Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

As defined by www.phrases.org:
To ‘take a back seat’ is take a subordinate or reclusive position.

By now, anyone who pays even the slightest amount of attention to boxing news is well aware that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has filed a law suit against his promoter Oscar De La Hoya from Golden Boy Promotions and the broadcast partner DAZN for breach of contract to the tune of some $280 million dollars. The 11-fight deal that was drawn up between Alvarez, Golden Boy and DAZN is unraveling quickly.

No kidding?

Before you read on further let me warn you this article is not going to go over how the lawsuit reads or what the significant players are saying or not saying. If you want to get those facts, there are numerous articles out there for you to review.

Instead I am going to take you back to the days just after this huge $365 million eleven fight deal was proudly announced by the major players. You could not have puffed up their chests any further. All, I repeat ALL parties involved were strutting around with some pretty pompous looks on their faces as they felt they had become God’s Gift to Boxing.

Immediately DAZN started shilling their platform expecting fans to start paying a monthly fee for their services that would give them access to all Canelo fights. Originally the price for the service was $9.99 per month. Since then they have tried $19.99 per month and/or $99 per year as they scramble to attract subscribers.

I’m sorry but no matter how hard I tried to crunch those numbers it seemed virtually impossible for anyone to expect they were going to attract enough subscribers to cover even a tiny portion of that $365 million. And yes, I know there are sponsorships involved here but as far as my arithmetic would take me, I smelled Baloney.

In an article I penned shortly after all this went down, I asked a very seasoned and well respected boxing journalist about my concern that this was a lot of smoke and mirrors, to which he replied, “ Yeah, there’s a bit of Fools Gold at play here.”

Another boxing journalist who also moonlights as a Forensic Accountant said this looked like a Pyramid Scheme to him.

I had to agree with both, this looked like a Ponzi Scheme of epic proportions to me as well.

So, this begs to ask, didn’t this thought cross anyone’s mind when DAZN threw that $365 million contract under their noses? I mean really, didn’t it seem just a tad ridiculous to go into a contract like this with a company who was barely just cutting their teeth in the boxing world? No one thought to themselves, “Hmmm, they are in their infancy stages, maybe we should be realistic and lower expectations for everyone here.”?

HECK NO THEY DIDN’T.

And in the ultimate “Counting Your Chickens Before They Are Hatched” blunder, the major players all signed on the dotted line.

That my friends is how Common Sense was relegated to the backseat and Greed took over the wheel.

Now everyone is pointing fingers and laying blame. But none of them are cashing any checks, ‘cuz there ain’t no money to go around.

So whose fault is that?

DAZN says it could not pay Canelo for challengers they did not approve of. Considering they approved of Canelo’s first fight of their contract to be against Rocky Fielding that is a laughable notion at best.

And now?

Well Canelo’s not fighting anytime soon so the likelihood of DAZN’s subscribership going anywhere but down, way down, is the reality. I mean seriously, is there any other reason to throw your money in their direction right now?

Probably not.

Had enough?

No?

Well how about we throw in The Pandemic to this equation?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that no one is going to be sympathetic to Canelo’s or Golden Boy’s cause right now. Businesses are shutting down; people have lost their jobs and there is no end in sight. Expecting anyone to be sympathetic to your cause smacks of arrogance.

If ever there was a time to humble yourselves a bit and take a huge cut in pay, this would be it. Trust me on this, that would go a long way and the boxing public would remember that. You could do yourselves a huge favor here, but that does not appear to be your intentions. My guess is this litigation is going to lock Canelo up for a long time and in the end, everyone will lose.

It’s a shame no one had the foresight to look at that original deal two years ago and realize this was just too good to be true. It’s a shame someone didn’t pull Oscar aside and warn him this was more likely to blow up in his face than not. The truth is it was extremely easy to see.

It’s also a shame someone didn’t take DAZN brass to a chalkboard and show them no matter how hard you try there are not going to be enough paying viewers to make $9.99 per month go into $365 million. Not now, not ever. Do your Guzintas Jethro, it doesn’t work.

