no complaints about lee from me. Williams, pavlik and williams again was a tough run for him. This should be easy money and an oppprtunity to look good to the casual observer.
read the thread. its not about lee not being good enough, its about HBO rejecting a top 10 fighters in favour of a top 25 guy.
considering how much money hbo put into the sport and how many big fights they make happen, they are entitled to do as they see fit imo.
How many tickets will Sergio v Zbik sell in the USA? At the least, HBO expect something resembling an atmosphere on the fights they broadcast.
You are being too harsh on HBO for this one. They want to put on competitive fights, but there has to be a limit. Sergio himself doesn't sell that many tickets, so they couldn't have him against another guy who sells nothing as well. Somebody pointed out earlier that Zbik has never fought in the states, and you said "Why should he, he sells well in Germany". That's fair enough, but then he can't really complain when an American tv network doesn't want to stump up cash for his title shot. If he sells so well in Germany, find the cash there to pay Martinez over to him. If he doesn't, get on a plane and start getting himself known.
Good post Ed. I do feel a bit sorry for Zbik in this situation but HBO is run as a business, not to oversee fair play in boxing.
who is he in the top 15 with? and thats irrelevant. Zbik is top 10. Zbik does want the fight. they agreed to terms.
what about the Berto card they showed where 900 people showed up? or Tim Bradleys last fight with under 1000?? HBO haved said they want the best fighters in competative fights. the crowd is down to the promoter. If DiBella cannot sell 3000+ for a Martinez fight after the Williams distraction theres something seriously wrong.
Wheres HBOs angle for promoting a Martinez-Zbik fight on TV? 2 non-Americans, Martinez doesn't speak English (not sure about Zbik), no one has heard of Zbik etc etc...nightmare from a TV point of view.
After those pitiful showings, Berto was plopped on an undercard and Bradley was told to fight Alexander!
Martinez wouldn't go to germany even if there was more money on offer. HBO have shown in the fights they put on this year ticket sales is not a priority, and the HBO money is enough that the ticket sales are irrelevant to the promoter. HBO made a promise to put on the most competitive fights and not allow there stars easy rides. this directly contradicts that promise.
thats irrelevant. there rankings are meaningless. where is he with the ring, boxing monthly, boxing site, espn, boxrec, yahoo, boxing news?? Zbik is in all there top 10s. Again i am not slating Andy Lee.