Another Case Of Cooking The Books? If So, This One Was A Slow Simmer
By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat”
“Cooking The Books”, As Defined by Investopedia:
…Typically, cooking the books involves augmenting financial data to yield previously non-existent earnings.
At the end of last week a press release was sent out with a pretty astonishing claim. The first paragraph of the release said, With early pay-per-view numbers counted and confirmed, the pugilist’s (Mayweather Jr.) recent STARPOWER fight against Victor Ortiz generated buys from 1.25 million homes with a value of $78,440,000 dollars in pay-per-view revenue. These numbers make the event the second highest grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event of all time.
Early PPV numbers?
By my calculations these so called “early” numbers were released some 6 weeks after the fight took place.
Hardly early.
In an article posted October 21st , ( a full week before the numbers were finally released), in The Grand Rapid Press, David Mayo wrote:
Typically, within a week of a pay-per-view fight that does boastful numbers, HBO and the promoter simultaneously release the estimated domestic sales and gross revenues. Saturday will mark five weeks since the Sept. 17 fight, and nary a peep from anyone.
Mayo makes a couple of very strong points here.
1. Typically, within a week of a pay-per-view fight that does boastful numbers the estimated numbers are released.
A check with multiple highly placed industry sources confirmed that promoters will have a very good idea on the numbers within 5-7 days. That’s a far cry from the 6 weeks it took to reveal the Starpower numbers.
2. HBO and the promoter simultaneously release the estimated domestic sales and gross revenues.
If you can find that press release somewhere on the internet, (because we didn’t post it here), you will see comments from Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his chief flunky Leonard Ellerbe. Nowhere on the release will you see a statement from anyone at HBO and in the contact information supplied to the media you won’t find any phone numbers or emails from anyone at the network.
You can do with that information as you will.
While it’s true that some recipes call for a fine stew to be cooked over a low flame and simmered for an extended period of time it is also true that the same recipe warns that overcooking the stew will have an end result of some pretty foul tasting mush.
How did last weeks press release taste to you?
Not to be outdone was our obese buddy over at ESPN who was busy praising himself for predicting the over one million PPV buys before “Starpower” took place while ripping those who speculated the show did barely 850,000 buys.
He told his Tweeples that it was less then professional for anyone to run with those numbers without having confirmed facts, yet he sings his own praises without having anyone from HBO confirm the bloated numbers.
I am sure if he could pat himself on the back he would, but…
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
Boxing needs a “pound 4 pound” king… PAC. Not a supposed “PPV” king in floyd. What does it matter if little floyd continues to “rake” in exaggerated PPV sales but refuses to fight the TRUE TOP fighters… PAC and Martinez. I have an idea: have PAC and Martinez fight and forget about floyd and his flunkies already. Mayweather could stay on the outside looking in at greatness… He will forever remain just a spectator of the sport.
Hey William, love the blog, but there is another speculation here in Las Vegas as to why there was a long delay on why these numbers took so long to be released.
The idea is that Floyd Mayweather Jr owes the IRS a lot of money (in 2009 it was reported as 6.2 million) In recent weeks it was time for Mayweather Jr to cut another check to the IRS. His check, predictably, would be much higher had the numbers from the PPV became public knowledge. In turn, Mayweather Jr. wanted to pay this bill before the PPV numbers rolled in. It’s just a theory, but makes fairly good sense.I see while checking facts that Dan Rafael wrote sharing the same ideas on his blog on Oct 20, which can be found here
http://espn.go.com/boxing/blog/_/name/rafael_dan/id/7126970/one-bout-missing-bantamweight-golden-age-boxing
Very interesting!
Whether the numbers are 850,000 or 1.25 million I would not be surprised if the news reported in Las Vegas has some merit.
@ luis You say boxing needs a true pound 4 pound king not someone who refuses to fight top fighters. Could you explain to me how Pac is fighting the top fighters. First of all he continues to fight the same fighters floyd has already beat. And when he is not fighting them he is fight Clottey or A burned out and weight drained Cotto and Margartio. Dont be blinded by your hate. Im not saying floyd fights the best but Pac for sure DONT.
