Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
I'd love to see Stevenson-Kovalev, but I think Stevenson-Hopkins is still great if that's the way things pan out. I have no idea the ins and outs of it, and for me personally I'd expect Stevenson to lose both guys clearly. Can't blame him for taking more money if that's how it goes though.
Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
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Originally Posted by
bzkfn
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Originally Posted by
Spicoli
I don't think Stevenson had any intention of facing Kovalev and its obvious with the shat he spouted off after signed by Showtime friendly Haymon. Like some mouthy kid who runs home and locks the door to start taunting from the safty of some upstairs window. I've got lots of problems with hbo but they we're persuing a lost cause once Stevenson made his mind up.
I agree. After he fought Bellew he was pretty much Shakin' Stevenson when he was asked about Kovalev in the interview. In the last month he started to be more vocal about how easy a fight Kovalev would be, then he signs with Haymon and moves to Showtime killing any chance of the fight being made. Bottom line, he didn't want the fight. The signs were there. Kovalev has few quality options available to him now.
It really is as simple as that. Fighters, god love em, have the right to search for the better deal and its the minority who actually have these type of options to maximize his earnings between competing premier networks. But its like being called back into renegotiate a sale on a car you've already agreed the terms on after driving it for a day. They featured him with the intent and build to a payoff and had "agreed" with him if only on a hand shake. Then he jumps ship, brings in a heavy who had to be half laughing going through the motions knowing HBO & Showtime are like fire and oil and then continues to pop off thumping his chest with insults while walking the other direction and trying to have it both ways. Stevenson didn't want to fight that man, he just cashed out when his hand was close to being called.
Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
Adonis Stevenson's Promoter Reveals on HBO and Kovalev - Boxing News
HBO could have had the Kovalev-Stevenson fight but didn't value it as much as they paid for Ward-Rodriguez. They paid three point one for the Ward fight but were only offering just over two for K-S. The deal sat on the table for a couple of months. If HBO had come up with close to three for K-S they would have had the fight. Now they let Stevenson walk away to Showtime. What a bunch of clowns.
Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
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Originally Posted by
Kirkland Laing
Adonis Stevenson's Promoter Reveals on HBO and Kovalev - Boxing News
HBO could have had the Kovalev-Stevenson fight but didn't value it as much as they paid for Ward-Rodriguez. They paid three point one for the Ward fight but were only offering just over two for K-S. The deal sat on the table for a couple of months. If HBO had come up with close to three for K-S they would have had the fight. Now they let Stevenson walk away to Showtime. What a bunch of clowns.
That's with Yvon's spin. Read between the lines a little.
Think about it this way. First, Kovalev agreed to the money and terms HBO offered. No balking. No re-negotiating. He would face Agnew first and then Stevenson for the deal offered. In contrast, Stevenson didn't. He balked at the money offered and tried to re-negotiate. Does that imply an eagerness to face Kovalev?
Second, Yvon doesn't address whether Stevenson would sign a two-fight deal that obligated him to face Kovalev if he beat Fonfara. Rather, Yvon discusses that he was going to get a bigger purse to fight Fonfara from Showtime than he would on HBO. What Stevenson wanted to do was get paid a lot of money to face Fonfara first and then have the option of renegotiating with HBO over the Kovalev fight. If you're HBO, you're only paying him a lot to face a stay-busy opponent like Fonfara, if he 100% agrees to face Kovalev when he wins.
Yvon admits that hard-core fans are missing out on a fight with Kovalev because of Stevenson ("for the fans, not for hard core fans") thinks a Hopkins fight is more lucrative. That's what happening here. It shouldn't be surprising because Stevenson didn't sound like he wanted to face Kovalev in his post fight interview following his last fight.
At bottom, who's fault is it that we aren't seeing them fight? Stevenson's. It is in the top 3 fights that fans are most looking forward to and now we aren't getting it. We thought we would see it after Kovalev and Stevenson shared a double header. Then Haymon got involved we aren't getting the fight. Who's better off? Stevenson. Who's not better off? Boxing fans.
Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
If they do not fight one another soon then both deserve to die and rot in hell.
Re: HBO rejects Stevenson-Fonfara due to Haymon's involvement with Stevenson
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rantcatrat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kirkland Laing
Adonis Stevenson's Promoter Reveals on HBO and Kovalev - Boxing News
HBO could have had the Kovalev-Stevenson fight but didn't value it as much as they paid for Ward-Rodriguez. They paid three point one for the Ward fight but were only offering just over two for K-S. The deal sat on the table for a couple of months. If HBO had come up with close to three for K-S they would have had the fight. Now they let Stevenson walk away to Showtime. What a bunch of clowns.
That's with Yvon's spin. Read between the lines a little.
Think about it this way.
First, Kovalev agreed to the money and terms HBO offered. No balking. No re-negotiating. He would face Agnew first and then Stevenson for the deal offered. In contrast, Stevenson didn't. He balked at the money offered and tried to re-negotiate. Does that imply an eagerness to face Kovalev?
Second, Yvon doesn't address whether Stevenson would sign a two-fight deal that obligated him to face Kovalev if he beat Fonfara. Rather, Yvon discusses that he was going to get a bigger purse to fight Fonfara from Showtime than he would on HBO. What Stevenson wanted to do was get paid a lot of money to face Fonfara first and then have the option of renegotiating with HBO over the Kovalev fight. If you're HBO, you're only paying him a lot to face a stay-busy opponent like Fonfara, if he 100% agrees to face Kovalev when he wins.
Yvon admits that hard-core fans are missing out on a fight with Kovalev because of Stevenson ("for the fans, not for hard core fans") thinks a Hopkins fight is more lucrative. That's what happening here. It shouldn't be surprising because Stevenson didn't sound like he wanted to face Kovalev in his post fight interview following his last fight.
At bottom, who's fault is it that we aren't seeing them fight? Stevenson's. It is in the top 3 fights that fans are most looking forward to and now we aren't getting it. We thought we would see it after Kovalev and Stevenson shared a double header. Then Haymon got involved we aren't getting the fight. Who's better off? Stevenson. Who's not better off? Boxing fans.
Some of the facts as we know them are open to different interpretations. From watching Stevenson get interviewed after his last fight and how I read the facts I don't think Stevenson has a problem fighting Kovalev, he's just 36 and he wants to maximise the amount of money he makes in the time he has left at the top. If HBO had offering him five million dollars he would have snapped their hand off.
None of these guys are frightened of fighting each other, they just want to make the most money they can. Stevenson fills a 20 000 seat arena in Canada when he fights. He's the top guy at 175. Kovalev is the challenger. He fought in front of 2000 people in a small arena in Atlantic City last weekend.
