Lee vs Martinez back on, HBO reject Zbik

very true. I'm not knocking Martinez-Zbik as a boxing match. Just that HBO are a TV company in the ratings game. They've decided to pass on Martinez-Zbik but have said they would show Martinez-Lee, I guess the rest is up to Martinez' team....?

 

And it will be a more enjoyable fight for a neutral like yourself......

 

How much are they paying for the Alvarez fight and how much for a Martinez defence? One will cost a lot more than the other, I guess HBO want to guarantee bigger viewing figures out of the most costly fight?

Unfortuneatly Rob, in boxing you can and frequently do have one rule for some fighters and another for the rest.

At this stage in his career Martinez won't suffer one iota if he gets stripped by the WBC, he'll defend the true, lineal championship on HBO and save himself a **** load of money in sanctioning fees.

 

The Willaims-Martinez rematch happened because the first fight was such a good one, not because the winner then had to be "allowed" to do anything afterwards.

 

I know its unfortunate on a personal level when fighters miss out on opportunities they've worked for but theres no one at 160 to get that excited about.

I'd be VERY surprised if Alvarez gets paid close to what Martinez will for their next fights. Senchenko will def. get more than Zbik though because Zbik isn't getting anything!

 

HBO pushed for the Martinez-Williams rematch because they thought Williams would win it. Then they would have a American champion in the middleweight division and something they could promote.

That's why they forced Martinez to make some key concessions. Williams was their A-side and a complete bell-end to boot.

 

Very probably. They'd be fine with Willaims vs. A.N. Other.

They obviously don't think they can do the same with Martinez, he's not American and he doesn't speak English.

 

truth be told id say hbo would be happy with a lee win
the irish irish american fanbase is huge in the us and are screamin out for a dacent irish fighter to step up to the plate

comparisons between alvarez and martinez cant really be made as alvarez has huge mexican support in north america whereas sergio isnt as well known unfortunately but thats just the nature of the game now

 

Which is exactly my point. HBO signed off on Martinez versus Pavlik because he was a legitimate fighter with a close loss to Williams - one of their chosen fighters. The idea was for Pavlik to beat Sergio more impressively than Williams had and force the abandoned bout between the two to come off.

Sergio tore up the script and HBO had an even better story than before - the guy who beat the American hope had been beaten by another American hope.

Sergio didn't read the script on that one either. HBO like Martinez, but he isn't a draw and he doesn't have a powerful backer like Williams does in Haymon.

So, against a guy like Zbik, HBO won't sign off. He's not a story and he doesn't set anything else up. Against Lee they get two things: a charming Irish fighter with a big local fanbase and a good set of KOs to make a compilation out of; and Manny Steward in the corner as a face regular viewers will be familiar with.

Williams, sadly, is a story for HBO, whoever he fights. But they knew he didn't want a rematch with Martinez and they needed that to give him a legitimate platform.

That's the business for you.