Nonito Donaire, Top Rank Offer $100,000 Bonus to Any Fighter Who Will Try to Fight
by Scott Christ on Oct 27, 2011 2:50 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Frustrated by the October 22 fight between Nonito Donaire and Omar Narvaez, Top Rank and Donaire are now offering a $100,000 bonus on top of whatever the purse would be for Donaire's next opponent to actually make a fight of it. From RingTV.com:
"It's no bounty at all on his head. I only feel like I got robbed by an opponent who took a lot of money and didn’t fight and then had the audacity to climb the ropes and raise his arms at the end of the bout," wrote [Todd] duBoef in an e-mail to RingTV.com.
duBoef said that Donaire and manager Cameron Dunkin are fully behind the idea. One thing I do have to question is whether or not Top Rank had ever actually seen Narvaez fight. I'm sure Bruce Trampler or whoever the matchmaker was had seen him in action, but it kind of sounds like duBoef had not. Narvaez has always been a "negative" fighter, never an exciting fighter, never someone you'd rely on for action. When the fight was made with Donaire, I figured it could go one of two ways: A Donaire blowout where he physically overwhelmed Narvaez, or a stinker where Narvaez hung around and didn't let it become a fight. It was the latter.
But it's cute PR anyway. Donaire is moving up to 122 pounds for his next fight, and discussed opponents include top super bantamweight Toshiaki Nishioka, titlist Jorge Arce, and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., but I wouldn't count out none of those guys getting the fight, and Donaire possibly facing Rafael Marquez, who may not have it physically but still seems to have the desire to fight, and believes he defeated Nishioka in their October 1 bout (this puts him in a gross minority).
Nishioka's management says he won't fight again until May, but Bob Arum wants to sweeten the pot to get him in the ring sooner, reportedly. Arce is willing to fight Donaire, but Vazquez still wants his rematch with Arce. So there may be some roadblocks with those fights. If there are, Marquez could make sense, or as much sense as it could make. I'm not saying consider Marquez a front-runner, but keep him in mind as a darkhorse candidate.
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When I think about the Narvaez fight, the interminable string of Klitschko brothers fights, the mercifully few Haye fights (including the K fight, as well as the Harrison fight), the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, and numerous others, I find it just a bit incredible that boxing has perhaps gotten to the point where fighters might be offered bonuses to actually fight.
I’m going to generalize, and ask a few questions. Who would decide, and by what criteria, that a boxer merely attempted to survive, as opposed to having been overwhelmed? Would this require every boxer, even if they were primarily defensive in style, or counter-punchers, to become more offensive? The situation would be a little bit like the idea of withholding purses if a fighter doesn’t “fight.” I know there have been plenty of stinkers, and everyone who still likes boxing (all 15 of us) will have there own favorites, but how would this be determined, even in the limited scope of Donaire’s next fight?
I think it’s an initially intriguing idea, but I suspect that it was born more out frustration than anything else.
Yeah. It’s easily solved by matching him with guys known to put on decent fights. Narvaez was not that guy. Arce wouldn’t need the bonus. Put him with Arce.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Oct 27, 2011 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions
I mean they matched a flyweight against a bantamweight, and in the case of Donaire, really a featherweight barely able to make 118. Anytime there is a big physical mismatch you are asking for trouble.
Arce will not need extra money.
He is Arce because he is an entertaining fighter who gives his all every time.
Narvaez just stunk up he house. He claimed Nonito didn’t hurt him….so why the f*#k didn’t he throw back.
I suspect his reward for surviving will be to never appear on HBO again.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Narvaez, by some accounts when he signed, was taking this for the money. He’ll go back to Argentina, have some more fights, eventually retire with probably just the one loss something of a hero.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Oct 28, 2011 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I think in order to be seen to 'fight', a guy would have to out-throw and/or out-land Donaire in at least 3 rounds of a 12 round fight.
Or at least open up enough to get knocked out.
Sad, but that’s how I see it.
At my signal, unleash hell.
by Maximus Decimus Meridius on Oct 27, 2011 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess it would have to be outthrow because I think Narvaez outlanded Donaire in 3 or 4 rounds anyway.
Good point...
So maybe it’d just be an eye-test type of deal. “If we don’t think you’ve come here to win, you don’t get that nice juicy bonus.”
I can see that causing a few legal issues, if someone didn’t get paid…
At my signal, unleash hell.
by Maximus Decimus Meridius on Oct 27, 2011 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions
UFC does it every event for KO, submission and best fight.
