"You and Mike Tyson are flies. We Are elephants. We smash flies."
Those were the threatening words of HBO's head man, the boss of the entire prime cable network Michael Fuchs, and they were spoken to Mike Tyson promoter Don King.
Instead of just getting mad, King beat his feet from the Sixth Avenue HQs of HBO over to Broadway and West 50 Street, relocating himself and cash cow Iron Mike to the friendly confines of Showtime.
Conventional wisdom had it that King was huffing and bluffing.
But King voted with his feet, marching westward and going "all in" with HBO's chief rival.
I worked for King at the time and, as the great promoter often said, "There's the Tyson business and then boxing business. The Tyson business is bigger."
Tyson and King, who claimed to be adamant that Larry Merchant be removed as a commentator on Tyson bouts, thus put HBO and HBO PPV in their rear view mirror for the warm embrace of Chairman Tony Cox, SHO and Showtime Event Television (SET).
Working with the late Jay Larkin, with Scott Kurnit and others, Showtime and SET fought the richer, more powerful HBO to a boxing standstill and then overtook the boxing TV leader with propulsion from Tyson and, to a lesser extent, Julio Cesar Chavez.
Showtime already had been doing fights with King, whose promotional roster was the most stacked in the sport's history, for four years.
It should be recalled this contract was put together while Brother Tyson was vegetating at the Indiana Youth Center where he served from March of 1992 to March of 1995 for raping beauty pageant contest Desiree Washington.
On March 30, 1995, Showtime Networks, Inc., entered into an exclusive, three year deal for Tyson bouts. (There was a prior history what with SET having done the two Razor Ruddock-Tyson bouts back in 1991.)
King then delivered the Tyson Comeback Carnival in which hapless foes such as Hurricane Peter McNeeley, smallish Buster Mathis Jr., nervous Frank Bruno and scared to death Bruce Seldon were assaulted.
That set the table for Holyfield-Tyson I in 1996 and the rematch in 1997.
A look at the PPV TV scorecard on Nov. 30, 1999, then showed Showtime/SET boasting of having seven of the top 10 attractions ever, including the two huge Evander Holyfield-Tyson megabouts.
Larkin died last year.
Chairman Tony, fit as a fiddle or so it seemed, died on Sept. 21, 1996, as he was running on a Manhattan health club treadmill. He ran Showtime for eight years and was a former HBO executive himself.
Kurnit, last I heard, had taken over operations at About.com.
Matt Blank, now Showtime CEO, was a key figure in boxing's start and ascendancy at Showtime.
He noted, when the 1995 Tyson deal was announced, that his company had done, at that point, 62 boxing telecasts, 102 bouts and 83 world title fights.
The more things change in television, the more they stay the same.
So Bob Arum's moving Manny Pacquiao and his May 7 PPV fight from HBO to Showtime is new ground for Pacman but not for boxing.
When HBO and Showtime compete, when they bang heads, the boxing consumer wins.
The only new wrinkle here, and don't understimate its power, is the huge promotional platform CBS renders to Mosley-Pacquiao and perhaps to future Pacman events.
A few months ago, it was not said but always assumed that HBO would deliver the eventual Floyd Mayweather-Pacquiao blockbuster.
I think that assumption is a false one now.
Showtime's back and who is to say there won't be a bidding war for Floyd-Manny now?
Arum and Todd duBoef, who gets much of the real credit for luring Showtime back into the Top Rank tent first with the Ricardo Mayorga-Miguel Cotto March 12 PPV event and then the Mosley-Pacquiao event, can sit down with Mayweather representatives and say, 'Let's put Mayweather-Pacquiao up for auction, go with the highest bidder.' There would be no reason for Mayweather's handlers to balk.
(It must be said that no one, least of all Pacquiao or his connections, claim they were mistreated or underpaid by HBO. They did not leave in a snit as did King and Tyson.)
Fuchs is long gone from HBO and still up in the sky somewhere with his company stock and the rest of his most golden parachute.
But nobody at HBO is talking about smashing any flies this week.
Comments
Goodbye Lederman, Lampley, Merchant and Kellerman! Goodbye "Let's get ready to rumble!"... welcome, "It's Showtime!"
sorry, there will no be "let's get ready to rumble" because Michael Buffer works for HBO LOL
@JPPP,
that's what he said...
