By Andy Paterson

The boxing world has been full of characters since immemorial, none more so than Harvard Law graduate Lou DiBella, founder of DiBella Entertainment, who is well known for his industrial language during interviews and being outspoken about the sport of boxing took time out to chat with the Nuthouse Podcast this past Sunday (22 February).

The Brooklyn born promoter spoke frankly on a variety of topics surrounding the eagerly awaited Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao Superfight, boxing powerbroker Al Haymon’s recent moves in bringing boxing back to free-to-air television, the future of former lineal Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, Andy Lee becoming champion and the future options and careers of Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.

On the announcement of the conclusion of the Floyd Mayweather Vs Manny Pacquiao deal DiBella wasn’t surprised the world finally got what they wanted.  “I expected it to get signed this time,” Lou started, “because everyone involved is best served with it happening now.

“I don’t think the fight is any smaller now than if it happened six years ago.  They are older now but finally the Super Bowl is happening, the World Cup Final of boxing is happening.  I think it’s good for the sport, anyone who doesn’t believe that is a f***ing moron.”

The boxing world finally has its big fight after years of talks, broken promises and back and forth bickering between the two camps for close to six years, but DiBella believes the fans have not been let down by the fight not having happened before now.

“First of all I don’t believe the fans have been let down, second of all the boxing fans at least in the United States are somewhat irrelevant to the whole market, there is not a lot of hardcore boxing fans.  Pacquiao’s last PPV did less than 300,000 homes. 

“The key with Mayweather-Pacquiao is the ability to sell it to regular sports fans, those that watch baseball and soccer.  Those are the people they are selling it to, those are the ones that are interested in this fight.  Everyone I know, people that never watch boxing, have been contacting me about this fight.  This will bring in new fans, younger fans—that is the key of this fight and frankly it is well timed with all the new networks getting involved in boxing.”

On the fight itself DiBella once again reaffirmed as to whom he believes will prevail on May 2. 

“I’ve said it from day one, I don’t see Manny Pacquiao beating Floyd Mayweather.  If Mayweather wants to make it easy he can (fight cautiously).  If he wants to make it exciting then he gives Pacquiao more of a shot, but Mayweather is the better fighter and I think he has more left in the tank just now”

Al Haymon is a figure in the sport that splits opinions, some say he is bad for the sport in that some of the fights the boxing public wants to see seldom happens.  Haymon has been making major moves behind the scenes to start bringing more boxing to the general public via free-to-air TV.  However, with Haymon practically giving his content away for free, changing the market landscape, some observers believe that it is an attempt to drive out the competition.

 “I got to be honest with you,” DiBella stated, “I don’t believe that is his view [to drive out the competition].  First of all I got to start off by saying the guy is my friend, I’ll continuing by saying he is one of the smartest guys in the business, and I’ll continue by saying that boxing is in the mother****** sh*tter and all the little nerds out there who Tweet out or follow everything that goes on via their computers should realise that the absence of boxing on free television and its move to paid television and PPV is not good for the sport.

 “The sport has not been growing, it’s been constricting and contracting.  You go on to the [sports] websites, like Yahoo or ESPN, and you have to go looking at side menus to find boxing news.  The sport needs to reinvent itself through the mass media to the general public.  I’ve been friends with Haymon for a long time, I have a good relationship with him and I will be promoting shows with him that might put me in a better position than some of my other competitors.”

 “That being said he isn’t pushing HBO, Showtime or anyone out of the business and if the business was doing so well the networks would be paying for it.  The fact that he has had to raise a big war chest and buy time [on TV] is an indication that advertisers aren’t buying boxing.  The problem is too many people out there are now able to make opinions because there is nobody policing who writes about boxing—it’s a free world but there is a lot of morons who don’t get it.  I don’t see how having free to air boxing is driving people like HBO out of the sport.”

That being said is it in HBO’s best interests to bring Haymon back in and start doing business with him again?

 “I think they’ll do whatever the f*** they want to do, HBO don’t need to do anything but they need to be smart and maybe regain the passion they had for the sport,” answered DiBella.  “I mean they have some stars, they have Golovkin I think he’s terrific, I enjoy watching him but they need to figure out a way to develop stars and build their own talent.  Showtime has Shobox and I’ve thought for a long time that HBO should have its own version of Shobox to have its own platform to build its own fighters.”

Former World Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez stated last week that he wanted to retire from boxing with a victory, however DiBella was asked if the Argentine should retire considering his recent injuries.

“What he does and what I prefer him to do is two separate things, but I respect him as a man and he will make the right decision for himself.  If Sampson [Lewkowicz] and I see that he is in solid physical shape then I could see him having a comeback fight, whether or not that will be his last fight, my sense would be that he would leave his options open.

“I’m sure there is a part of Sergio saying he doesn’t want to go out the way he did, maybe have a fight against someone who is not a world beater but is somewhat credible and see if he can perform well enough to continue.

“I don’t see a long campaign for Sergio Martinez I’m not sure he is going to come back and I’m not sure that he is sure that he will come back until he is completely physically sound and if he did come back I don’t think we would ever see a Golovkin fight.  There won’t be a Cotto rematch either, there is no market for it.”