William, you’re reaching once again!
Really?
Then how is it we get Hopkins vs. Dawson PPV #s announced in 2 weeks?
Granted, I know it doesn’t take near as long to count to 40,000 as it does to 1 million, but not a full 4 weeks.
And whether you are cooking the books to fabricate numbers or dodge the IRS the fact remains something is a bit overcooked.
It’s a boxer’s job to box and an accountant’s job to do the counting where money is concerned. The actual number of PPV buys and the length of time it takes someone to count them and publish the figure has no bearing on the boxer’s performance in the ring.
McGarry…I may not have been the first one to credit Floyd for his peformance but I know I gave him his just due for a job well done.
This article has ZERO to do with that but rather it asks whether or not there were some creative accounting tactics involved.
It also questions whether or not a guy who is 150 pounds overweight can pat his own back.
At jeff taylor, no hate involved. Manny has fought the same fighters floyd has beat, but has beaten MORE convincingly. He fought Clottey, Cotto and Margarito, people floyd didn’t face before retirement and won’t face them now either. PAC will now face Marquez a third time, floyd faced Marquez after PAC and needed the weight advantage to fight a HOHUM fight. PAC will fight a Marquez who is still p4p ranked. floyd faced Ortiz, who isn’t p4p ranked and had just beaten Berto… Another fighter floyd has never or will ever face… and won on controversy. Me a “hater”… You are BLIND!!! Reply welcome…
@ Luis first of i can see we disagree but I respect that you didnt get disrespectful like some people. I disagree that he beat people more convincingly. Delayhoya was weight drained and done when pac fought him. Hatton was knockout cold by pac cant deny that. but floyd also kicked his ass for 10 rounds and knocked him out as well. They both beat Mosely with ease but floyd fought him coming off a win not a lose and a draw to SERiGO MORA! I believe marquez won at least the secon pac fight maybe the first as well and he didnt win one min of the floyd fight. ALso u say he needed a weight advantage against marquez but pac is making him go even higher. Going into the floyd fight mosely and ortiz were consider by the boxing public as real risk. When is the last time pac has gone into a fight were people actucally thought he could lose. I understand how u believe what you believe I just believe that floyd has a better resume then pac and has fought the tougher fights especially lately.
Disrespectful? Some people? Who? They will be banned ASAP!!
good one william! All im saying is I like a healthy debate just because someone disagrees with u dont have to call them a f’ing moron or something like that. I myself wondered what the hell was taking so long with the #’s. do I think they cook the books on this no but can I see why people think that of course. That would be like me saying I KNOW the pac vs mosely #’s were bad because I’ve never heard them givin out at all. I assume they were bad but I dont know. I take up for floyd’s career all the time on this website and Im sure the floyd hater cant stand it. I know there are going to bepeople who cant stand him and I understand that he has givin a lot of reason to not like him. But I will always debate someone who says mayweather ducks people and pac fights the best. I just dont believe that and I think if u look at the facts pacs doesnt fight the best or highest risk people that are there to fight.
