HBO Boxing Boss Ken Hershman Looks Back, Forward

Published

9 years ago

December 19, 2014

The interview got off to a rough start, because I missed my call time.

My excuse was good, as excuses go: I was cleaning out the cat litter box.

That’s why I missed my 1 PM phoner with HBO boxing boss Ken Hershman, but after doing that bit of housekeeping, I put on my journo cap, got out my keyboard, and checked in to see what the lay of the land was in the mind of Hershman, and see if I could get a sense of how 2015 might play out.

I say “might” because as far as fool’s errands go, planning much beyond the next bout in this fight-game sphere can and is often proven to be a waste of time. The landscape shifts, allegiances sprout and crumble, fighters hook up with confidantes who tell them they should be making X amount more, so why not sit on the sidelines and make ‘em beg for your return, etc etc.

Hershman didn’t disagree with my theory on “the best laid plans,” and then we both marveled that it’s been so long since he came over to HBO, from across the street, Showtime, to steer the boxing ship.

“It’s gone pretty quickly, “ he told me. “Looking back, it’s amazing that it been that long already.”

Hershman’s start date was January 2012, and oh yes, has time passed and has that landscape shifted. Floyd Mayweather was the man back then, the one, along with Manny Pacquiao, who was going to spur smiles among the suits who run the show at the premium cabler…or cause frown lines to cement that much more, as balance sheets don’t read like the folks who live and die, to an extent, by those figures.

Hey, while I’m on the subject, before we take a look back, what say we take a peek at the future…Floyd’s got two fights left on his Showtime/CBS deal…would you, Mr. Hershman, consider making a run at “Money,” do a sequel with him, bring him back into the HBO fold after his mega-deal with the Sho crew runs its course?

Hershman wasn’t too keen on “projecting into the future” regarding Floyd, which circles us back to what we said about the best laid plans. But he did state that he saw Floyd at the WBC convention in Vegas earlier in the week, and they interacted amiably. “There was a long relationship between Floyd and HBO, and I understand his business decisions, and we’ll cross that bridge if and when it appears,” he said. “I’ve got nothing negative to say about Floyd. But we have to move forward with my model, our model…and when the time comes, he’ll have choices to make.”

As for the year which has almost called it a day, Hershman looks back with contentedness, he told me. “I think it was a tremendous year, and we were are firing on all cylinders, and we are well positioned to go into 2015.”

I’d say so; no, they aren’t in the Mayweather business, but I sometimes think that has to feel like it’s as much or more trouble than it’s worth. (Though the current boxing boss Stephen Espinoza is unfraid to state publicly that is not so, that the financial arrangement they all hashed out serves all parties well, and he has said that Floyd’s off-the-field shenanigans are basically immaterial to how he and the Sho crew view Floyd the fighter.)

Hershman told me he’s comfortable having gotten into a flow where he’s working with promoters and fighters who are on the same page. That “minimizes surprises,” what I referenced earlier, those speedbumps that derail even stable vehicles.

“What we’ve seen is the blossoming of a Terence Crawford, the explosive growth of Gennady Golovkin, and events like the Juan Manuel Marquez-Mike Alvarado fight,” and other marquee matchups of that ilk. “The key to long-term success (as an executive) is to never get too high, or too low. You roll with it, and you stay true to the brand and the principals you support. Then, you can navigate through anything pretty well. We did a pretty good job in 2014 navigating.”

This year in boxing was an upheaval year, more than most, with the Golden Boy splintering setting a tone of instability and uncertainty for the most of the year. Oscar De La Hoya proved himself a hard-nosed promoter, as he was a fighter, when he did what capitalists do, use his leverage and a robust marketplace to get the best deal he could for his pugilistic building block, Canelo Alvarez, as he ushered him across the street from Sho to HBO. They have a multi fight deal in place, which should result in the red-headed Mexican re-debuting on HBO in a most splashy tangle, against Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto, in May. That’ll be a PPV outing, and I touched on that model some with Hershman. He reiterated what he’s said more often of late, that he wants HBO subscribers to get great bang for their buck, and to use the PPV mode quite selectively.

Thinking back, here are some of the marquee names who fought on HBO this year: Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Terence Crawford, Timothy Bradley Jr., Carl Froch, Sergio Martinez, Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Brandon Rios, Mike Alvarado and Ruslan Provodniknov, as well as relative newcomers David Lemieux and Nicholas Walters.

HBO gave us the two most anticipated, arguably, scraps of the year, in the Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez clash in NYC, as well as the light heavyweight faceoff between Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins in AC.

“The Canelo signing for us was a pivotal signing,” Hershman said. “I’m so happy to be attached to him, and looking forward to Canelo delivering in 2015 mega-events, on HBO, and not only on pay-per-view.”

If you are a numbers freak, this stat might speak to you, if you are one who monitors the rivalry between HBO and Sho:

In 2014 HBO World Championship Boxing events – total program- (978,000 viewers) outperformed Showtime Championship events (593,000 viewers) by 65%.

Also, in 2014 HBO World Championship Boxing main event fights (1.2 million viewers) outperformed Showtime Championship main event fights (734,000 viewers) by 58%.

