Hopkins, True to Form, Screws Fans in Adamek "Negotiations"
by Matt Miller on Mar 26, 2009 12:51 AM EDT
Email
Print
In case you haven't already heard the news, Dan Rafael reports that the Hopkins vs. Adamek fight that had many of us excited is dead in the water.
What? Hopkins behaving like a delusional child in his pre-fight negotiations? There's a shocker. But this dodgy move really stands out for its lameness, even for B-Hop.
According to Rafael, Golden Boy and Hopkins offered Adamek and Main Events a "flat fee" of $500,000 for the fight, which is completely ridiculous, given that HBO had already expressed an interest to the tune of three million plus, which doesn't include the nice gate that the fight would have drawn in Newark (or pretty much anywhere else with a strong Polish community nearby). Apparently, they wouldn't even negotiate a percentage split.
Now true, team Adamek's offer of a 60-40 split in Adamek's favor wasn't realistic, but that was just an opening position for what they thought would be a negotiation. Hopkins and Golden Boy aren't even talking "split," and Adamek has rejected their cynical posturing, as any champion of his stature should have.
To his credit, Dan Rafael does make it clear that Hopkins is to blame, but to my mind, his article understates just how messed-up this offer was. Refusing to negotiate a split and offering such an unrealistic "fee" for Adamek's presence is insulting not only to Adamek but to any fan who pays attention to this kind of stuff. A business decision this unrealistic is pretty suspect. It seems to suggest that for whatever reason, Hopkins was having second thoughts about the fight. And as I have already stated, I favored Hopkins, though I think Adamek poses a real threat and would have given him a much stiffer challenge than Pavlik.
Either that, or they're just being assholes, and they'll start whistling a different tune when they realize that Adamek and Duva aren't total chumps. In which case, they're playing fans for chumps by subjecting us to this kind of drama.
I'm tempted to just say screw Hopkins and screw this fight if they're even going to think about acting this way. But in the end, I still want to see the fight...
8 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
$500K??
A FLAT FEE? Come on.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
Man, is this similar to the “60-40 I’ll whoops yo’ ass” negotiations? or maybe worse? so wth, yeah, bhop gonna fight dawson then? haha…
I think Hopkins would beat the shit out of Dawson
Does the fact a boxer doesn't switch weight divisions during their career detract from their overall P4P ranking?
Cos I'd take Hagler over most heavies in history, P4P, and also over "6 weight world champion" Oscar De La Hoya, and Marvellous Marvin never really messed about with his weight, did he?
not enough money
Adamek’s a bigger star than Dawson. Dawson doesn’t draw Adamek-size houses anywhere.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
by Scott Christ on Mar 27, 2009 4:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, but Dawson would probably get the bigger TV fee
Still, Hops needs this fight more than Adamek. Dawson is the only other fight that makes sense for him, unless he actually thinks Hops-Jones II is viable. Adamek doesn’t have much to gain from a Hopkins fight. Yes, it would increase his profile, but that doesn’t help Adamek much unless he’s moving to HW (and I doubt he could compete there because he’s just not physically big enough). He’s already fighting the top guys at CW, and he’s already selling out arenas and getting TV time to do it. He’s not going to get a bigger money opponent if he beats Hopkins. The big money opponent IS Hopkins. The reason Adamek should be interested in the fight is a career-high payday, because at the end of the day, a win over Hops doesn’t help his legacy much. If he beats Hopkins, it will be categorized as a win over a 44 year old who was 25 pounds smaller than Adamek.
Vogt early, Vogt often.
Hopkins is the biggest fight Adamek can get. That’s why Pavlik went catchweight to fight him, and Adamek’s division is even emptier than middleweight. Now that Haye is gone, who is the big name he is gonna fight… Ola Alofabi? Firat Arslan? Will BJ “the Peaceful Warrior” Flores anytime-anywhere him? Hopkins has lots of options, but Chad and Tomasz have very few.
I personally think the “500K” thing was just some WWF-style posturing, and wasn’t even remotely serious. That said, if I was Adamek I’d consider taking it if Hopkins gave me 100% of the gate. He really does fill up the house.
"I want to see ocean. I want to see black people. I want to see palms." - Wladimir Klitschko
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
