MMA
Boxing Esq. Podcast, episode 25: MMA writer John Nash on the possible sale of PBC to Endeavor
The Ring proudly presents “The Boxing Esq. Podcast with Kurt Emhoff.” Emhoff, a lawyer based in Recent York, is a top boxing manager who has represented more than 10 world champions over his 20-year career in the sport.
Listen to episode 24 with Bob Yalen here.
John Nash
His guest on this podcast is MMA and boxing writer John Nash. They discussed rumors of a possible sale of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), currently headed by Al Haymon, to Endeavor, which owns the UFC. They also discussed rumors of a possible sale of Top Rank to Endeavor and what Endeavor’s boxing promotion company would look like.
Additionally, John talked about the latest news in MMA, including ESPN acquiring the rights to broadcast UFC PPV and Bellator’s deal with DAZN.
Below are some excerpts from the interview:
On what he heard about Endeavor’s potential purchase of PBC:
“People I know who are pretty and very committed tell me it’s true. That these two camps, Endeavor and Waddell Reed/PBC, are in talks. The talks have been going on for months. A few of them were quite confident. They believe the deal will go through and Endeavor will buy PBC. I don’t know if it’s really PBC. This is where the confusion comes in. What exactly would they buy if they got it? I still haven’t fully deciphered what it is. But the people I talk to expect Haymon to stick with whatever it is. So I guess they would buy Waddell Reed stock in Haymon Sports and invest that way. Because Waddell Reed simply doesn’t see a return on its investment. Because the whole proposition for them was basically that we would turn the PBC into boxing’s UFC. Well, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen towards ESPN, Top Rank and DAZN. So if they don’t intend to be the UFC of boxing, they won’t get the profits they expect. So I think in some sense they want to cut their losses.
On Dana White’s desire to pursue boxing:
Dana White continues to flirt with the boxing promotion.
“I know from many people familiar with the UFC that Dana White has been talking about wanting to pursue a career in boxing for probably close to a decade. I think with Zuffa and Fertittas (the company and family that previously owned UFC), they may have thought “maybe,” but they always challenged. But Zuffa, and now probably Endeavor, has been thinking about entering the boxing sphere for a long time. Probably because you’re pushing MMA as much as you can, and in North America I don’t see much further growth of the sport on the horizon. So expand your market, take up another sport. Boxing is the most obvious. This way you can enhance the value. But he wanted to get involved, but some of the same people that I talked to told me that for a while, Endeavor/UFC/Zuffa, whatever you call those holding companies, were also in talks – you know, to get a feel for and talk to – Top position and Golden Boy. That’s why they have been trying to get a earnest promotion for some time.
Disadvantages of the boxing-related Endeavor:
“What always worries me is the little things the UFC says. First of all, (Dana) said that they will make a large move in boxing at the end of the summer. This might give us a time frame for when some news will break. He also said they would not cooperate with organizations imposing sanctions and apparently did not want to cooperate with other promoters either. So if that’s the case, it’s almost a worst-case scenario because without cooperation from the sanctioned organizations, what will they do with their titles? And that’s the only way you can get promoters to cooperate is with mandatory fights.”
About the interest in Endeavor Top Rank:
Bob Arum (right) and ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming Burke Magnus make a joyful team.
“The only rumor I heard was that (Endeavor) was interested in (Top Rank). I think it was one of their first choices because it makes more sense since it’s on ESPN. This gives you more influence over ESPN because you now own both combat sports properties that get whatever ratings you want on ESPN and that generate a lot of ESPN+ subscriptions. So it gives them more influence in that sense. This would make more sense for Top Rank. But all I heard was that they made this offer to take over Top Rank’s vault of videos and that they had been in talks with Top Rank in the past about possibly purchasing them. And people need to remember that it’s not the UFC that’s buying Top Rank, it’s Endeavor that’s buying Top Rank, you know, the parent company. Because I don’t think Bob Arum would sell him directly to the UFC. Personally, I just don’t do it. I mean, Bob is proud of the brand he has built over the years. But they would probably require a enormous investment. I can imagine them selling a enormous stake to Endeavor and Endeavor keeping the board because the board did a great job. “
Difference between the value of boxing promotion entities and the UFC:
“The strange thing about boxing is that no promotional unit within boxing itself is that valuable. It’s not like UFC – which UFC is a sport, owns the brand, controls the fighters and the titles. The profit margins are so huge that you make a huge return. The UFC is worth something. In my opinion, most boxing promotions will be worth a fraction, a tiny fraction of what the UFC is because the margins are slim.”
In case of dilemmas, Endeavor would have to reconcile the remuneration model in MMA with the model in boxing.
“If they try to pay at MMA level in boxing, you will lose all the top boxers. They just aren’t going to go there. And I think you could create your own league and just pretend that your guys are the best and they signed contracts to like ironclad contracts and then maybe the fans wouldn’t understand it because they’re not fighting other guys outside the promotion, that they don’t they are the best. I don’t think that will happen. This is one. The other thing is that you could imagine that UFC fighters, who have been relatively serene about the pay structure, would go berserk if they saw, you know, they signed with PBC and then, you know, you look at the sale of McGregor buys for 2 million dollars in the rematch with him and Khabib, McGregor gets $20, $25 million and Khabib gets $5 (million). And then Wilder fights someone and he just got $50 million for the same amount of sales, you know, you think these guys would say, “Wait a minute, something’s really wrong here that Wilder and Joshua got $50 to $100 million based on at an event that sold for the same price as us.”
Even with 10 consecutive wins inside the Octagon, UFC interim featherweight champion Max “Blessed” Holloway never had the opportunity to fight for the undisputed championship.
That will all change on Saturday when Holloway faces UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in a unification fight at UFC 212 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This will be only the second time in his career that Holloway will headline a pay-per-view card, but he is extremely confident of entering enemy territory in pursuit of his lifelong dream.
“I’ve been in the spotlight in my career, I’ve had a five-round fight outside the UFC and I’m ready for anything,” Holloway said during a recent conference call.
“I’m just ready to show the world what I’m about and why I’m the best fighter in this division.”
“Blessed” has finished seven opponents in his 10-fight winning streak, including a TKO over former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis to become interim champion.
Holloway and Aldo are two of the best all-around strikers in MMA today, but there aren’t many other similarities both inside and outside the Octagon. What they have in common, however, is that their last defeat came against UFC’s most recognizable star, “Notorious” Conor McGregor.
For Holloway, losing to McGregor four years ago was a good thing. He regrouped, became a more complete fighter and put together one of the greatest winning streaks in UFC history.
However, despite his incredible success at the championship level over the past few years, the UFC has been reluctant to put its hype machine behind Holloway, much to the surprise of many in the media and fans.
Even with this lack of pressure, Holloway is very excited to reign supreme in a division that has only had two undisputed champions in its compact history.
“I just can’t wait to do the damn thing; get in there and fight one of the best of all time,” Holloway said. “He is one of the greatest in our sport, but it is time for a up-to-date era.”
“I have been an underdog my whole life. I do not care. I shouldn’t be here. Max Holloway shouldn’t be talking to any of you. I shouldn’t be here. It is what it is. “Actions speak louder than words, and I have done many things.”
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