Inside Floyd Mayweather's $100M Fight Payday 💰 | SWAY’S UNIVERSE

0:01
Bridge business citizens and this is
0:03
something special man. Let's clap it up.
0:06
We just saw the champ Stevenson just
0:08
walk by.
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>> He's about to join us momentarily but I
0:12
have to speak on my friend my brother
0:14
that I I couldn't be more proud of.
0:16
Yeah. You know it's just really amazing
0:18
to see this guy and I know
0:20
>> we just smile look at each other in
0:21
disbelief. Um, you know, maybe I don't
0:24
even know how many years ago.
0:26
>> 30 plus years ago.
0:28
>> 30 35
0:29
>> 35 years ago. Asian. There ain't too
0:32
many. Look, I know you got a lot of your
0:34
original crew around. There ain't too
0:35
many people on the show.
0:36
>> Yeah.
0:37
>> Who've known you since you was 17.
0:38
>> That's true, bro.
0:40
>> Wow. This dude has known. Yeah, man. He
0:42
has. And he we used to
0:44
>> dynamic force.
0:45
>> Damn. He's
0:48
>> No, don't be ashamed. Nothing to be
0:50
ashamed of. That is I have no one I can
0:53
talk to these things about. Dynamic
0:55
Force, the the infamous DJ contest that
0:58
opened the door to this entire career.
1:00
>> Yeah, man.
1:01
>> Wow.
1:01
>> You know the whole story.
1:02
>> Oh yeah.
1:03
>> Fly Force is the original crew name King
1:05
Tac and I went under, formerly a B boy
1:08
crew of the San Francisco Ballet
1:11
Breakers, so on and so forth. And then
1:13
we transitioned into, you know, a rapper
1:16
DJ crew and he was right there. and uh
1:19
Kev Kev with the drum and Stanford and
1:22
this man has truly
1:24
>> watched we we in par in a parallel
1:27
universes we have watched each other
1:29
really ascend in different fields u to
1:32
the point that doesn't even surprise me
1:35
that he's a 12 time Emmy awardw winning
1:38
sports media champion it doesn't
1:40
surprise me
1:41
>> and this is why we're always so happy
1:43
when we see each other cuz you know at
1:45
the end of the day there was this little
1:47
tiny opportunity
1:49
This was, you know, Sway and Tech, you
1:51
know, Tech was in that DJ contest.
1:54
>> You know, it led to 40 minutes.
1:56
>> 40 minutes
1:58
>> on on was it Friday night
1:59
>> on KL?
2:00
>> On KMEL.
2:01
>> Wow.
2:02
>> And from there that that turned into the
2:04
wakeup show that turned into the media
2:06
empire that you see right now.
2:08
>> Well said.
2:09
>> Yeah.
2:09
>> Jesus, man. He's giving me an intro.
2:11
>> No, no, no. I mean, you talk about it.
2:13
There are points in your life when you
2:16
have to deliver. You get like one or two
2:18
opportunities that can change the
2:19
trajectory of your life.
2:20
>> That was 40 minutes that changed the
2:22
trajectory of your entire life.
2:24
>> That's true, man.
2:25
>> Well, it's real.
2:25
>> Wait, hold up. Steven Espinosa is here.
2:27
Let's make make that announcement real
2:29
quick. Thank you, brother. I was going
2:31
to say, Steve, what I when I knew um the
2:33
power of you guys relationship and
2:35
friendship, I can personally say because
2:37
I've known Sway for over 30 years now as
2:40
well and he doesn't talk about many
2:42
people off air, you know, and it's those
2:45
moments when you realize when he's
2:46
having these conversations and he's like
2:48
with me and Steve, it's not about the
2:50
boxing relationship. This is my friend.
2:53
This is my brother. And so I hold you in
2:55
high regard just because of the thing
2:57
that you just shared and what he spoke
2:59
about with you. And so that says a lot
3:01
about who you are because we all know
3:03
how this business can be in this
3:04
industry. A lot of people are seasonal,
3:07
right? Just to keep it light. Some
3:09
people are seasonal and you've managed
3:12
you guys to form a brotherhood in in a
3:14
in a industry where it's just really
3:16
hard, you know, to trust people,
3:19
>> to stay in contact with people, to not
3:21
take advantage of people. So, I'm so
3:23
glad that you're here as well with us
3:24
today.
3:25
>> I look, I appreciate it and, you know,
3:27
we can get on to actual discussion, but
3:29
but the reality is neither of us is
3:31
supposed to be here.
3:32
>> Yeah.
3:33
>> Yeah. I I didn't have family, you know,
3:36
who was in the media business. I grew up
3:38
humble, single, single mother, you know,
3:40
all of that. And to be to the point
3:42
where I'm deciding what's on TV,
3:45
>> you know what you programming, running a
3:46
network, you know, you with a media
3:48
empire and you know the chances that the
3:50
two of us starting from that point get
3:52
to this point,
3:53
>> you know, humble you humble beginnings
3:55
don't even begin to describe it. But
3:58
>> like to travel that distance,
4:00
>> you know, that that that's our bond.