They also don’t have the same legal restrictions such as the Ali Act, but I’m not sure how much that affects this.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
So Top Rank pick an undersized guy from a lower weight divison, with good skills but no reputation of punching power, or even delivering exciting fights. Then they act incredulous and outraged after said boxer, who knows that he has no chance of winning and probably knew going in, decides to use his boxing skills to not get brutally knocked out?
If a guy has to be offered extra money as an extra incentive to ‘fight’, it is a sign that the fight is not competitive and should not be made in the first place.
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
If a guy has to be offered extra money as an extra incentive to ‘fight’, it is a sign that the fight is not competitive and should not be made in the first place.
Not necessarily so. Nishioka is being offered extra money to ‘fight’ and there is every reason to believe he is an excellent choice of opponent for Donaire.
Guys are offered extra money to fight all the time as a normal part of negotiations for any number of reasons. One, just to make the match. Two, to make it at a weight or on terms that the A side fighter is seeking. There are a panpoly of other reasons why extra money is offered as an extra incentive.
There are however no guarantees that no matter what you pay them, they will do what the were contaracted to do…which for the networks and promoters as well as the boxer being showcased….they will do what is expected.
So add Narvaez to Hopkins/Dawson and Ortiz/Mayweather….all of whom were paid good money, let’s call it extra good money, just to stink up the house.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Guys are offered extra money to fight all the time as a normal part of negotiations for any number of reasons. One, just to make the match. Two, to make it at a weight or on terms that the A side fighter is seeking. There are a panpoly of other reasons why extra money is offered as an extra incentive.
Yes and the specific reason behind this bonus to incentivize guys to fight is merely a PR move to cover up dumb matchmaking.
There are however no guarantees that no matter what you pay them, they will do what the were contaracted to do…which for the networks and promoters as well as the boxer being showcased….they will do what is expected.
So add Narvaez to Hopkins/Dawson and Ortiz/Mayweather….all of whom were paid good money, let’s call it extra good money, just to stink up the house.
Narvaez did what anyone who had a cursory familiarity with both him and the specific situation he found himself in (facing a guy with a ~15-20 pounds) was likely to do. The same goes for Mosley against Pacquiao; everyone saw he had problems getting his shots off in his previous two stinker performances. The responsibility for disappointment about such fights falls somewhat on the matchmakers and the promoters who either couldn’t see what was likely to transpire in such situtations or simply didn’t give a damn.
Sorry, quotes fixed:
Guys are offered extra money to fight all the time as a normal part of negotiations for any number of reasons. One, just to make the match. Two, to make it at a weight or on terms that the A side fighter is seeking. There are a panpoly of other reasons why extra money is offered as an extra incentive.
Yes and the specific reason behind this bonus to incentivize guys to fight is merely a PR move to cover up dumb matchmaking.
There are however no guarantees that no matter what you pay them, they will do what the were contaracted to do…which for the networks and promoters as well as the boxer being showcased….they will do what is expected.Narvaez did what anyone who had a cursory familiarity with both him and the specific situation he found himself in (facing a guy with a ~15-20 pounds) was likely to do. The same goes for Mosley against Pacquiao; everyone saw he had problems getting his shots off in his previous two stinker performances. The responsibility for disappointment about such fights falls somewhat on the matchmakers and the promoters who either couldn’t see what was likely to transpire in such situtations or simply didn’t give a damn.
So add Narvaez to Hopkins/Dawson and Ortiz/Mayweather….all of whom were paid good money, let’s call it extra good money, just to stink up the house.
I think that offering a fighter extra money to accept a fight is different, as it is part and parcel of negotiating in order to make fights happen in the first place. The money is guaranteed , there will be no extra money available depending on how negative a boxer’s performance is.
This is different from offering more money, but only if a boxer ‘fights’ (which I take to mean, come forward, throwing lots of shots). It is also different from the UFC bonuses, which are are available to every fighter on the card, and thus both fighters in a single fight.
I know the sport is sometimes called prizefighting, but I don’t agree with the latest Top Rank tactic.
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
by Eoin_not_ian on Oct 28, 2011 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought that Mr.
Ledderman’s (comment) on the fact that a great fighter would step around and break down the body of Narvaez
was very interesting. So, how about investing $100,00 in making a very good fighter even better—
Then they won’t have to whine about someone not wanting to fight.
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