HBO’s Kery Davis On What’s Next For HBO Boxing

Published

12 years ago

March 7, 2013

At first glance, you probably reacted to the news that Floyd Mayweather jumped ship from HBO to Showtime with a dropped jaw, and the thought that the departure would be received at HBO with as much joy as a kick in the groin.

I tried to get a sense of how the suits at HBO were dealing with the news when I saw Ken Hershman, Kery Davis and Mark Taffet at a Feb. 21 press conference in NYC to hype the April 13 HBO face-off between Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux. I was busy trying to report on the PED kerfuffle, so I didn’t try to get a deeper sense if the Mayweather news had left the HBO crew stunned or demoralized.

But from what I gathered, in a couple brief feel-em-out chats, the mood over there was along the lines of, We have done boxing at the highest of levels for four-plus decades, and that will continue.

On Wednesday, I sat down and chatted with Davis, the senior vice president of programming at HBO sports, to talk about their upcoming slate and also get a better sense of what the Floyd leap means down the line.

Down the line is a key phrase there.

“We made a very aggressive offer to retain Floyd,” he told me after the presser to hype the Saturday Barclays Center card, topped by Bernard Hopkins-Tavoris Cloud, ended.

And, did any part of him take it personally that the man who debuted with HBO in 1997 didn’t finish his career with that longterm partner?

“If Floyd were 30, I would have maybe looked for the relationship to mean more in negotiations, but he’s 36, looking for a deal to end his career,” Davis said. “And I don’t begrudge him that. But I think you judge a contract like that at the end of the deal.”

Fair point. Floyd and Al Haymon snagged a six fight deal, over 30 months, the terms of which were not released. But it is believed that “Money” could be guaranteed over $220 million for this package. At that Donaire-Rigo presser, I asked Bob Arum what the ramification to the deal were, and he recommended we hold off till things play out. At the time, I pushed back lightly, asking Bob for at least a prediction. He didn’t bite… but he and Davis have a point when counseling us to take the long view.

Yes, Showtime snagged the marquee guy in the game. But for how long will Floyd stay the marquee guy? Will he resist the inevitable decline at the cruel hands of the sands of time? Can he be like a Bernard Hopkins, and be close to the athlete he is now almost three years down the road? Or will he prove the rule, not the exception? We can’t and won’t know until 30 months have elapsed.

I started to see the deal in a slightly different way. What if Floyd jumped the shark–not that anyone is saying they’ve seen hints of that, by the way–but what if he started to become injury prone, and then the new deal puts HBO in a bind along the lines of what the MLB Yankees are dealing with? The Yanks are due to pay A-Rod $114 million over the next five years. He signed a 10 year, $275 million deal back in 2007, when he was 32 years old. And then came speedbumps…a 2009 admission that he used PEDs…injuries…a severe dropoff in production. I’m not and Davis didn’t portray Mayweather and A-Rod as twins, by the way, but any negotiator has to consider how age could potentially impact terms which seem acceptable now, but might not be so favorable down the line.

Davis seems to be looking at the development along the lines of how part of me reacted to it, as a fan. Competition is a good thing. The Floyd move means HBO will be focusing more on live events, off PPV, like the Hopkins-Cloud event, like the Tim Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov scrap (on March 16 in Cali), and the much anticipated Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado rematch March 30, in Vegas. “Our job is to make sure the HBO schedule is the best it can be,” Davis told me. “This will give us the opportunity to bring more big events live on HBO.”

Anyone that has lived and had life kick their teeth in a couple times knows it is wisest, if possible, to view trying times, periods of transition, as an opportunity. It seems like HBO sports is in that mode. “Yes, we’re still here, we still have ‘A’ level stars, and we’re looking at fights like Pacquiao-Marquez, Martinez and Chavez Jr. , and we have Andre Ward, and Donaire, and Brandon Rios. And we’re not going to be out of the pay per view business,” Davis said.

Davis is keen to see Tim Bradley step it up on March 16, in his first outing since he was awarded a decision over The Congressman. “I think that’s a very, very difficult fight,” he said. “We’ll see how Bradley is against Provodnikov, after almost a year off. He comes in with something to prove, and can use a win as a steppingstone to a huge fight.”

Arresting challenges, like the trek to Macau to put on the card topped by the Chinese two-time gold medallist Zou Shiming, Rocky Martinez, and Brian Viloria, will be helpful as the company enters this new phase. “That’s opening up a brand new market, potentially a billion boxing fans,” Davis said of the Asian event. “To be part of something like that is pretty historic.” There will be no time to sulk, if that is ever a temptation, or lament. Work is there to be done, and there is a vacuum to fill. The task is to fill the vacuum with sturdier material than was present before.

Just a week later, after the Macau slate which runs on HBO2, HBO offers that face-off between the pound for pound ace Donaire and Rigo, who himself might be a top twenty pound for pounder, though he still has some catching up to do as pro to meet his amateur acclaim. “I think that’s two of the best fighters in the sport of boxing, period,” Davis said. “Add the element of Radio City Music Hall, and that crystallizes the fact that we’re thinking outside the box, looking to expand the brand of boxing.”

Expand indeed. Frequent flyer miles will be adding up when World Championship Boxing makes the long trek to Argentina for the April 27 face-off between WBC middleweight champ Sergio Martinez and Brit Martin Murray, who is 25-0 but hasn’t been in with anyone near the class of Sergio.

