After the last few years of the ridiculous Golden Boy Promotions / Top Rank Feud, we have witnessed many great matchups not get made. While we always held optimism that eventually it would get resolved, it appears to have gotten even worse, instead. Occasionally at the lower levels forced mandatories have made the two boxing giants work together, but with anything of true value at stake, both have shown innovation and resolve in their avoidance of one another. The other sad aspect of this feud is that both sides are perfectly willing to hurt boxing in order to hurt each other.
There was absolutely no reason to have competing cards on Sept 15 of last year, when nothing of extreme conflict was taking place on either of the two weekends after. Yet, when given an opportunity to screw one another, that opportunity is what will win out. They are largely the same company, with exception to Golden Boy being a bit more open to alliance partnerships, which is what makes their feud all the more frustrating.
The same smaller cards, with smaller networks, to build talent, as well as similar pandering to the Latino market (hence the May 5, and Sept 16 battle every year). This is a recent phenomena, in that great strides are made to ensure the pandering. Perhaps both companies have seen the failure of Don King Promotions to build non Latino boxing stars in the Midwest. Indeed, it is Golden Boy making that move back to non-Latino America, not Don King. However, this battle has just gotten more silly, in that it now involves networks.
At the lower level it always had. While ESPN does not have promoter exclusivity (as yet), the smaller channel families seem to ally themselves with one promoter. Now, HBO, in what has been a stream of questionable decisions, has cut ties with Golden Boy. Perhaps this is a reaction to Golden Boy slowly moving it's stars to Showtime. A sort of "I'll break up with you, before you break up with me" mentality", but it also appears to be a hasty decision based on the possibilities with Top Rank. Indeed, it does not appear that either company needs one another currently.
Their bickering cost us Mayweather-Pacquiao, and yet both companies survived. This set a bad precedent. Let's also look at the possibilities at 140-154, alone. Top Rank has Bradley, Pacquiao, Provodnikov (who is now a player for the time being), Marquez, Rios and Alvarado. Virtually any combination of these six fighters would be salivated over by boxing fans, and a tourney between the six could keep Top Rank busy, and raking it in, for the next 2-3 years.
Golden Boy has Khan, Broner, Malignaggi, Matthysse, Guerrero, Alvarez, Peterson, and through alliance partnerships, access to Trout, Ishe Smith, and Mayweather. They also have a better farm system than Top Rank, and will be building new stars all along. The future is much brighter for Golden Boy than Top Rank, but it is also much brighter for Showtime than HBO. Maybe the networks have been matched up correctly.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com