SLUGGER SHAW POUNDS AWAY AT DE LA HOYA
'When you have Manny Pacquiao, when you have Winky Wright, when you have Shane Mosley not wanting to do business with you again, what is wrong with that picture? Who is wrong and who is
right?' Oscar De La Hoya
'Oscar is a face. That's it. He is Teflon.' -- Gary Shaw
Exclusive report for FightNightNews.com
(Editor's Note:
FightNightNews.com is a forum which prides itself on telling all 3 sides of every story.
Fundamental fairness is our goal. With that in mind, Gottlieb made repeated efforts to get a
response to Gary Shaw's controversial remarks and charges from both GBP public relations types and GBP officers. None was forthcoming but our fistic forum remains open to GBP and anyone else who cares to respond to this article or any article, column,
news brief, etc., which runs on FightNightNews.com MICHAEL
MARLEY, Executive Editor)
By NAT GOTTLIEB
Staff Writer FightNightNews.com
Shrewd as he is talented, Oscar De La Hoya always knew how to pick his fights. Outside the ring, however, he has on occasion looked like a blown-up lightweight taking on a heavyweight when it comes to talking the talk. Certainly there are smarter fights to get into than going lip-to-lip with a Harvard-educated lawyer and all-time pound-for-pound trash talker like Bob Arum. But that’s another story.
Last week the California Golden Boy picked himself another questionable war of words, this time with a Jersey guy, fellow promoter Gary Shaw.
Yo Oscar, ask anybody who has traded 'shots' with Jersey Boys, they
woulda told ya what happens: it's called a lose lose, unanimous decision, low blows allowed -- and no friendly judges to help you out.
Take it 'Michael Buffer':
'Before we begin, I want to introduce some of the wonderful, warm and fuzzy human beings who have come out of Gary
Shaw's native state. Let's welcome: 'Ruuuuben Hurricane'
Carter Jack Niii-cholson Daaaanny DeVito Frrrrank Sinatra
James Going Going-gondolfini Huuuubie Sweet Sweet Sugar
Brown Bruuuce Springsteeen Mickey Spillannnnne and Bruuuuce
Willis'
Perhaps Oscar's former Swiss banker and now Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, had him too pumped up...or maybe Oscar simply wanted to impress his new promotional partner, Winky
'I Just Got My License For This Stuff' Wright. But what ever the case, last week De La Hoya called out Shaw by firing a nasty left hook to the
promoter's body. While it was not the shot heard around the world, in boxing circles it came as something of a surprise: uncharacteristic of De La Hoya and a strange target in Shaw, regarded by some as one of the good guys in boxing.
The inevitable happened. Shaw counterpunched from instincts learned growing up on the scenic streets of Jersey City, landed a couple rights crosses, then tried to let the affair drop. But it festered over the weekend. This week, Shaw came back to FightNightNews throwing nasty combos at De La Hoya like Sam Soliman on way too much caffeine. And he didn't limit himself to head-hunting, he pounded the
'body:' Oscar's company, 'Golden Boy Promotions.'
'They don't know what they are doing, they're clueless,' Shaw said about GBP.
'The only thing they know how to do is buy their way into the game, to steal other fighters. Show me a kid
they've taken from the amateurs and made into a champion. That takes work, and Oscar
doesn't put in the time. What Oscar does is keep active and be a public relations guy. He gets up on a podium somewhere, puts his arm around Mosley, Barrera, Hopkins, he plays golf with Winky. If you are a promoter,
that's no way to run your business. I have four cell phones, and
I'm on them day and night trying to make fights for my fighters. To be in this game, you have to work. He
doesn't. That's why his (younger) fighters aren’t
progressing.'
Our 'Larry Merchant' Imitator will set the table for this 12-round title fight:
'From what I have learned, Jim apparently Oscar crossed some line in the proverbial sand with
Shaw when he signed a strategic deal with Wright and his new company,
'Winky Promotions, to co-promote Wright's fights and help his company in other
ventures' Shaw, who promoted Wright in his bouts with Felix Trinidad, Sam Soliman and Jermain Taylor on a fight-by-fight
basis apparently, Shaw thought he had permission from Wright to put together a fight this fall. Hence, the
acrimony.'
