Every Thursday at Fight Hype here, boxing fans gather around my bulging, bulbous sack waiting for Ol’ Faithful’s money-making shot of the sweet, bitter truth. This Thursday is no different. So put on your goggles and fasten your plastic poncho, there it is. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Rolly-Ryan, Pitbull Cruz, DAZN Boxing, Winky Wright, and ESPN hypocrisy.
Rolly, Pitbull, DAZN
Hello Paul.
Hope this 2023 will bring joy and success to you and your family.
Moving on to the question…
1- Just read about Rolly [Romero] announced that he had a contract with Ryan in April, it sounds like you were right from the start, Tank and Ryan won’t be fighting in April.
TBH, this was a pretty good fight that should have happened with all points of view of that infamous squabble that happened a few years ago, it was a very risky fight for the GBP. Ryan didn’t have the best defense and he was knocked down pretty hard by someone not known to be a heavyweight. I mean, even Jorge Linares, who has never had a pretty chin, withstands Campbell’s shots.
2- Just read your DAZN article and I said a long time ago, DAZN needs to get out of the way right now because the biggest barrier to the biggest war right now is these network contracts, If we Having the promoters deal with the biggest contractors then we can probably have the big fights we want. How much time do you think we will have to deal with DAZN?
3- Pitbull Cruz just said he’s ready to take on Regis Prograis for the 140 lb WBC title. I won’t be optimistic about it because I appreciate Prograis, but I thought it was an excellent match. Cruz will always have a boxer’s chance, but I know he’s the little guy who’s going to turn this into a dogfight…hopefully it will.
Best regards
– Miguel
Hey Miguel.
Many thanks for the well wishes. Same goes for you and yours. I will immediately address your question.
1. I didn’t know what to do when Rolly said he was contracted to fight Ryan Garcia, with the winner going to face Tank at the end of the summer. But it’s Rolly Romero, remember. He is most likely talking bullshit just to laugh. However, Golden Boy putting Rolly as a backup for Ryan would be a pretty smart move. As it is now, I think everyone is still focused on trying to win Tank-Garcia in April (and arms crossed, holding their breath until the opening bell rings).
2. Without the Golden Boy deal and the friendly relationship with Canelo Alvarez, DAZN Boxing in the US would be almost dead. All they have are Matchroom Euro matches and occasional super flyovers. However, with Golden Boy and Canelo still trailing behind, they are still technical players. But like you said, they are getting in the way. They don’t have the numbers to be big players and they’re no longer willing to spend on big fights. Even if they found big fights for their Golden Boy fighters, they wouldn’t be able to hold any big fights entirely “in-house”. They’ll have to do as they’re doing with Ryan Garcia-Tank Davis– taking on the B-side role in a co-promotion deal. Their existence only complicates things. My guess is that once the Golden Boy deal is done, DAZN Boxing will be complete, at least in the US.
3. It’s a bit confusing that Pitbull’s guys– and they’re very smart boxers– didn’t really capitalize on the positive buzz he created in the match against Gervonta Davis . Subsequent strikes by Yuriorkis Gamboa and Eduardo Ramirez only helped keep him (and his name) active. Cruz is in need of a big fight right now, but I think Prograis will be a tough match in style and a risk-versus-reward pair. He would be better suited waiting for the winner of Tank-Garcia or Haney-Lomachenko, where at least a day of good pay will come with the tough task of style. Cruz versus Rolly Romero will also be a big fight for Pitbull and one that can be won.
No props for Winky Wright?
What’s wrong, P Mag? Hope all is well. I’m looking at Winky Wright’s career and it doesn’t look like he got his flowers (i.e. the war that landed him on the moon). Even being the undisputed champion at 154 didn’t do it after beating Mosley. What do you think happened in his career?
– Robert Elmore
Hey Robert.
I think Winky’s problem is that he insulted some of the media personalities who buried him for being “boring”. He appeared in the relative infancy of the internet boxing era, but before the “new media” and debate/influence on social media. Back in those days, the media painted the picture and fans would either agree with it or keep their dissenting views to themselves. Wright was constantly belittled and demeaned by many of these media voices and he never achieved his purpose. He also didn’t back himself up with his laid-back ring style, which resulted in him losing to Fernando Vargas and Harry Simon and a draw with Jermain Taylor that should have been a win.
ESPN hypocrisy?
What’s wrong, Magno!!! Just wrote about this for the fight between Teofimo Lopez and Sandor Martin…So go ahead and publish the Top to Bottom Rated for this hypocrisy, I loathe the way Tim [Bradley] and my man Dre [Andre Ward] protested to reconsider the cut [in the Jonnie Rice and Guido Vianello fight last Saturday], but never uttered a word for Martin’s legal knockdown that could have won him over Lopez. Say!!!!
– Flintownto Az
Hey “Flintown.”
What can I say? You know what what. Teo is a big name and a great investment. Even a guy like Ward, who I believe is a great boxer and a straight shooter, can’t help but doubt his interest in the fight with the bigger name. In a perfect world, there would be the same level of support for justice in all wars, in all fields, and no matter who would lose in favor of that justice. But as we all know, boxing is not a perfect world. I wish I could be braver about things like this, but the sport sometimes infuriates decent people.
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