DiBella also admitted that he never had serious talks with Tom Loeffler about the possibility of a fight between Martinez and Gennady Golovkin, however during the same topic of conversation DiBella had a few choice words regarding the medical care that Martinez received in the build up to the Miguel Cotto fight.

“No I never had talks with him [Loeffler] on any serious level and by the way I said this before Sergio faced Cotto, and I did not by the way, all those morons who think that I was aware of some leg injury are f***ing idiots.  I would never have sent Sergio into the ring knowing that he was damaged goods but I can tell you that I don’t think he got the best medical care or best doctors in Spain.

“I think a lot of what we believed about his physical soundness had a lot to do with Sergio’s optimism than medical reality and the doctors were pumping smoke up his rear end.  He hasn’t been 100% for years.  I thought he beat Martin Murray, Murray threw away those last two rounds, Golovkin was coming into his prime, Sergio was on the other side of his career, the timing just didn’t work.”

As a fan of Golovkin, DiBella also made it clear that he has no interest in seeing the Kazakh puncher being involved in fights against opponents where he is a heavy betting favourite and the one fight he would love to see Golovkin in is against Andre Ward.  So what is holding up a potential Golovkin-Ward fight?

“Its partially up to HBO because to be honest they have Andre Ward.  I don’t give a f*** about any 168lbs fight involving Andre Ward, do you?  So maybe sit down with Golovkin and say that maybe you are the same fighter at 168lbs as you are at 160lbs.  He isn’t going to be a worse fighter.  I would love to see Golovkin fight Ward. HBO can make it happen if they had the backbone to push it, that’s the fight I’d like to see.

 “I don’t want to see him in fights where he is 1/20 [at the bookies] to beat opponents, but as long as he’s facing the best available guy then I have no problem with that—he’s doing what he is supposed to do and then the big fight down the road would be Ward.”

Andy Lee is in action against Peter Quillin on April 11 in Brooklyn, New York with the winner mandated to face Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders.

“Yeah that fight is possible, but the ability to generate money in Ireland is completely different than it is in America.  My advice to any fighter, particularly one in his 30s that has campaigned for a long time that has a family or is starting one, it’s all about the money.  It’s possible but I don’t think Billy Joe Saunders is a star but the winner of Lee-Quillin will have to face Saunders next, that’s the rules and that is the deal we made.  Saunders will be next in line for that title shot.

“I was thrilled for Andy and I think we did a great job in helping him to get there, but he did a great job with some dramatic wins in his last few fights and he’s earned it.  Andy is a great guy and coming into his own as a one shot knock out artist when he needs it.”

With Mayweather-Pacquiao a done deal, Canelo-Kirkland confirmed for May 9 that leaves Miguel Cotto looking for an opponent.  Amir Khan is apparently interested while Brandon Rios and Timothy Bradley’s names have been reported by a couple of sources, before Cornelius Bundrage name popped up this week.  The mere mention of Rios, Khan and Bradley as opponents for Cotto bothered DiBella.

“I’d like to see him in with Canelo as a fan,” he said.  “I don’t want to see him against Rios that is a mismatch.  Cotto is too big and strong for Rios.  Bradley doesn’t interest me either.  Khan also, he’s an f***ing welterweight, do you want to see that?  I don’t want to see it.  Bradley Vs Cotto isn’t a PPV fight—I can’t see many paying for that.  I don’t want to see him in with welterweights, you going to move a guy up two weight classes and expect people to buy it?  C’mon.

“I’d rather see a hard working kid like Tureano Johnson get a shot, I’d rather see Sergio Mora get a shot he’d give Cotto a better fight that those other three.  That is maybe self-serving because I promote him, but at least put him in with someone his own size.  I’d rather see Demetrius Andrade it’s someone more his own size, he is young and fresh.  I don’t want to hear names of guy’s two weight classes below.  Who is the best 154lbs fighter on the HBO side of the table?  I’d rather see Lara against Cotto, size wise it’s an appropriate fight and he could box his ass off.  As for Golovkin, he would knock Cotto through a wall but I would like to see it.”

Saul Alvarez has recently stated that he would have no problem facing Golovkin; however, if DiBella was looking after the Mexican star there would be no way that fight would be happening.  He said: “I hate that fight for Canelo, for the fans it would be a good fight but for Canelo that would be one way to end a young career.

“If I had Canelo, I wouldn’t let him near that f***ing fight, you would have to be a f***ing moron to let that fight happen.  He has zero chance, he would get his f***ing ass whopped all over the f***ing ring and worse than what Mayweather did.  It’s a bad match up.  Mayweather is not a puncher, but he is not a guy that is going to do you permanent damage—he’s not a guy that is going to so f*** up your psyche that you are never the same fighter.  Golovkin would hurt him.  If he was 32 then maybe, but not when the kid is 24 or 25 years old.”

After a terrible year of fights and some mismatches in 2014 DiBella closed off with optimism for the coming year.  “I think this is going to be an interesting year for boxing, boxing fans hang in there it’s going to be fun year this year,” he pledged.