What in the world is super advisor Al Haymon doing? Haymon has never worked well with Bob Arum so you knew that would continue. But there were instances where sanctioning bodies would force Haymon fighters to fight fighters from the Bob Arum stable or even pit Haymon fighters in close fights.
Seems like Haymon has found a loophole through that as well as first it was Quillin dropping his belt instead of facing his mandatory Matt Korobov. Then news broke this week that Danny Garcia and Viktor Postol had reached an agreement not to fight but for Postol to take step aside money, take voluntary fights, and maybe down the line they will fight? Or probably not.
Then Dan Rafael of ESPN wrote a story stating that Roc Nation was interested in bidding on the fight between Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder if it went to purse bid. Not only that but because Wilder is no longer under contract Golden Boy, Roc Nation offered Deontay Wilder 2 million dollars and a five fight deal, which ultimately was declined because Wilder and his team basically said whatever Al says goes.
Rafael of ESPN.com also put this out via his social media pages on twitter and Facebook:
Important language in Haymon’s form contract reads: “During the term of this agreement, Athlete agrees to render services solely and exclusively for Advisor and agrees that he will not take part in or negotiate for any professional boxing contest whatsoever without first obtaining written approval of Advisor.” That is why Quillin and Wilder could not accept deals from Roc Nation. Also, Haymon’s form of contract provides no minimum number of bouts per year and no minimum purse figures.
Incredibly enough when fighters who are advised by Al Haymon say that whatever happens next or fight next and the typical response is, “Whatever my advisor Al Haymon says,” that might hold true as per the contract.
With the Haymon and NBC deal imminent, is there a mass exodus of Haymon fighters fleeing Golden Boy? Seems like it. Rafael also reported that some Golden Boy contracts had a keyhole in the contracts which stated if Schaefer was no longer with Golden Boy, the contracts with Golden Boy would no longer be valid.
So as far as how many of those clients have that type of contract is unknown.
But what is known as Haymon is making his power moves. We all knew it was coming when De La Hoya aligned himself with once hated rival and former promoter Bob Arum, But now it seems like the thawing in that relationship is slowly coming around as the two are making deals and making fights, albeit on the smaller level. Many in the industry believe they will make Cotto-Canelo happen on May 2nd further putting pressure on Haymon and Mayweather to either do something extraordinary or just fall off the date.
What’s more alarming is that Haymon is an advisor/manager to many fighter and in his role he is supposed to work for his clients. In the instances of Wilder and Quillin, they both turned down career high paydays because Haymon said no. Many in the industry believe that Quillin was given 6 figures to drop his belt and was guaranteed a 7 figure guarantee by Haymon for his next fight which could be against new IBF Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor who is also advised by Haymon. There’s no coincidence as to why Quillin was in Mississippi for the fight between Taylor and Sam Soliman.
As for Wilder, what could possibly get him 2 million dollars and in victory a shot at Wladimir Klitschko? Would he go the WBA “regular” champion route and fight Ruslan Chagaev? Would that entice Klitschko? Or does Haymon not even want to bother putting Wilder in with Klitschko.
Another curious case is Keith Thurman who seemed to be on the rise and somewhere down the line could have been a potential Mayweather opponent. He’s only fought 3 rounds this year and his return could come in November or December against an unworthy foe like a Julio Diaz who he fought early this year. If Thurman also has an agreement as to what Rafael reported, he has no minimum fights a year and can basically be shelved with no consequences.
Because Haymon is an advisor/manager, per the Ali Act he can’t be a promoter. So in the past he’s used Golden Boy as his crutch to get his fighters on. As De La Hoya moved on, he is now using the likes of Lou Dibella and Leon Margules as his crutch and be the promoter on record. Is that the plan moving forward?
How must Stephen Espinoza feel that Kathy Duva told the media that Haymon was going to be competing with HBO and Showtime with his NBC Deal? Showtime has been the main distributer of Haymon fights this year. With Golden Boy poised to work with HBO, where does that leave Showtime who’s had a disappointing 2014 after a great 2013?
A lot of unanswered questions but little by little answers keep creeping out. But we’ll know soon exactly what Al Haymon is plotting, right?