Davis made the case that HBO’s track record should be respected, that their cards averaged about 1.2 million viewers an event, versus around half a million plus for their main competitor. He ticked off the names of Ward, Donaire, Martinez, Marquez, Chavez Jr, Gennady Golovkin and Brandon Rios, and said, “We’re proud of the lineup of stars we have.”

I inquired whether rising star Adrien Broner would stay within the HBO fold, as we’ve seen him in the crowd at shows broadcast by Showtime recently. Davis said he didn’t want to get deep into that subject, as Broner and the network are talking about a longterm HBO contract.

My takeaway: HBO could well emerge from this period in better shape than they were in last month. Yes, they incur a revenue hit from the Floyd-PPV exit, there’s no spinning that. (Though I think sometimes we tend to forget that HBO doesn’t make out like a bandit from Floyd PPV events; ample money flows to the boxers, the promoter, marketing costs a load and the platform providers, the cable and satellite companies, eat a big chunk of the pie.) But if the Floyd move forces them to get a bit more creative, use talents and brain-storming that they maybe haven’t had to use while enjoying the services of “Money,” if the Showtime grab means more energy and focus is expended on finding and refining next generation stars, then in 30 months, we all might be looking at the Floyd deal, and the state of boxing at HBO, in a totally different light.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More

Published

10 hours ago

January 23, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-310-Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-and-More

Many proclaim super bantamweight world champ Naoya Inoue to be the best fighter in the world today. It’s a serious debate among boxing pundits.

Is he Japan’s best fighter ever?

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) takes another step toward immortality when he meets Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Friday Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions card.

Inoue defends the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO world titles.

This is Inoue’s third defense of the undisputed super bantamweight division that he won when he defeated Philippines’ Marlon Tapales in December 2023.

Japan has always been a fighting nation, a country derived from a warrior culture like Mexico, England, Russia, Germany and a few others. Professional boxing has always thrived in Japan.

My first encounter with Japanese fighters took place in March 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was my first visit to the famous boxing venue, though my father had performed there during the 1950s. I was too young to attend any of his fights and then he retired.

The main event featured featherweights Jose Pimentel of Mexico against Sho Saijo of Japan. Both had fought a month earlier with the Mexican from Jalisco winning by split decision.

Pimentel was a friend of my female cousin and gave my father tickets to the fight. My family loved boxing as most Latino families worldwide do, including those in the USA. It’s a fact that most sports editors for newspapers and magazines fail to realize. Latinos love boxing.

We arrived late at the boxing venue located on Grand Avenue and 18th street. My father was in construction and needed to pick me up in East L.A. near Garfield High School. Fights were already underway when we arrived at the Olympic Auditorium.

It was a packed arena and our seats were fairly close to the boxing ring. As the fighters were introduced and descended to the ring, respectful applause greeted Saijo. He had nearly defeated Pimentel in their first clash a month earlier in this same venue. Los Angeles fans respect warriors. Saijo was a warrior.

Both fighters fought aggressively with skill. Every round it seemed Saijo got stronger and Pimentel got weaker. After 10 strong rounds of back-and-forth action, Saijo was declared the winner this time. Some fans booed but most agreed that the Japanese fighter was stronger on this day. And he was stronger still when they met a third time in 1969 when Saijo knocked out Pimentel in the second round for the featherweight world title.

That was my first time witnessing Japan versus Mexico. Over the decades, I’ve seen many clashes between these same two countries and always expect riveting battles from Japanese fighters.

I was in the audience in Cancun, Mexico when then WBC super featherweight titlist Takashi Miura clashed with Sergio Thompson for 12 rounds in intense heat in a covered bull ring. After that fight that saw three knockdowns between them, the champion, though victorious, was taken out on a stretcher due to dehydration.

There are so many others going back to Fighting Harada in the 1960s that won championships. And what about all the other Japanese fighters who never got the opportunity to fight for a world title due to the distance from America and Europe?

Its impossible to determine if Inoue is the greatest Japanese fighter ever. But without a doubt, he is the most famous. Publications worldwide include him on lists of the top three fighters Pound for Pound.

Few experts are familiar with Korea’s Kim, but expect a battle nonetheless. These two countries are rivals in Asian boxing.

Golden Boy at Commerce Casino

Middleweights Eric Priest and Tyler Howard lead a Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA. DAZN will stream the boxing card.

All ticket money will go to the Los Angele Fire Department Foundation.

Kansas-based Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Tennessee’s Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) in the main event in a match set for 10 rounds.

Others on the card are super welterweights Jordan Panthen (10-0) and Grant Flores (7-0) in separate bouts and super lightweight Cayden Griffith seeking a third consecutive win. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Diego Pacheco at Las Vegas

Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) defends his regional titles against Steve Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 25. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

It’s not an easy fight for Pacheco.

“I’ve been fighting for six years as a professional and I’m 22-0 and I’m 23 years old. I feel I’m stepping into my prime now,” said Pacheco, who trains with Jose Benavidez.

Also on the card is Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz and Southern California’s dangerous super lightweight contender Ernesto Mercado in separate fights.

Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)

Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Eric Priest (14-0) vs Tyler Howard (20-2).

Fri. ESPN+ 1:15 a.m. Naoya Inoue (28-0) vs Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2).

Sat. DAZN 9:15 a.m. Dalton Smith (16-0) vs Walid Ouizza (19-2); Ellie Scotney (9-0) vs Mea Motu (20-0).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (22-0) vs Steve Nelson (20-0).

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

4 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

6 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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