Jeff, thanks for noticing. Not my style to disrespect ANYONE… William will call me directly to put the ban on me. This comment section is too short to respond, especially when I use my phone. Long story short in my opinion, but with many points to examine still, mayweather has avoided REAL threats since his days at 135. He could have been making GRAND fights against Tszyu at 140… Never happened… Paul Williams or Margarito to name just a few at 147, and list goes on. It’s EXTREMELY easy to SPECULATE that he would have beaten all of these people… But he never got into the ring to prove it. PAC’S turn, he gets into the ring with the proper opponents but picking weight. They both sin from taking CALCULATED risks, but PAC gets into the ring. You mention Ortiz as a “Threat”, what was his resume before the floyd fight? An action fight against Berto, but got dropped twice. A couple of so-so fights before and the Maidana incident at 140. Was he truly a “risk”? Again, just my opinion, the MAN to beat for both of them… Sergio Martinez at 150!!! Thanks for the reply and God Bless Always…
Luis no problem I also believe they both have sinned. I also believe that they are both at fault for the fight not happening. Floyd could fight without the test, manny could just come out and agree to any testing. This way floyd wouldnt have a leg to stand on if he back out then. I agree that Ortiz has a questionable at best resume. I just meant he was a threat of a KO because he has real power and also had close to 20 pounds on floyd fight night. Mosely looked like a threat going into there fight coming off the Margartio fight. Now pac last fight was against a mosely coming off the floyd lose and a bad perfomance. Before that manny refused to fight him at 147 he wanted a catch weight. He only agreed to 147 after he looked like shit in his last 2 fight. Either one of these guys could have fought Williams. As far as Margartio he really didnt have a big fight name to the regular public until after the cotto fight he fought one fight after that fight and lost. So floyd didnt have the biggest window to make that fight when it would have to hot enought to make good money. The only I believe that is left for either one is each other. I love serigo but think he is to big for either of these guy and he would be weight drained for either. I just hate catchweigth fights someone is always at a disadvantage. All I hope is that Pac wins and somehow these to get into a ring next year before it gets to late. Im a floyd fan but I dont think there is another fight out there right now that I could stand by besides the pac fight. Same with pac they have both come to the end of the road and its time to make this happen and settle all this in the ring.
Food for thought Jeff, when floyd announced his “comeback”, he fought Marquez, then Mosley and up til now Ortiz. What did all three opponents have in common? They had the same promoter, Golden Boy. With those fights, some controversy was involved: Marquez was floyd’s failure to make contract weight which cost him a fine, Mosley was the “SUDDEN” loss of offense after a stunning 2nd round and Ortiz was getting hit with his hands down… Plus don’t forget the kisses and hugs. LOL!!! PAC too suffered the same fate: Clottey, Cotto and Margarito, all Arum fighters with the exception of Mosley and now Marquez. Clottey, Cotto and Margarito were around when floyd was still active before retirement, he didn’t get into the ring with them, that’s were PAC gets the credit. Plus basically retiring Mosley and now about to probably put a hurting on Marquez. No doubt about it, PAC is where he is because he gets into the ring. As far as Sergio being too big, but you said either one could have gotten into the ring with Paul Williams… who is bigger than Sergio!!! If PAC and floyd get into the ring, floyd is 2″ taller than PAC, and Sergio is 2″ taller than floyd. Where’s the difference? In my opinion, Sergio beats them both.
I agree they are both fighting mostly there promoters or the people there working with fighters. As far as cotto margratio and clottey. I give him credit for fight cotto because I believe that he is someone floyd should have fought. I do find it strange that he fought cotto after the margartio beating which could have been with illegal gloves. Also pac had already fought at 147 but made cotto go down to a catchweight of 145. He also made margarito fight at a catchweight of 150 when floyd fought oscar at 154. but somehow they made that a title fight at 154 and pac gets credit for winning a belt in a weight class he didnt even fight in. As far as Clottey goes he didnt deserve to be in the ring with either one of these guys. If floyd would have fought him he would have been hated on for his choice of fighter. Im just curious if pac fought hatten at 140 and cotto at 145 why make marquez go all the way up to 147. as far as paul williams being bigger then serigo what i was talking about was weight. He was fighting comfortably at 147. Sergio has even mentioned that he would not go below 150. I agree that serigo could beat both men but either fight would have to be at a catchweight which i hate. If they are going to fight at 147 they have Khan or each other to fight. I believe with bradely signing with top rank and being on the undercard that they are setting him up to fight his first fight at 147 against pac which would be a shame. Bottom line to me is after the marquez fight im just hoping these guys have no more opitions and have to get in the ring with each other next May. Just curious how do you think that fight would go in they did get in the ring.
finally somebody mentions Khan. I say floyd fights Khan then Pac and goes out with no doubt as to who the greatest fighter of this generation is. Martinez needs to get back in the ring asap after the sluggish performance he put on in his last fight.
books were cooked, the fight\show was cooked and the fat man can not stay out of the kitchen.
