I
know the fight some are focusing in on is WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar
Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio Martinez. But if that fight is ever seriously negotiated,
it will come down to these two factors: 1) just how punitive will Bob Arum and
Chavez Jr. be in enforcing their negotiating leverage. Like it or not, they are
the significantly bigger draw (at the gate and on television). 2) how compliant
will Martinez and his promoter Lou DiBella be in understanding their value to
that promotion.
It's
all about risk versus reward at this level of professional boxing as it relates
to consummating fights. And market value is defined by things such as gate
receipts and Nielsen ratings, not stuff like mythical pound-for-pound ratings.
Even being the linear middleweight champion of the world doesn't mean all that
much. There are also the pressing questions: Is there enough money to satisfy both
sides? Would Arum be willing to guarantee Martinez's side of the equation? My
feeling is he wouldn't and that that would be left up to DiBella and Company
I
think the best summation of the current situation came from this boxing
industry insider (with a deep, extensive knowledge of this business and has
been involved in some of the biggest promotions throughout the years- who also has
no horse in this race):
“I
really don’t get why some writers (and we both know who they are!) are drinking
Lou’s Kool-Aid when it comes to Martinez. He’s a world champion, for
heaven’s sake. His promoter is making him sound needy and pathetic.
“And
why would Arum sacrifice his young, handsome, charismatic superstar to someone
who will be 38 years old before they could fight? It makes no
sense. We need young, charismatic stars to attract a younger demographic
to our sport.
“And
why would Arum care if he could do 300,000 buys on PPV with Martinez? Wasn’t
he doing nearly half that much business when Chavez was fighting stiffs on
PPV? Do the math. When you have to pay the “opponent” nearly as much as
the “star,” the “star” doesn’t necessarily make more money! Arum can put
Chavez in with just about anyone, pay the guy less than $250,000, and make more
money on PPV than he would fighting Martinez in a much more dangerous and
pointless fight.
“This
so called controversy simply defies all logic.”