And lastly, it’s a shame Canelo has made it perfectly clear he wants all his money and he doesn’t care about the pandemic, his promoter or the fans.

Yes, it is a shame, but greed is a funny thing, “…it is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” – Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

By William Trillo

The first time I saw Mikael Zewski, (34-1, 23 KO’s), in action was in March of 2010 at a small casino in Southern California, it was his second pro fight. I noticed right away Zewski was from Quebec. The reason that caught my eye is that a few months prior to that I made my first trip to Montreal, and as my readers, (all 5 of them), know I fell in love with the city and the people of Montreal. The fact of the matter is I hold all of Quebec near and dear to my heart.

That first night I saw Zewski I was impressed how he quickly dispatched of a foe who had no idea what hit him. I thought to myself, I am going to need to keep an eye on this kid, he has legit skills.” As it turns out I have been fortunate enough to see Zewski fight in the cities of Montreal, Quebec City, Indio California and multiple times in Las Vegas Nevada. Watching Zewski as I have it became clear to me that the skills he displayed the first time I saw him were not a fluke, he is without question a top world class fighter.

Tonight in Las Vegas Zewski will be in arguably the biggest fight of his career when he takes on Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-1-1, 17 KO’s) in a battle that will have major title implications. Not only will the fighters be fighting for both the vacant WBC Continental Americas Welter Title and WBO Organization NABO Welter Title, but a victory will most likely give the winner a world title shot.

I got a chance to speak to Mikael when he got into The Las Vegas Bubble to get his thoughts on this major opportunity. Check out this exclusive interview:

Pound4Pound: Can you believe it has been 10 years since the first time I saw you fight at that show in Los Angeles California? Where does the time go?

Mikael Zewski: Its crazy man, I began to realize how fast time goes since I have my son, seems like he was born last week, but he began preschool last week! A boxing career is such a journey, things rarely go how you expect them to go, but I’m getting there.

P4P: I have to ask, how is the fishing going. When I see those photos of you it looks great. Are those competitions and have you won any of those?

MZ: This year was slow because of the Covid. I do bass fishing tournaments. I won some but its pretty hard to win, you have to spend a lot of time on the water. I love the competition and I like to try to control the uncontrollable.

P4P: You are looking to reel in a big one this weekend when you face Kavaliauskas. Tell me how you feel going into this one.

MZ: I’m super excited yet I’m calm because I know what I need to do to win. He’s a big challenge, I’m the “b side” and there is a lot to win for me in this fight compared to the usual when I have a lot to lose. I’m anxious cause I want to perform and show everyone what I’m capable of, but I feel like I absolutely belong here.

P4P: A victory here puts you in a good place to get a shot at a world title. Your motivation to be your best must be extremely high.

MZ: Oh yes, I’m motivated. When I got the fight offer, I thought to myself “that’s exactly the fight I need”. There is a lot on the table. A win would make me legitimate to fight any of the champions.

P4P: I have been watching all the fights in the Las Vegas Bubble. The one thing I have noticed is that some of the fighters are really struggling with the empty arena and have not performed well. Have you prepared yourself mentally for this hugely different atmosphere?

MZ: I don’t think that it’s going to play a role. I think most of the fighters who blamed the lack of the public might have taken a fight on short notice. We spar all the time without any public, we’re used to that. The atmosphere will be different that’s for sure and I’d rather have the public, but that’s how it is and I will deliver anyways.

P4P: Both you and Kavaliauskas have only suffered one loss each. I genuinely believe this may be the best fight of the night. As you know Pound4Pound is a big follower of Quebec boxing and we are wishing you the absolute best in this bout.

MZ: Well, his loss came in a world title fight against the top fighter in the world, mine was against a guy that I should never have lost to. But I’m a big boxing fan and as a fan I’m excited for this fight because I think it’s a good matchup, styles match, we both have power and speed, and we both badly need a win.

P4P: Lastly, do you have any words for your friends and fans back in Quebec?

MZ: There is no hockey and not much going on right now in Quebec so I’m sure everyone will be tuned in and watching. I want to make everybody proud; it’s going to be a good one so don’t miss it!

Check the fights tonight on ESPN and as always check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.