US pay-television broadcaster HBO has said that it will no longer acquire rights to boxing events organised by Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes many of the sport’s top fighters.
“In order to achieve our goal of the best fighters in the most compelling match-ups we’ve decided to focus our efforts and resources on those strategic relationships where we better share common goals and business philosophies,” Ken Hershman, the president of the HBO sports division, said.
Several of Golden Boy’s fighters have turned their backs on HBO to sign rights deals with rival pay-television broadcaster Showtime over the past two years. In February, Mayweather Promotions, the promotional agency that represents top boxer Floyd Mayweather Junior and has worked closely with Golden Boy on certain events, agreed a rights deal with Showtime after switching from HBO.
Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer told the ESPN news website: “I cannot be surprised and I am not surprised. The president of HBO Sports did not have any conversations with me since last November or December about anything. It is clear that in the aftermath of the biggest names in the sport, Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez, leaving HBO for Showtime, that HBO is obviously upset at (Mayweather adviser) Al Haymon and me and this is their way of getting back at us. I think it’s an ill-advised strategy because the only ones that are getting hurt are the HBO subscribers, which were used to seeing the best fighters on HBO. That will obviously no longer be the case.”