The Implications of a Possible Chavez Jr. and Haymon Partnership

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    untitledYou ever play that game “Who would Win in a Fight?” You know the one, don’t you? It’s played as kids or even between lesser matured adults (like myself).

    If you don’t know the game then here is a brief explanation of the rules: One friend asks ‘who would win in a fight’ and then he chooses two obscure animals from two absurdly different habitations for you to decide between (i.e. Shark VS Bear). Or, perhaps he chooses two super heroes from opposing comic publications such as Batman (DC Comics) VS Wolverine (Marvel).

    The entertainment value of the game is increased when unusual amendments are placed on your basic, everyday killing machine.

    Here is an example: Who would win between a shark with a laser on its head and an octopus with machetes for legs?

    Fun, right?

    If you’re a fan of theoretical matchups coming to fruition and possess a decent amount of knowledge on the fight game then I got scary “who would win?” for you, with a brief prelude, of course.

    It starts with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, who has been inactive to say the least. True, he did fight in March of this year and so I wouldn’t classify him as completely inactive. Although, the fight was a revenge fight against Brian Vera in an attempt to circumvent his very controversial win over Vera in their first outing back in September of last year.

    The inactivity I’m referring to is his self-furtherance in boxing and his desire to make strides towards a more prominent legacy, one that isn’t lacking in comparisons to his father’s. With that context in mind, Chavez Jr. hasn’t been “active” since his fight with Sergio Martinez, which now seems like forever ago.

    The problem isn’t with lack of progress Chavez Jr. has made, the problem is with his proactive approach in further tarnishing his own legacy. He has developed a reputation for being lazy, he got busted for pot, and continues to have issues with weight fluctuation. The biggest issue is his unwillingness to get back into the ring, but it isn’t just his reluctance because it seems like he is going out of his way to prevent any fight from taking place.

    So far this year Chavez Jr. has circumvented a fight with both Gennady Golovkin and Carl Froch. Technically the fight with Froch isn’t completely off the table, but it kind of is.

    The proposed fight with Froch wouldn’t’ve taken place until January 2015, but given the attitude, approach, and comments on the part of Chavez Jr., not to mention the lack of belief from anyone surrounding the fight (Top Rank and HBO), it would appear that Chavez Jr. will let yet another big fight fall through the cracks.

    What’s more troubling is Chavez Jr.’s recent comments about being a “free agent,” a notion that Top Rank disputes. Chavez Jr. has been lobbying for his freedom from Top Rank and would rather deal with the company on more of a one fight basis. And for full disclosure, Chavez Jr. didn’t turn down the Golovkin fight because he was scared, it was more of risk/reward because he didn’t want to sign a multi-fight deal with Top Rank to close the negotiations for “GGG” and when Top Rank obliged the one fight contract they came back with a significantly smaller guarantee for his purse, which of course Chavez Jr. balked at.

    You can’t have your cake and eat it to, or at least not without the help of the one man known for scarfing down boxing pastries in the form of TV output deals from boxing networks and boxing promoters.

    You should know by now that wherever there is a fighter dispute with a promoter or a big fight between multiple promoters hitting a snag, not too far behind is Al Haymon.

    Some sources are claiming that Chavez Jr. will soon sit down with Al Haymon and discuss his alleged free agency, amongst other things. We all know what Haymon wants from Chavez Jr. and we all know what Chavez Jr. wants from Haymon, but what does it mean and how big are the implications?

    The light is starting to shine more and more as the weeks pass and we all know that Haymon’s deal with NBC and his allocation of resources as of late, not to mention his obsession with signing fighters over the past year, means that he is gearing up for a big 2015 and beyond. We can also assume that he will be much more hands on than ever before, but to what extent is still somewhat unclear.

    I’m still very pessimistic about Haymon’s intentions because I know how unwilling he has been in the past when it comes to working with other promoters and the fact that he has been responsible for some of the best cross promotional fights never happening. But I know not everyone feels that way.

    So, for the moment, let’s not worry about whether the moves Haymon has carefully orchestrated over the span of God knows when are good or bad for fight fans. Instead, examine his battle ready status as of now.

    Haymon is capable of taking on boxing all by himself because he has been maneuvering his pieces for years; he’s been playing chess while Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya were playing checkers on a Monopoly board.

    Consider the fact that Haymon possesses the deepest stable of fighters (though he’s not technically a promoter) and that stable is filled with some of the best and brightest fighters the sport has to offer.

    His fighters are made up of mostly young talent with the appeal necessary to attract a younger boxing audience and perhaps rejuvenate the interests of the older crowd that may have lost interest over the years due to a lack of appeal or luster in comparison to boxing’s “good ol’ days (according to them).

    Haymon’s stable is so good that De La Hoya and Arum have decided to end their “Cold War” and start playing nice. But this isn’t because they want to make the best fights regardless of promotional outfit, this move was done out of necessity and it was necessitated by Haymon’s not so future endeavors.

    De La Hoya could see the writing on the wall and Arum now knows the key rule in war, and that is “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” or something like that.

    The one shred of hope for De La Hoya and Arum is they have bonafied stars in Canelo (Golden Boy) and Pacquiao (Top Rank). These two promotional entities are proven PPV attractions, at least amongst the majority of high profiled fighters.

    That seemed to be the only drawback to Haymon’s plans. He was always lacking a major fighter with commercial appeal. He does have Mayweather Jr., but if you believe Floyd then you know his swansong is 11 months away.

    It’s like this, if you’re going to start a studio company and plan to produce major films but all you have is a bunch of hot twenty-somethings from MTV, then you’ll still need a Brad Pitt to be successful on a major level.

    Enter Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

    With the addition of Chavez Jr., Haymon is able to maintain one of the only other young major attractions with a proven track record for grabbing ratings, selling tickets, and successful PPV numbers.

    This could be the last piece of the puzzle for Haymon, the one that will allow him to compete right out the gate with Top Rank and Golden Boy on every level.

    There is another factor. Haymon has been accused of favoring African-American fighters. A vast majority of his clientele is made up of Black fighters. I don’t particularly agree with this notion, and besides, few kick up grief over the fact that Golden Boy has an inclining towards Hispanic fighters.

    My objections aside, if there is a majority perception that Haymon is prejudice then it will trickle down and grow to the point that he is labeled, making it difficult for him to sign Hispanic fighters in the years to come.

    Signing Chavez Jr. will help him diversify his stable in a major way, subsequently preventing these rumblings from boiling over into unjust (or just) misconceptions.

    So, who would win in a promotional war between Haymon and Top Rank/Golden Boy? With Chavez Jr. acting as an amendment to the original question the game is modified to: who wins between Haymon with a chainsaw leg and laser shooters in his eyes and Top Rank/Golden Boy?

    Chavez Jr. may have only put a single “W” in his 2014 win column, but he may cap the year by helping Haymon to secure the biggest win of all: 2015 and beyond.