"Goodbye "Let's get ready to rumble!" ;)
Happy Memories for an ex-Showtimer like me. Jay Larkin was a great friend and his death is a great loss to all. To update you on Scott Kurnit, he's the Founder, Chairman and CEO of a cool new online startup called AdKeeper. Starting on Valentine's Day, when you see a small K icon in the corner of an ad, you'll be able to click that icon and Keep that ad for future use, without interrupting whatever it is you're doing online. Hard to believe you have always been able to bookmark a page, but you've never been able to save an ad. Now you can. About.com is now owned by the New York Times and Kurnit is still on the board, but he sold the company to Primedia in 2001 for $724 Million. AdKeeper is his latest entrepreneurial venture, while Showtime Event Television was one of his earliest entrepreneurial successes back in the mid-1980's.
Pacquiao made it to network TV with 60 Minutes - a CBS show. maybe something was already in the works back then.
Over 100 million viewers tuned in that's why.
lol 100 million?? i dont think so. maybe 15 million at best and that's with obama on the same show.
you're absolutely right. they did it several moons ago. just a matter of follow through and mind conditioning... hehehe.
I believe the big Bob is behind all of these...
Jou, so funny I had the same thought but "60 Minutes" is part of CBS News and they do not historically roll like that. Simply, they saw Manny as the wonderful story he is, I guess suspicious minds think alike, lol
FMJ "representative" will be Don King? Did you sidestep this on your closing statement? If not, what's your take? Did DK flash the Showtime money to FMJ in Florida and he took the bait? I believe so. Otherwise, what else where they talking about? Could this be the reason DK and Bob are all smiles these days? Pac-Floyd closer to reality? Roger cleared. Floyd to announce settlement. Fight on? 3rd time lucky? Please say yes.
@M. Marley..hey sir! will hoping that the CBS/SHOWTIME exactly produce at least 90M viewers inside US alone, but how about the whole wide world that are crazy enough to see the PAC of POWER fights? lol...im sure HBOs whole team will scratch thier bald head for it...even the famous ring announcer of micahel buffer who always one sided...he dont like the pacman for sure...not in many of HBOs staff...now the will see..and they will harvest for what theyve done!!
no doubt, uncle bob is the man. whoever fks with him gets fkd. sorry Hbo it's Showtime. kudos to the godfather of boxing lol.
Boo-hoo-hoo. Am all Screw'd!
Now, how can I convince Floyd?
You know, just do it oscar. I know you can convince floyd, you know.
For Uncle Bob, so far so good. All went well according to plan.
Don King wont get $1 from Mayweather! this is good news! Now Floyd's HBOs numero uno priority!
Hbo earns a lot of money from pacquiao. they are just sharing that money to us.
thank you hbo.
Business is all about.
HBO still wants to hold its biggest pie
The Beatles change the make up of music industry.
Now, its Bob.
James Bond ask a little increase of his pie and lost the battle.
Arum change his elephant so to speak.
Know what? Elephant are getting instinct.
Yeah
Bob is a diamond and diamonds last forever!
Top Rank-Showtime vs GBP-Oskie
I mean Top Rank(Showtime) vs GBP(HBO). Oskie is part of HBO.HBO priority always goes to GBP fighters.
bantot ng mga Ilocano at bisaya.
di kasi mag brush ng teeth at maligo.
buang ka chicago guy...
Ungas bisaya si Pacman! Pag si Manny na ang presidente ng pinas ipapapatay niya lahat ang hindi mga bisaya!
HI BOOM! ITS YOU AGAIN. LOVE YOU ! KAYAT MO TI KILAWEN, NAIMAS NGAROD!
Chicago guy, murag wrong spelling... Dapat Chicago gay!
bahala na bantot, pero nasarapan ka naman sa amin;-0
CHICAGO GUY PISOT KA, BAHO KA UG TIKTIK.
chicago guy no doubt you are an egyptian.
How does an elephant (HBO) smash a fly (Pacquiao) parked on its head? Use one of the following?:
a) Magnum
b) AK-47
c) Missiles
d) Nuclear bomb
Any of the four is violent, I suggest an overdose of PEDs ... for the elephant because the fly is actually a honeybee!
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boxer Floyd Septic Jr.'s uncle and trainer pleaded no contest Thursday to two misdemeanor battery charges in a plea deal that avoided a trial and jail time in a Las Vegas domestic battery case.