Serve up the sugar-coating, 'Jim'
'But you know, Larry, Oscar was probably just joking around, and Shaw over-reacted. Way over-reacted. Golden Boy Promotions has done a phenomenal job in just a short time, they’ve revolutionized the
game.'
'Jim, Gary Shaw has a somewhat different take on that, which is why they fight the fights, as they
say.'
Shaw: 'When I had Shane, he made money. He didn't leave me over money. They (GDP) dangled the partnership. And when I had Shane, we beat Oscar Pacquiao decided to do everything himself. It's his right. We had a two-fight deal and we completed it. I didn’t do nothing wrong. And Winky had his biggest pay days with me.
'Jeff Lacy is my poster child for taking guys from amateurs and making them champions. Who has Oscar ever developed? When he got Kasim Ouma, everybody was raving about him. So what does he do? They destroyed Kasim Ouma Destroyed him, totally
'I think, Jim, he means my interpretation is that after Ouma beat Verno Phillips to win his title, Oscar --
'Golden Boy Promotions' -- put him right back with a tough, tough fighter in Kofi
Jantuah and then he, Ouma, beats Jantuah and they send him up against yet another tough opponent in the, uh, Russian, Roman Karmazin, and he,
Ouma, loses.'
'He took on the best that was out there, same way Oscar
–'
'I dunno, Jim' In nine months, Phillips, Jantuah and
Karrmazin It could be said that that’s pushing it.'
Shaw: 'And then they could have rebuilt him (Ouma), but they didn't know how to do it. They had high profile fights with Barrera and Hopkins, they should have put him on the cards so people could see him. They had a pay-per-view two days after the fight with Karmazin, the (first) Hopkins-Taylor fight, why not put him on that
card' They didn’t do anything with Ouma. That's the problem with Oscar, he's not doing his job. Ouma has fallen off the radar.
'Show me a kid they've taken from the amateurs and made a champion. Who can they show? They tried with (Vicente) Escobedo and got him beat. Taking a fighter who isn't already established and making him into something is a lot harder than making money off of fighters who are already established.”
Take it 'Harold Lederman:'
'Larry, Jim, I've got it four rounds to zero, 40-36, in favor of Gary Shaw. Jim, Shaw is taking the fight to Oscar, a dominating performance so far. Oscar is going to have to start throwing punches. So far he has no answers for Shaw's attack.'
Vicente Escobedo, a 2004 U.S. Olympian who was being hyped as the next Oscar, won his first nine pro fights. Then Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker, Eric Gomez, put him up against another top prospect with more experience, Daniel Jimenez, who had won 13 straight since starting his career with a loss and a draw. Jimenez was and still is recognized as a potential star, and is trained by top Puerto Rican conditioner, Evangelista Cotto, who works the corner of his nephew, WBO junior lightweight champ, Miguel Cotto. Jimenez is now 15-1-1.
Shaw: 'He (Oscar) didn't have a clue how to bring him along. If Oscar was watching the candy store, instead of worrying about me and saying derogatory things, he would not have fought Jimenez. If I had him (Escobedo), I would have found him a fight in his hometown, get the fans excited, make the fighter feel good. Then they go and sign Jimenez for three fights. What for? So they can match him with Escobedo again.'
Jimenez was signed by Golden Boy after defeating Escobedo. Gomez has been quoted as admitting he made a mistake in the match-up. But he has also said he still believes in Escobedo and would like to make a rematch.
'Harold Lederman:' Guys, Shaw is throwing a shutout. He's really working Oscar over inside. There's still time, but
I'd say it looks like Oscar is in over his head. Everything they said about these Jersey guys looks true to me.
Shaw: 'And he has this bogus 'Ponzi Scheme' where he signs these established stars and part of their deal is they will be partners in the company. If they are partners, spread the money around. Call Bernard Hopkins, call Shane Mosley and Barrera, ask them how much money they make on the big fights. Ask them to explain if they know what the company's expenses are, or how much they pay their executives. They couldn't tell you. They wouldn’t know what you are talking about. Trust me, this (partners) is going to blow up in Oscar’s face. When those fighters are done fighting, they’re going to ask him, ‘What is it again that I do? How do I do it?’”