Interestingly, the Boxing After Dark prime time main events actually outperformed Showtime’s flagship Championship Boxing main events by 32% in 2014. Additionally, HBO Boxing has delivered the top 13 bouts on cable television in 2014 to date. The top three, to date, were HBO presentations:

-Chavez Jr. vs. Vera II — 1,390,000 million viewers (1,531,000 peak viewership)

-Hopkins vs. Kovalev — 1,328,000 million viewers (1,397,000 peak viewership)

-Golovkin vs.Rubio – 1304,000 million viewers (1,323,000 peak viewership)

“We have a tremendous array of talent and mostly the best in class in virtually every weight division in which we’re active,” Hershman continued. “Yes, we had a great year.”

My friends at Sho would tell you they ain’t chopped liver either.

They will note their average viewership went up in 2012, and 2103, and basically stayed stable in 2014. They’d argue that momentum-wise, they like their trending better than HBO’s…and would note that HBO is on in about 28 million homes, versus 22 million or so for Sho.

That aside, Hershman likes his first quarter of 2015, too, he said. He sees Martin Murray as a viable challenger to Gennady Golovkin—-me, I see Murray and think “timberrr,” but hope for a competitive square-off—–and looks forward to that Feb. 21 tussle.

The third Rios-Alvarado tangle promises fierce trading, and Sergey Kovavel is now must see TV, so people will be circling his March 14 date with Jean Pascal. Add to that Wladimir Klitschko’s return to the US, in April, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center against Bryant Jennings, and the potential Cotto-Canelo waltz…

“We’re fully stocked with extremely talented fighers,” Hershman told me. He also pointed to up ‘n comers, like Crawford, Walters, Felix Verdejo, and a couple others, guys in the Top Rank stable, who will be appearing more on HBO Latino. “The world is their oyster,” he said. “There is no shortage of attractive fights and fighters. Of course, we’d love to have every single attractive fight and fighter…but we don’t struggle to find marquee matchups.”

Hershman is a top dog, so there are always pups nipping at his heels. You get a corner office and generous paycheck, and there will be talk about your performance, and the possibility of a severing of your tenure. I asked him how long his deal is with the company. “I work at the pleasure of the company,” he answered. “I will be here as long as they want me, and I am enjoying my gig, which I am!”

He wouldn’t furnish me any inside dope of the 2015 budget; I ask not to be a nosy nelly, but because a robust budget means we fans get, presumably, better bouts. “We never talk budget,” he said. “But HBO’s commitment to boxing has been fantastic. Boxing has been stellar for them, and I expect that to continue well into the future.” He said he thinks the sport “over-delivers” for the cabler, and is a potent driver in subscription adds.

As befits an executive who wants to maintain a sane and stable brain in this shark tank of a business climate, Hershman came off as chill, seeing big picture, with an upbeat bent. “That’s not to say there are no challenges. We need the judging to be more consistent, and the number of titles and sanctioning bodies (isn’t ideal). We’ve got a ways to go. But I’m an optimist, I believe in the strength and vitality of the sport.”

Amen, as do I.

Follow Woods on the Twitter, if ur open to the occasional timeline takeover! https://twitter.com/Woodsy1069

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Michael Woods

Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

TSS Press

Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

One young man flew halfway around the world to take on a world champion in his own living room; not once, but twice. The other young man quit prior to one fight, and then again during another one.

The first guy mentioned is an obedient son of an ultra-streetwise father. The type of parent where, if he doesn’t know the answer (and more times than not he most likely does), he will know where to find it. The second guy doesn’t appear to have that quality guidance scenario going on for him, which is probably for the best, because he believes he has all the answers.

The first guy is on record as saying he wants to go down in boxing history as an all-time great. The other guy? He decided not to continue in a fight while he was still sporting an undefeated record. You may think to yourself if there was ever a time to soldier through, right?

Then yesterday, that same guy missed making weight by 3.2 pounds, and seemed to be more than fine with it, to the point where he actually appeared to be quite pleased with himself.

If you haven’t heard, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are going to share a boxing ring in a twelve round go for God knows what will be at stake by the time they actually punch off. The fact that no one from Garcia’s team has stepped in and rescued him from these unfolding events, his own personal well-being, and/or not to mention Devin Haney is, well, troubling in and of itself.

Back in the amateur days, the record shows they split six fights. They were boys back then, so it means zero. If anything, you’d want to be the older of the two, and Ryan had over a three-month age advantage. If you’ve only been on the planet for a total of 120 months or so, every extra month could be a big enough difference in strength and development. Now as world class professionals in their prime? That’s different. Younger is always better. Devin is that guy.

Haney and Garcia fought six times for free but will fight only once as professionals. Then one of them will continue with their march for historic greatness, while the other will head back to Kamp Krazy, where he’s the current Mayor.

It’s never smart to lay 8-1, 9-1 in boxing. And if you see taking Garcia as a value bet with +500 to +600 and beyond, you don’t understand value and you evidently don’t like money.

There is, however, a wagering opportunity here.

Total Rounds: Fight doesn’t go 10.5 rounds.

Take anything over +125. It’s worth a unit on a scale of 5. Logically, there are a lot of ways to cash this ticket: legitimate victory, meltdown, catching lightning in a bottle, etc. Or simply the exiting stage left of a guy who may be already plotting his next career move.

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