Alcoholic and drug user Roger Mayweather, 49, was sentenced to a year of probation, 24 weeks of domestic violence counseling, 50 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine for the Aug. 2, 2009, incident.
Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair accepted Li'l Septic Jr's uncle's pleas as an admission of guilt and warned the retired loser professional boxer to stay out of trouble for a year or face a year in county jail with Big John as his cell mate. Judge Adair indicated that Big John is also referred to as The Python inside the prison system. Judge Valerie wanted to meet The Python as well.
Now I think Marley have inside idea what's going on reassuring why neither Roger or Floyd is going to jail. Don King is with Showtime and may have strucked secret deals with Floyd in Florida. DK and Bob Arum are seen happy together. Suddenly Arum moving to Showtime. Isn't that all in the works finally putting up Manny and Floyd in Showtime? Tell us more Mike!
Arum knows the best moves for his cash cows.
Pacquiao in SHOWTIME? Looks like another escape route by MongolFloid by gluing (todeath) himself to HBO in order to avoid pacman.
What's up with all this "uncle Bob" praise?? He doesnt care about what's good for boxing, he's only interested in lining his pockets. remember, he's also the one who brought us this farce of a matchup in pacquiao vs grandpa mosley because as he stated "I dont care what the hardcore boxing fans want".
if you think about it, boxing is still a business venture. without promoters recouping their investments, boxers will be fighting at open parks for hundreds to mere thousands of dollars.
it is also true that hardcore boxing fans DON'T SPELL the numbers in boxing ppvs. it is ALWAYS the casual fans.
so say what you like but the fact still remains, promoters wouldn't give a damn about hardcore boxing fans because they will watch either way. LOL.
Arum gave PacVsMargo, PacVsCotto, PacVsClottey and will now give PacVsMosley
GBP gave MayVsMosley and MayVsMarquez
who gives the sh1tty fights now? MayVsMarquez is the sh1ttiest fight in all of these
super baho at pangit ng mga Ilocano.
puro mga barat pa
HA HA HA...WALA NG BENTA SI ILOCANO HATER. LAOS NA KASI GIMIK MO BOY. MAGTINDA KANA LANG NG KAMATIS HA HA HA..
wala ka atang maganda sa buhay mo kaibigan. bakit di ka na lang magbigti para mawala na yong galit sa puso mo. di maganda yang ginagawa mo alisin mo galit sa puso mo para umasenso ka. wag yong para kang talangka. dapat maging masaya ka sa kapwa mo.
Way to go godfather bob! Now, the mismatch story and boycoteers are swept under the rug by this Showtime switch story.
will miss buffer, but anyways, IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT'S SHOWTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!
HBO CATERS TO GOLDEN GIRLS!!!!!! REMEMBER WHEN THEY BACKED MAWEATHER AND PACQUIAO HAD THE SAME DATE AND HBO BACKED FRAUD MAYWEATHER!!!!! HBO JUST LOST THE BIGGEST STAR BOXING EVER PRODUCED!!!!!!! AND THATS A FACT!!!!!!!!!!!
As long as Pacquiao fights, whatever platform, network, country, it's still good to watch.
Boxing is said to be a business. Let them mind their own, HBO, CBS, TP, etc.
As long as we see fights. We still have the power to choose, to watch or not. And nobody is taking that away from us.
And for those who loves to hate, like Mr. Iole does, about Pac-Mosley fight, let them shout as long as they want. But they should mind their own business too. They can't dictate us nor call us names if we look forward of watching the fight.
Michael Buffer work with the promoter not with HBO! Lets get ready to rumble!
this is your show
this is our time
it's SHOWTIME!!!
lol... no more 24/7 hype.
haha.. ure f*ckng funny gurl//.hehehe//
How can d HBO smash pacquiao? Whatever network will cover pacquiao's fight it would be a big market, because pacquiao made his name very popular in the planet. If only have human being in planet mars rest assured that they too will watch d fight of d GOAT fighter manny pacman pacquiao. Lol!!!
God made pacquiao as popular as beatles but d only difference is.... Manny recognize God in all his achievements and put God first in all his plans.
To All JewLocanos:
PISOT KA, BAHO KA UG TIKTIK.
Mabuhay ang Bisaya!
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