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As the calendar was turning
to 2014, Miguel Cotto became the most coveted, unattached boxer in the world.
Unlike most others, he was a free agent and not under an exclusive promotional
pact. With that, there were two highly lucrative offers on the table for him: face
Sergio Martinez on HBO Pay-Per-View or face Saul Alvarez across the street at
Showtime.
Eventually, Cotto turned
down the latter - and a reported eight-figure sum to face “Canelo” - to take on
Martinez for the middleweight championship at the Madison Square Garden this
weekend.
And his reasoning was very
simple.
“I have a great relationship
with Todd duBoef, “Cotto said of the current president of Top Rank Promotions
and the heir apparent to Bob Arum. “I'm always one to talk with him first, talk
about what's next and if anything affects our relationship, I prefer not to do
it.”
Cotto didn't just choose the
Martinez fight over Alvarez, he choose to reunite with duBoef and Top Rank,
which promoted him from the time he turned pro in 2001 (after the 2000 Olympic
Games) till 2011. “The way Todd treats me, treats my people, treats my company,
makes me realize the grass here at Top Rank is the greenest.”
He added, “I'm really happy,
really comfortable here and our relationship, Todd and I, is stronger than
ever.”
After gaining revenge on
Antonio Margarito in December of 2011, Cotto, whose contract with Top Rank had
expired, decided to venture out on his own as he faced Floyd Mayweather several
months later.
“That was a tough one,”
admitted duBoef, who visited his friend/fighter in Los Angeles. “I was under
the impression we would always have a relationship together. It was outlined to
us that the relationship on a long-term basis, that he was going to look at
other things. The only real option I saw there was the Mayweather fight, which
they went ahead and pursued. So obviously, that was something that was very
difficult for us. I didn't think of Miguel Cotto as an ‘opponent,’ y’know?
“'And I wasn't going to make him an opponent for Manny Pacquiao to try to get
back in business with him or somebody like that, so I always knew the
Mayweather fight was there. That ended up being the reason why he left to go
and he was very classy about it. He sent me a wonderful text before they
announced the fight and said, ‘I just wanted you to know this is a great opportunity.
I'm making a lot of money.’”
DuBoef said they wouldn't
stand in the way of Cotto making the biggest guarantee of his career, which the
Mayweather bout represented at the time. During the week leading up to that
fight, Cotto actually used the Top Rank Gym and the two spent time together in
Las Vegas. The belief was this would be a one-off and Cotto would resume his
run with Top Rank. Instead, Cotto faced Austin Trout that December under the
auspices of Golden Boy Promotions. 2012 was winless for Cotto as he lost to
both Mayweather and Trout.
There were some harsh
feelings from Top Rank but duBoef says, “I kinda hold myself responsible. I
think I should've reached out to him, personally, earlier on to talk to him
about what our relationship would be going forward and we talked about that after
the first of [2013]. I went down to see him after the Trout fight; I said, ‘Listen,
let's get back to finish what we started.’”
As Cotto called again a few
months later to talk about reuniting, duBoef cut short his African safari to
see the fighter personally. By October, Cotto was playing to a packed house at
the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, once again under the Top Rank banner and
the bright lights of HBO. But it wasn't clear which direction Cotto would go
moving forward. In many ways, he was the most prized possession in the boxing
business (http://www.maxboxing.com/news/max-boxing-news/the-belle-of-the-ball).
“Y’know, being able to
choose, pick which way I'm going to move is a blessing,” said Cotto, a couple
of weeks ago at the downstairs portion of the Wild Card Boxing Club after his
day’s training. “It's just a blessing for my career and in 2011, I moved to
Golden Boy to fight Mayweather, to fight Trout, and now I'm back because of my
relationship with Todd duBoef. Our bond, our connection, just made me come
back. We have great things between us and I know this is going to be a great
compromise between us.”
“Once you have an authentic
rapport with somebody and one that's very genuine, it's easy as long as you
communicate well to have a successful relationship. I think he understood that,”
said duBoef, who seemed uncomfortable when asked if Cotto was free to fight on
both sides of the street. “I don't want to comment on that, honestly. If he
wants to talk about what he is or isn't obligated, that's up for him to do -
not for me.”
