Haymon Boxing on CBS

Published

9 years ago

April 6, 2015

The unveiling of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions continued on Saturday afternoon with a two-hour presentation on CBS.

Haymon has pursued ring hegemony so aggressively as of late that one half-expects to go online and read that he has signed Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. On Saturday, boxing fans settled for Adonis Stevenson and Artur Bieterbiev.

Beterbiev is a two-time Olympian and 2009 World Amateur champion from Russia, who lives and fights out of Montreal. He turned pro in 2013, was placed on a fast track, and had compiled a 7-and-0 record with 7 knockouts. His opponent – 36-year-old Gabriel Campillo (25-6, 12 KOs, 3 KOs by) – had four wins in his last eight bouts and was regarded as a measuring stick for a potential star.

From the opening bell, Campillo had all the earmarks of a shot fighter (which is why he was chosen as Bieterbiev’s opponent). His balance was poor. His timing was off. His reflexes were slow. He offered virtually no resistance. Bieterbiev decked him in the opening minute of round one (the tenth time in Gabriel’s career that he’d been on the canvas) and ended matters convincingly at the 2:22 mark of round four (the eleventh time in Gabriel’s career that he’d been on the canvas).

Stevenson, age 37, came into ring with a 25-and-1 record and 21 knockouts. Two years ago, he made a splash with a first-round knockout of Chad Dawson to claim the WBC 175-pound crown. That looks less impressive now than it did then, given the fact that Dawson has 1 win, 3 losses, and 2 “KO’s by” over the past three years. Stevenson also looked good in stopping Tavoris Cloud in seven rounds. But Cloud is 0-and-3 over the same time period.

Sakio Bika (Stevenson’s opponent) entered the ring with 32-6-3 (21 KOs) record. Bika, who is winless since 2013, had never fought above 168 pounds, and has never beaten a world-class fighter. Worse, Sakio initially weighed in for the Stevenson fight eight-tenths of a pound over the 175-pound limit. Given the fact that he’d never fought above 168 pounds before, that suggested his training regimen had been less than diligent.

Stevenson-Bika was wasn’t much of a fight. Adonis dropped his opponent twice en route to a unanimous twelve round decision.

Some observations on the telecast . . .

The CBS commentating team consisted of Brent Stover, Kevin Harlan, Paulie Malignaggi, and Virgil Hunter.

Stover, who’s best known as a studio host for CBS Sports Network, was the host and also handled post-fight interviews. During the intro, he told viewers that Bika “is annoying to fight because he won’t go away quietly.” After Stevenson-Bika, Brent declared, “It was an absolutely epic fight” (which was an absolutely silly overstatement).

Harlan (a play-by-play veteran, who has been behind the microphone for NFL, NBA, and NCAA basketball telecasts) was a disappointment. During the fights, he offered a lot of stats and pre-scripted lines. But his blow-by-blow call was shaky, and he didn’t seem to understand the difference between orthodox and southpaw fighters (for example, telling the world “another shot with the left hook” when Stevenson landed straight lefts).

Eventually, Harlan was reduced to commentary like, “Oh! He got hit with a left!” After a while, that simply became “Oh!”

Malignaggi is a solid commentator, who has proven his value in the past.

Hunter was excellent. His insights were solid and he communicated them well, although he needed to be miked differently. That was part of a larger audio problem. The sound kept cutting in and out throughout the telecast.

As was the case with Haymon Boxing’s shows on NBC and Spike, the ring announcer was unseen and the ring ropes were black. The ring walk format was improved over previous telecasts. Bieterbiev and Campillo were already in the ring when first seen on camera. Stevenson and Bika were shown walking to the ring, but to music of their choosing rather than the ponderous Hans Zimmer score used on NBC and Spike.

Once again, there was no clown show in the ring, which was free of sanctioning-body officials and assorted hangers-on. That was a plus.

Stevenson and Bika both wore gold trunks in the main event, which can be confusing to viewers when a telecast changes camera angles.

Also, Stevenson was referred to as the light-heavyweight champion of the world throughout the telecast. That was a disservice to Sergey Kovalev. Worse; Deontay Wilder was referenced as the heavyweight champion, which was misleading at best given Wladimir Klitschko’s primacy in the heavyweight division.

The lack of paid advertising was a more troubling issue in terms of the overall landscape. In the New York market (where I watched the telecast), there was roughly two minutes (almost all of which was local) over the course of two hours. That was supplemented by twenty-two Premier Boxing Champions promotional spots and ten CBS promos. The PBC spots were repeated again and again to the point of being ineffective because of boredom.

After the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions telecasts on NBC and Spike, there was a lot of spin-doctoring by pro and anti-Haymon forces with regard to the ratings. The fact that virtually no advertisers were onboard for the CBS telecast is a sign that advertisers didn’t think the NBC and Spike ratings were particularly good.

Equally important, Al Haymon has a well-deserved reputation for putting his favored fighters in soft. To be entertaining over the long haul, boxing needs competitive fights.

Stevenson was a 12-to-1 betting favorite over Bika. Beterbiev was favored over Campillo by 25-to-1. The favorites are now 7-and-0 on Haymon’s NBC, Spike, and CBS telecasts. Could we have more competitive fights, please.

Also, for a boxing storyline to be compelling, it needs destination fights. Who are Stevenson and Bieterbiev fighting next?

The WBC has designated Sergey Kovalev as Stevenson’s mandatory challenger and decreed that, if agreement between the two camps can’t be reached by April 17, it will order a purse bid with a 50-50 split. The problem is that Kovalev is an HBO fighter while Stevenson is promoted by Yvon Michel and backed by Haymon.

Most likely, Haymon will support Michel in a way that allows Yvon to bid well above market value for Kovalev-Stevenson. That might be good for Sergey in that he’d make a lot of money. But it would mean that HBO, which has spent a lot of time and effort developing Kovalev as an attraction, would be left out in the cold.

Main Events has a longterm contract with Kovalev and would get a percentage of Sergey’s purse should Michel promote a Stevenson fight pursuant to a purse bid. But allowing Kovalev to take the fight under those circumstances could lead to the deterioration of Main Events’ relationship with HBO.

In other words, Kovalev-Stevenson might not happen, particularly since Adonis has avoided it in the past.

As for Bieterbiev; he looks like slightly younger version of Kovalev. Both are big punchers. Sergey is more experienced. And Artur still hasn’t fought a full four rounds in any fight. But there were questions about Kovalev’s stamina and ability to go rounds before he fought Bernard Hopkins.

Stevenson-Bieterbiev would be an entertaining fight. It would be a big step up for Artur. It might also be a step up for Adonis.

Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book – Thomas Hauser on Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

22 hours 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

3 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

3 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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