtime in 2013 and has largely staked his fortunes to boxing’s top draw—gives him some credibility as someone with a finger on the pulse of Floyd's camp.
Espinoza says that he’s “optimistic that it [a fight deal] can get done” and that nobody is hitting the panic button yet when it come to the calendar and having adequate time to promote the fight.
If he’s optimistic, maybe we can be as well.
Or maybe not.
Who really knows at this point?
Is Leo Santa Cruz Blatantly Ducking Guillermo Rigondeaux?
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Leo Santa Cruz is no longer with Golden Boy Promotions.
Oscar De La Hoya’s company reached a deal last week, per Rafael, to sell the contract of the Mexican super bantamweight titlist to his reclusive manager Al Haymon.
The move came about after De La Hoya was unable to secure the blessing of Haymon for Santa Cruz to face fellow undefeated 122-pound titlist Guillermo Rigondeaux in a much discussed unification bout.
A source with knowledge of the deal explained Golden Boy’s frustration:
"Oscar has been telling everybody possible that he wants Leo to fight Rigondeaux. Clearly, that’s not on the agenda for Al and Leo. Al wouldn’t make the fight. Oscar wants to work with fighters and managers who want to put the best against the best and make the kind of fights that the fans want to see
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The move, while disappointing, isn’t surprising. Santa Cruz has been matched softly in his last few outings, appearing on high-profile cards against woefully undermatched opponents.
Leaving Golden Boy effectively kills any chance of Santa Cruz facing Rigondeaux, something that left the Cuban’s manager Gary Hyde fuming, per Luke Furman of BoxingScene.com:
"The WBC should strip Leo Santa Cruz of the WBC title for making a mockery of their organization. Santa Cruz is a coward for not accepting the Rigondeaux unification fight. He has ran for cover to Al Haymon because he knows he will be protected from a Rigondeaux massacre. Santa Cruz is gutless and should not be allowed to defend against another unknown challenger
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You can get why he's upset. It looks like Haymon, and by extension Santa Cruz, blatantly ducked Rigondeaux here.
Hopefully, it’s part of a bigger plan to match him with someone like Abner Mares or Carl Frampton, because nothing short of that will cut it anymore.
What's Happening at Roc Nation Sports?
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You couldn’t have written a better beginning for Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports' entry into the boxing business.
The new promotional outfit staged a successful debut card at the Theater at Madison Square Garden last month, merged with veteran boxing promoter Gary Shaw and his company Gary Shaw Productions and signed super middleweight champion Andre Ward to a promotional deal.
Things appeared to be looking up—way up—but things have changed.
According to Rafael, Shaw split with the company last week in a surprising development. Things apparently weren’t going as well as they seemed in the public eye, with the company beset by all sorts of infighting and disagreement.
Things will return to the status quo before the merger for both Roc Nation and Shaw. The veteran boxing hand will resume operations with his own promotional company and will retain the fighters he brought over with him in the merger.
That includes undefeated American heavyweight Bryant Jennings, who will meet undisputed heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in April at Madison Square Garden.
That’s a huge blow to the nascent boxing company.
Jennings’ challenge of Klitschko is certain to generate a great deal of mainstream exposure. It’s the first heavyweight championship fight on American soil since 2008, and Roc Nation now loses a chance to be front and center for that promotion.
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Did Peter Quillin Blow It?
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Peter Quillin gave up his WBO Middleweight Championship and a career-best payday last year to avoid facing mandatory challenger Matt Korobov.
Veteran contender Andy Lee won the belt by handing Korobov his first loss with a stunning sixth-round knockout, and now he’ll make his first defense against the man who never lost the belt of the ring.
According to ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael, the bout will probably take place on April 11, likely at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, as the co-feature to Danny Garcia vs. Lamont Peterson as part of Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series on NBC.
It’s an interesting move, to say the least, for Quillin.
The logic of giving up the belt and money was that Korobov wasn’t the type of attractive, high-profile opponent who would advance his career. Instead, Quillin has gone in a circle and will face the guy who beat the guy he didn’t want to face.
Sure, the added exposure of NBC is a nice sweetener to add into the mix, but it’s not like that couldn’t have come without needlessly sitting out for almost a year, right?
Quillin has been on the sidelines since winning a clear but uninspiring decision over Lukas Konecny last April.
All this just makes his decision to avoid Korobov look all the more, well, foolish.
Will Provodnikov vs. Matthysse Live Up to the Hype?
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It’s close.
The Siberian Rocky Ruslan Provodnikov and Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse are two of the most dangerous and exciting fighters in boxing, and they’re zeroing in on a deal to fight in March, per Steve Kim of BoxingScene.com, likely at the StubHub Center in California or the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
HBO will televise the fight after matching a lucrative offer from Showtime—which was its contractual right to do—giving the network an all but guaranteed Fight of the Year contender featuring a pair of high-octane sluggers.
Provodnikov is a stalker who places tremendous mental and physical pressure on his opponents. He knocked down and nearly upset top-five pound-for-pound fighter Timothy Bradley in his first HBO appearance and followed that up with a demolition of Mike Alvarado to win a junior welterweight title.
Matthysse, who recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions, is a vicious power puncher in his own right. His most recent fight was a bloody, knockdown-filled war with John Molina that should have gotten a bit more attention in last year’s Fight of the Year conversation.
It’s dangerous to use the word "can’t-miss" when it comes to a fight.
Anything can, and often does, happen.
This one will be a bloodletting—a primal battle between a pair of gladiators who don’t know how to do anything but move forward and throw big punches.
Don’t miss it.
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