When apprised of Cotto's
comments that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship, duBoef
seemed taken aback. “That's endearing...that's endearing to hear somebody say
that. That means a lot because you don't find a lot of authentic people in this
business that have that compassion for another person that recognizes that we
have a wonderful relationship that's able to overcome all the hurdles that are
set up.”
The fact Cotto is so wed to
Top Rank, really duBoef, will madden large segments of the fan-base who have had
their fill of the “Cold War.” The Puerto Rican icon says of the division that
exists in the sport, “It's difficult those moments for the sport, having
problems, troubles with networks and promotional companies. But I hope that the
conversations with Bob Arum and Oscar De la Hoya get serious, finish the whole
problem and make the best for the sport and for the fans.”
Can you blame someone for
going back to a company that developed him into the signature draw at Madison
Square Garden and a pay-per-view entity? A key component of their latest union
is Top Rank aiding Cotto Promotions in Puerto Rico (this weekend’s less-than-stellar
pay-per-view undercard is basically the responsibility of Cotto and Sampson
Lewkowicz). You get the sense that while Cotto's Hall of Fame career heads into
the sunset, he's thinking about the years long after he hangs up his Everlasts.
Cotto has the type of
stature (especially if he wins on Saturday night and becomes the first Puerto
Rican to capture major world titles in four weight classes) to tear down the
walls currently hindering the sport. Fighters like him can be a catalyst for
change. “Golden Boy has its own way of thinking their things. Top Rank has the
same,” he states. “I can go over there and talk to them about it. They make
their own decisions.”
But it's clear he feels as
though he's come home.
TODD RANK
It's been a frustrating year
for Top Rank, which has seen the likes of Mikey Garcia and Julio Cesar Chavez
Jr. give them problems. DuBoef tries to preach patience to his younger clients
and stay the course with them.
“I try to say that all the
time; we use Cotto as an example, [Manny] Pacquiao as an example. Hey, listen,
Pacquiao just re-upped,” he points out. “The problem there is I don't believe
the word ‘patience’ exists in today's lexicon for fighters or managers. They're
just like, ‘Go grab whatever you can and get out,’ or they don't understand.
Too many people don't understand that relevance of building a property. They
just think about sucking as much money out of one branch of the economic tree -
the television money - and that is
the way the business works currently.”
DOMESTIC FIGHT
Carl Froch is the perfect
example of a fighter being greater than the sum of his parts. Yeah, he might
have some technical flaws; he may not be the fastest or quickest guy around but
all he basically does is win over and over again. Once again, George Groves,
found that out again as he was able to effectively box “The Cobra” early on but
succumbed to his power in the eighth round.
A booming right hand sent
Groves crashing to a heap and the fight was waved off almost immediately by
referee Charlie Fitch. The bottom line is while Froch could take what Groves
could dish out, Groves simply didn't have the whiskers Froch possesses.
By the way, wasn't that a
wonderful crowd at Wembley Stadium? 80,000 for a prizefight in 2014. It's
staggering if you think about it. Just wondering though, why didn't HBO bother
to send its crew to England? I found that odd that they had Jim Lampley, Max
Kellerman and Roy Jones call this from a Las Vegas ballroom (also, if HBO is
going to bring up Andre Ward, it should at least try and mention his ongoing
litigation against Dan Goossen in passing. By not doing so, it simply isn't
telling the whole story. Kellerman said Ward was the best fighter in the world.
Did Floyd Mayweather retire without telling the rest of us? The more HBO claims
that it has no corporate agendas, the harder I find it to believe it).
SOE
My latest contribution to
SportsOnEarth.com on the lack of an official announcement from Showtime on the
pay-per-view numbers for the Mayweather-Marcos Maidana fight:
FINAL FLURRIES
Anyone else find the Nonito Donaire-Simpiwe
Vetyeka fight ending a bit fishy in Macao, China?...Nicholas Walters basically
ended the career of Vic Darchinyan (who had a really good run)...In winning,
Javier Fortuna got really beat up versus Juan Antonio Rodriguez in Las
Vegas...Hey, don't look now but Sergio Mora scored another stoppage victory...I
like the Heat in seven over the Spurs...So how much would the Lakers be worth
if they were up for sale?...Again, if you haven't caught “Gang Related” on FOX,
do so...
I can be reached
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