Golden Boy Promotions Press Release, July 17, 2005: Continuing in its quest to revolutionize the business of boxing promotion and put the power back in the hands of the people who have worked tirelessly to entertain legions of fight fans, Golden Boy Promotions is pleased to welcome Marco Antonio Barrera and “Sugar” Shane Mosley as equity partners in the Los Angeles-based company launched by Oscar De La Hoya in 2001?
Mosley will act as an adviser to Golden Boy’s existing roster of fighters, as well as playing a vital role in the future scouting and development of United States boxing talent in the amateur and professional ranks.
Jack Mosley, Shane's father/trainer: 'Shane doesn't have any official duties with them. It's more like a promotional thing. Shane has his own promotional company, see, and Golden Boy works with him.'
'Internal politics, Larry, why even mention stuff like that --'
'I disagree, Jim. The issue, what Oscar made clear in his Winky announcement, is that the agreement would be different from what his other partners have, the holdings. Barrera, Mosley and Hopkins are supposed to have holdings in the company. Shaw is saying, it aint so.'
Shaw: 'Oscar and Schaefer are clever. They keep dangling Oscar (as a fighter) like a yo yo at HBO.
'Oh, he's going to fight in eight months. Then the time comes, Oscar says,
'Oh no, I can't take the fight, but I'll give you Barrera. Believe me, Ross Greenburg (HBO Sports president), is starting to see the light. Oscar has worn the string until it's thin and frayed, and pretty soon, it is going to break.'
FIGHTNIGHTNEWS contacted HBO for comment. HBO did not return phone calls.
Last year, De La Hoya said he would fight twice more before retiring -- once this past May (Mayorga) and again on Sept. 16. (Mexican Independence Day from Spanish rule). Due to lingering physical problems, De La Hoya said he could not fight on Sept. 16. Barrera will fight a rematch with Rocky Juarez Sept. 16 on HBO
'Pay-Per-View.'
'Jim, Oscar looked like he winced at that blow, the ribs, maybe a rib is broken. He is holding his side as he goes to his corner.'
'If anybody can take the pain, and come back and win this fight, Larry, it’s Oscar.'
Shaw: Oscar shouldn’t talk about ethics after what Schaeffer and Winky tried to pull with HBO.'
Last December, on the day when Shaw and Jermain Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella, were finalizing a deal for a fight with Wright, a deal that took two months of hard, often bitter negotiations, Schaefer was meeting in Greenburg’s office when Wright walked in. Wright told Greenburg that he didn’t want Shaw to negotiate for him, that he wanted to make a deal with Golden Boy. While Greenburg told them there would be no fight unless Shaw negotiated for Wright, the HBO president took several shots from the media for what was perceived as collusion with Golden Boy. Greenburg declined to discuss the matter at the time.
Chief argument for 'collusion' was that with the New York-based HBO's security in a 9/11 world, it would have been impossible for Wright to just have waltzed into Greenburg's office by surprise.
However, FightNightNews has learned EXCLUSIVELY what happened from a source close to HBO. Wright threw some Winky charm on a receptionist, walked around the main lobby until he found a way through the security system. It was a mistake and HBO talked to its Security Department and took immediate steps to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Greenburg didn’t comment then because he didn’t want to embarrass his security people.
Shaw: 'Shame on Winky. Shame on Schaeffer, and shame on Golden Boy for trying to interfere with another promoter’s business. I could have sued Schaeffer for
tortious interference with a fight I had already under contract with HBO and
DiBella.
'Larry, They're stopping the fight It's over Referee Arnold Rothstein has sent Oscar back to his corner Gary Shaw has upset Oscar De La Hoya on a 9th round TKO
'
'Oscar was never in the fight. He ?'
'That wasn't the Oscar we are used to seeing, Larry. I wonder if he had a problem?'
'It looks from here, Jim Oscar De La Hoya's only problem
was throwing down with Gary Shaw.' |
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