By Norm Frauenheim–
The arenas and networks will be different.
Nearly everything else about dueling cards on Dec. 13 shares a common theme and the same Strip of tourists, vendors, mimes, pickpockets and Las Vegas neon.
From the Top Rank-promoted show featuring Timothy Bradley-Diego Chaves on HBO at The Cosmopolitan to Golden Boy’s Amir Khan-Devon Alexander on Showtime and about half-a-mile from the MGM Grand, it’s a fight for relevancy.
For the fighters.
For their business.
The two cards are one chance to finish a 2014 that saw a steady decline in pay-per-view numbers and even a dip in a non-PPV bout for the HBO telecast of Terence Crawford’s brilliant decision over Raymundo Beltran last Saturday.
Explanations for the trend abound. Main events start too late. Opening bell for Crawford-Beltran was after midnight in the East. It’s hard to generate interest in the American PPV market for fights in China. As of Thursday, there was no official count from HBO on the PPV audience for Manny Pacquiao’s blowout of Chris Algieri. But speculation made it sound as if there was more of the same in a downward spiral
Take your pick for what to blame, who to blame, in 2014. Blame Obamacare, or climate change, or any of the other convenient targets for anything and everything. But let Bradley get to the heart of what ails his livelihood.
“Pay-per-view is not what it used to be, baby,’’ Bradley said Thursday during a conference call. “These fans are catching on. They’re not buying anymore. They’re not buying the fights like they used to buy.
“You know, some of the best fighters in the world can’t even hit the million buys anymore. So, the best fighters got to fight the best in order to accumulate, get, those type of numbers again, man. For boxing, because people love boxing. But they want to see great fights.”
The cards on the second Saturday in December might – just might – be a move in that direction. Although on the same night and in competition for what appears to be a dwindling fan base, there’s real cooperation — instead of just talk — between the promotional entities. For while, it looked as if the Top Rank-Golden Boy feud would last longer than the 30 Years War.
Then, however, Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya reached out to Top Rank’s Bob Arum in May in a move that shook up the game’s assumptions and hierarchy. Nearly eight months later, there’s tangible evidence of a thaw.
On the Bradley-Chaves card, Top Rank junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. moves into world-class waters for the first time against the Golden Boy-promoted Mauricio Herrera.
Then, there’s Bradley’s trainer Julio Diaz. If the timing is right, Diaz will work Victor Ortiz’ corner in his comeback at the MGM Grand and then make .58-mile trip to The Cosmopolitan for Bradley in his bid to get back into the welterweight division’s championship mix.
It’s fitting, perhaps, that Bradley asked for an end to the feud during a speech at the Boxing Writers Association of America’s annual dinner last May.
“The fact that they’re working together is great,’’ said Bradley, who is coming off a scorecard loss to Manny Pacquiao in a rematch of his hugely controversial decision over the Filipino. “If I had anything to do with it, fantastic. And if I pissed anybody off, I’m proud.’’
Bradley is not exactly in the peace-making business. Like any other fighter, he’s an independent entrepreneur. He’s contract worker. If Top Rank and Golden Boy are on the same page, there are more opportunities for him if he beats Chaves. Only time, however, will determine whether the two can sustain a working relationship.
If so, maybe there would be fight for him against a Khan or Alexander. Kell Brook also as been mentioned.
“I live in the present tense,’’ he said. “I don’t live in the future. I try not to. The thing is, there are still some bridges that need to be crossed. Okay? The Cold War, yeah, they say it’s over, or ‘we’re trying to work together.’ That’s one thing. …I would embrace any of the type of fights that have been mentioned. But there’s still some bridges that have to be crossed. That’s the bottom line.
“Until those things are fixed, hey, I don’t know, I don’t know. But I’m going to stay in my lane. I’m going to do what I do. If these guys want to fight, I’m right here.’’
It’s no secret that Bradley would not be at the top of Khan’s list if – as expected — he beats Alexander. In Khan’s quest to regain relevancy, the UK welterweight hopes to restore his candidacy to be Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s running mate if the been-there, done-that campaign for Pacquiao unravels all over again.
Bradley said Thursday he hopes Pacquiao-Mayweather happens.
“I think it should happen,’’ he said. “I don’t know if it will happen. Right now is the perfect time for it.’’
Bradley predicated that Pacquiao-Mayweather would set the PPV record with 3 million buys. That’s a number, a milestone, that would say the business has won the fight. Relevancy restored.
But is it a bridge too far? In 2015, the answer to that one will be the Story of the Year. Maybe, Fight of the Year, too.
Bradley calls Chaves dirty
More than one headline always comes out of a Bradley conference call. Chaves, disqualified against Brandon Rios in his last bout, is a “dirty fighter,’’ he said.
“Really a dirty fighter,’’ said Bradley, who came to that conclusion after studying video of several Chaves’ bouts.
If Chaves fights dirty, Bradley said he is prepared to counter.
“With stuff of my own,’’ he said. “Everybody knows what that is.’’
Bradley is often accused of his using his bald head as a weapon in intentional butts.
More Bradley: Meat on his vegan bones
Bradley has suspended a strict vegan diet for at least this fight.
“Eating fish, eating beef,’’ said Bradley, who hopes the additional protein will make a difference.
