Watched prefight show for mike tyson vs tony tucker and noticed...

I remember that HBO wanted to put on a Bowe vs. Lewis championship fight and reportedly offered $32 million as a total purse. Newman initially offered Lewis’ manager $3 million of the total, which was both insulting and ridiculous. Even in a purse bid, the split is 75–25%.

 

He then upped the offer to $11 million guaranteed and got HBO to co-sign on that guarantee. Lewis rejected it.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-21-sp-15342-story.html

Then to $12 million

The possibility of a Riddick Bowe-Lennox Lewis heavyweight showdown was rekindled yesterday when Bowe's manager, Rock Newman, offered Lewis $12 million for a championship match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Nov. 5.

Newman made his latest pitch in a letter to Lewis' promoter, Dan Duva, of Main Events, Inc., who also has promotional ties to Bowe, the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion. Copies were sent to Frank Maloney, who manages Lewis, the English-born heavyweight recognized as the World Boxing Council champion, and to Lewis.

Newman set a Monday deadline for a response, promising a letter of credit if the reply is positive.

Said Newman: "It's been reported extensively in the media the past several days since the shameful amateur-like performance by Lewis against Tony Tucker that he still welcomes a fight against Bowe. . . In an effort to make this match, I have chosen to send this letter to you and the media simultaneously to avoid deception and fraudulent accusations that the Lewis camp responded with to our last offer."

That offer last February, rejected by Lewis' financial advisers, was for a reported $10 million, but came with the addendum that Lewis must first relinquish his WBC belt.

Bowe had trashed the belt earlier, refusing WBC president Jose Sulaiman's ultimatum to make Lewis his first title defense after winning the undisputed crown from Evander Holyfield last November.

"This time we're not even asking that," Newman said. "We're going to cut the WBC out entirely. This will be only for the IBF and WBA titles. Lewis can keep the WBC belt, and do whatever he wants with it."

But the biggest stumbling block in reaching an agreement remains Duva, who has a three-fight option on Bowe, giving him a percentage of his pay-per-view earnings.

"I don't owe Dan Duva anything," Newman said. "I'm giving his guy [Lewis] $12 million, and they can divide it up any way they like. But he's not also going to dip into Bowe's pot at the same time. But if I were Lewis, I'd take this offer in a New York minute."

Newman labeled Lewis' disappointing 12-round victory over Tucker on Saturday as "one of the worst pay-per-view events in history."

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-05-14-1993134195-story.html

They both played hardball with each other; 2 promoters who were not using to having their guy as THE Heavyweight Champion and each of them trying to milk it the best way they knew how. But either way if the blame is going to be assigned it goes both ways.

 

HBO's PPV fights were under the "TVKO" banner up through at least April 2001 when they aired Hamed vs Barrera. By late September 2001 for Hopkins vs Trinidad they were going by "HBO PPV" officially. Don't know if those were the first/last fights officially or not though, there may have been ones in between.