Kahn should not be considered, still questionable chin. If the PAC vs. Margarito fight was not at 154 but was for the Jr. Middleweight title, well the “rule” would apply to floyd as well because he weighed 150 for the fight against Oscar, though yes Oscar did weigh 154, floyd was not at the limit. Plus, it is his only split decision win in his career yet he didn’t give Oscar a rematch. Which brings me to point that I have mentioned all along and J.T. has agreed with me, though drained, Sergio at 150 wreaks HAVOC upon PAC and floyd. Plus, it’s a weight that both fighters have touched.
I get the very distinct odor of next years May 5 fight in Las Vegas and it had the unpleasant aroma of Floyd vs. Khan.
I hope I am dead wrong but……..
I agree about Kahn chin its just they are running out of people to fight. I agree that Sergio could beat them both but unlike oscar who did it twice and look bad both times and I dont think Margarito has ever done it Sergio fought comfortable at 160 and looked great in doing so. As far as him not giving oscar a rematch just my thought but that fact that it was a split decision was a joke. Oscar has come out and admitted he lost the fight but one judge found a way to give him 7 rounds even though he himself didnt believe he won. Floyd tougest fight was against Castillo and he gave him a rematch right away unlike pac who waited 4 years to fight marquez again after a draw. And a few more years after he one by one point on a split decsion the second time. also about the floyd oscar weight 147 is the welterweight limit so anything over 147 would be within the jr middleweight limit right. To me that is different then pac weighing in as a welterweight and margartio not being able to go over 150 and still fight for a 154 belt. Also the fact that they fought for a open belt is questionable. Pac never fought above 147 and Margartio had one fight since his lost to mosely against a no name in Mexico and somehow these two are the number 1 and 2 contenders for the 154 belt how does that happen?
This is cool back and forth action J.T…. I stand corrected, PAC did not touch 150 pounds or even the 147 limit, you were right. Now, the reason why they were able to fight for a 154 pound belt with those discrepancies is the same reason why the floyd vs. Castillo rematch took place so quickly… Bob Arum. The rematch was done so quickly was because they were both his fighters at the time. The reason why PAC and Margarito fought at the weight they did for a title a heavier title, Bob and Suliman, joint effort there. As for why PAC and Marquez have taken so long for their rematches, Marquez is not an Arum fighter which complicates negotiations. If they both would have been his fighters, they probably would have 4 times already, within 2 years!!!
For sure it would be fun as hell to watch a fight with u. I agree about Arum this bs is getting crazy. I believe that with Bradley now with top rank and on the undercard they will have Pac fight him next at 147. I also believe that it is Bob Arum that wants nothing to do with floyd and making this huge fight. His reaction to floyd wanted to fight Pac is he says its a cruel joke and an attempt take the light away from pac. This makes no sense because him bringing it up a week before the fight would make the fight even bigger because it now seems that the fight could be next. He could have said we dont believe that floyd wants to make the fight but this is the fight that the public is demanding and we will still do everything to make the fight happen. But his reaction shows he wants no part of this fight.
Thanks again for the compliment, even the pastor of our church agrees with you about me being a boxing buddy the night of a fight. Families come over to our home to watch boxing, it’s a big thing. Sorry, I digressed from the issue here… Bob!!! I don’t know him personally but he seems to be a strong/stubborn man. I also think spite plays a part in his promotional ploys. But they work… and Golden Boy had a GREAT teacher but so did floyd. In my personal opinion, Arum will take PAC in a different direction to spite floyd while floyd in turn will continue to ask for odd terms to bust Arum’s b*lls. Manny doesn’t really care because he will continue to rake in money, just as mayweather will. Who can stop this… HBO and Showtime, the ones responsible for televising the events. Think about it… Keep in touch and God Bless Always…
i agree Luis but the boxing fans are the one that lose out. A mayweather fan like myself will always hear how he is scared and the only reason for the fight not happening. also how easy pac would win. Pac fans will always hear about him not taking the test. And if they never fight it is horrible for boxing fans. I have a feeling it may happen this time the pressure is on both of them but i wont hold my breathe. I already order a room at the mgm that weekend so it will be cheaper now then if its actucally announced but im ready to cancel quickly. At this point im more scared it wont happen then excited it will. Thanks for the back an forth I know we disagree on a few things but u had some points that made me think and I hope i did the same.