The Hauser Report: A Club Fight Promoter Faces a Choice

Published

2 years ago

February 24, 2023

The-Hauser-Report-A-Club-Fight-Promoter-Faces-a-Choice

On October 13, 2022, Larry Goldberg made his debut as a professional boxing promoter [https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/74244-the-hauser-report-a-promoters-pro-debut]. Since then, he has promoted two more fight cards, the most recent being on Thursday, February 23. All three of Goldberg’s cards have been at Sony Hall in New York.

Each of Goldberg’s fights this past Thursday night was an A-side vs. B-side match-up with the A-side fighter winning as expected.

The opening bout – light-heavyweight Frederic Julan (12-2, 10 KOs) vs. Decarlo Perez (19-7, 6 KOs, 3 KOs by) – was dreadful. Julan (a southpaw) fought like he was in a sparring session. That was enough to earn a unanimous eight-round decision but not enough to give Goldberg a reason to put him on one of his shows again.

Next, former Mongolian Olympian Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (4-0, 2 KOs) demolished a game but over-matched Giovanni Gutierrez (11-3-1, 6 KOs, 2 KOs by) in a scheduled six-round lightweight bout that lasted until the 1:46 mark of round three when Gutierrez’s corner wisely stopped the carnage.

After that, Michael Hughes (3-1, 1 KO, 1 KO by) earned a unanimous decision over Nelson Morales (3-2) in a spirited encounter between two light-punching super-lightweights.

That was followed by a unanimous-decision triumph for Terrell Bostic (7-1, 1 KO) over Clay Burns (10-16-2, 4 KOs, 1 KO by) in a six-round lightweight bout. Burns has now lost ten of his last eleven fights (and the guy he beat has 38 losses). Here, it should be noted that multiple sources say one of Burns’s cornermen arrived at Sony Hall “under the influence” and that the New York State Athletic Commission barred him from Burns’s corner.

In the main event, 41-year-old Heather Hardy (23-2, 4 KOs) won an eight-round majority decision over Taynna Cardoso (5-1, 1 KO). The fight was originally scheduled as a super-featherweight bout. But Hardy (whose skills have diminished with age) was overweight early in the week and had to pay Cardoso $1,500 out of her purse to raise the contract weight to 135 pounds.

Now let’s cut to the chase.

It’s difficult for a promoter to make money on club fights in New York. So far, Goldberg hasn’t. Each of his shows to date has lost money. One reason for this is the high fixed costs of promoting in New York (venue, medical insurance, etc). He has also overpaid some fighters and incurred unnecessary expenses (for example, more airfare and hotels than should have been required) to bring boxers to New York as opponents for favored fighters. This is necessary (he’s told by mentors) because the favored fighters are ticket-sellers. Except most of the favored fighters haven’t sold many tickets.

That leads to Goldberg’s biggest problem. Revenue from ticket sales has fallen short of the mark.

Boxing at its best promises that, at any moment in a fight, the narrative can change. But this tension is absent from most A-side vs. B-side bouts.

In truth, too many of Goldberg’s fights haven’t been much fun to watch. So far, he has followed the common formula of A-side vs. B-side promotions. In his three fight cards to date, the A-side fighter has won fourteen of fifteen bouts. The exception was an inconsequential women’s fight on his second card.

Here’s a suggestion. It’s not rocket science. Goldberg should make good competitive fights. He needs an identity, a brand. And that brand should be entertaining club fights. His mantra should be, “It’s about the fights” – not “this guy is supposed to be a ticket seller” or “I’m doing a favor for this manager.”

It makes sense to accommodate exciting young prospects like Andy Dominguez (who fought on Goldberg’s first two fight cards). But as a fight fan, I’d rather see 7-9 vs. 8-10 in a competitive action fight than five one-sided bouts. People shouldn’t have to ask, “Who’s fighting tonight?” They should feel confident that, when they come to one of Goldberg’s shows, they’ll see competitive action fights.

To repeat: I’d rather see two guys with ordinary records square off in a heated brawl where each fighter has a chance to win than watch a procession of prospects steamroll a procession of no-hope opponents. And presumably, Goldberg’s B-side fighters would relish the opportunity to participate in fights where they have a realistic chance to win. They might even take less money to fight, giving Larry a chance to turn a profit.

Goldberg is passionate about boxing. Sony Hall has great ambiance. And there’s a need for good club fights in New York. Larry is now at a point where he has to establish an identity for his shows. He shouldn’t be in the business of trying to build champions. He’s in the business of promoting club fights. He should promote the most entertaining fights possible on a show-by-show basis.

Or he can keep promoting A-side vs. B-side fights and keep losing money. But if he goes down that road, boxing won’t be a business for him. It will be an expensive hobby.

* * *

The choice of Dmitry Bivol by the Boxing Writers Association of America as the 2022 “Fighter of the Year” is one more piece of evidence in support of the proposition that boxing is in decline in the United States.

From 1938 through 2004, only seven of sixty-seven “Fighter of the Year” honorees were foreign-born (Kid Gavilan, Ingemar Johansson, Dick Tiger, Ken Buchanan, Carlos Monzon, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Lennox Lewis). Three more (Emile Griffith, Carlos Ortiz, and Felix Trinidad) were born in U.S. territories.

These numbers evened even out from 2005 through 2015 when six of eleven honorees were foreign-born.

Now the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction Over the past seven years. Teofimo Lopez (2020) is the only American to be honored by the BWAA as its “Fighter of the Year.” Other winners during this time period include Bivol, Canelo Alvarez (twice), Carl Frampton, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Oleksandr Usyk.

* * *

Boxing fans are used to hyperbole. But every now and then, someone makes a statement that’s so absurd that it cries out for rebuttal. Enter DAZN CEO Shay Segev.

DAZN’s boxing program has been a disappointment to fans and to DAZN itself. The network has lost more than five BILLION dollars over a three-year period. A large chunk of that is attributable to boxing.

DAZN is now planning to stream Anthony Joshua’s April 1 fight against Jermaine Franklin. In a February 6 press release, Segev was quoted as saying that Joshua-Franklin would be “the most eagerly anticipated fight of Anthony Joshua’s career.”

This begs the question: “More anticipated that Joshua-Klitschko? Joshua-Usyk I and II? Joshua-Ruiz II? Joshua-Whyte?”

I assume that Segev isn’t stupid. Becoming CEO of a major corporation requires a certain level of intelligence. But saying that Joshua-Franklin will be “the most eagerly anticipated fight of Anthony Joshua’s career” evinces either a total lack of understanding on Segev’s part of the business that he’s charged with overseeing or an embarrassing lack of candor.

* * *

It was a given that the pay-per-view numbers for Don King’s January 21 fight card headlined by Bermane Stiverne vs. Jonathan Guidry would be dismal. King styled the event at Casino Miami Jai Alai with the slogan “Let Freedom Ring.” But there was next-to-no pre-fight promotion and, in truth, little to promote.

The card was distributed by donking.com and FiteTV at a cost to buyers of $19.95. A reliable source says that there were “about four hundred buys.” That’s an embarrassingly low number.

So why does King, age 91, keep promoting?

Because of their breathing and circulation mechanisms, if some species of sharks stop swimming, they’ll die. Promoting is more than what Don King does. It’s who and what he is. It would be nice if he could end his promotional career on a high note. But as time goes by, that seems less and less likely to happen.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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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.”

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

2 hours ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

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2 hours ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

2 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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