4:02
>> Amen.
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>> Yeah, man. That's our bomb, man. Steve
4:04
Espinosa, man. Thank you, man. You said
4:06
it so much better than I've ever said
4:08
it. Steve, I don't might be the martini,
4:10
brother. I don't know what happened,
4:11
man. But let's talk about that moment of
4:15
opportunity that happened for you. Most
4:17
a lot of people know you for u being a
4:20
president of show of sports at Showtime,
4:22
but your entry to boxing wasn't with
4:25
that, right? You came from a law firm.
4:28
>> No, I was at a law firm one day and I
4:30
was representing actors, writers,
4:32
director as a Hollywood attorney. One
4:34
day a, you know, a lawyer had left the
4:36
firm and he walks in and drops a stack
4:39
of of files on my desk, you know,
4:41
probably, you know, three feet high. He
4:43
said, "Congratulations. You now
4:45
represent Oscar De Hoya." Huh?
4:47
>> What?
4:48
>> And and I said, "Well, I don't you know,
4:50
I don't I don't know the boxing
4:52
business. I like I'm I'm four years out
4:54
of law school. You know, I'm 28 29 years
4:56
old." And he says, "Well, look, you're
4:59
an entertainment attorney. You do TV
5:01
stuff. He's on TV. figure it out. Now
5:05
then, fast forward about 18 months, two
5:08
years. I leave that law firm. I go to
5:11
another law firm. Oscar comes with me.
5:13
That law firm has just signed Mike
5:15
Tyson.
5:17
>> Wow.
5:17
>> So, they said, "Oh, the new guy, you
5:19
know, the new guy also does boxing. He
5:21
knows how to handle boxers. He can
5:23
handle Mike." So, all of a sudden, I'm
5:24
five years out of law school and I'm the
5:26
lawyer for Mike Tyson and Oscar Deloy,
5:29
man. you know, and it was it was, you
5:32
know, one of the most entertaining,
5:33
interesting parts of my career. If I
5:35
could write books, I mean, a lot of
5:36
stuff is going to the grave with me. If
5:38
I could write a book about that stuff, I
5:41
mean, you know, Mike Tyson is still one
5:43
of my favorite people in the world.
5:44
>> Yeah, Mike is amazing. He's beautiful.
5:47
Wow. And so that's how it happened. Did
5:49
Did Oscar already have the dream of
5:51
Golden Boy at that time?
5:53
>> Not really. About three or about three
5:55
years after that, he formed the company.
5:56
So, I became the attorney for the
5:58
company. I actually drafted Canelo's
6:01
very first contract when he signed to
6:03
Golden Boy,
6:03
>> the one he hates.
6:05
>> You been there?
6:08
>> Yeah. So, I locked him into that, you
6:10
know, way back when. And you know, and
6:13
then again, those opportunities like um
6:16
you know, and then I I realized later on
6:18
what happens at those law firms is you
6:20
walk into and they hand you a piece of
6:22
paper. They say, "Okay, these are the
6:23
clients. I came in with my own clients,
6:24
but they also hand you a piece of paper.
6:26
This is who you're working on.
6:28
So I look at it and it's like, "Oh, it's
6:30
uh it's Mike Tyson. It's Eminem. It's,
6:33
you know, all these people." I'm like,
6:34
"Oh, I'm I'm excited."
6:36
>> Fast forward again another year, we have
6:39
a meeting cuz another new guy's coming
6:40
in. And we have this meeting. I'm like,
6:42
"What's this meeting about?" He says,
6:44
"Well, this is a meeting for all the
6:47
people that the lawyers don't want to
6:48
represent cuz we're going to give them
6:49
to the new guy coming in."
6:51
>> Yeah.
6:51
>> So, I look back at my list. I'm like,
6:53
"Oh, this is a list not of people like I
6:55
was like, "Oh, they trust me with these.
6:57
These are a list of people that no one
6:59
else wanted to represent.
7:00
>> Uhhuh.
7:00
>> It, you know, it was, you know, it was
7:02
Marshall, it was Mike Tyson, it was
7:04
Whitney Houston,
7:06
>> you know, it was
7:07
>> Vanessa Hudins.
7:08
>> Vanessa Hudins, you know, at the time.
7:10
Yeah. Um, you know, Snoop, you know,
7:13
Keanu Reeves. Everyone liked him. He
7:15
wasn't on that list. I just started
7:16
working with him later on. But, you
7:18
know, that was it. And I thought I was
7:20
going to be an attorney for the rest of
7:21
my life. I was happy doing that.
7:23
>> Yeah. And then you made a transition.
7:25
And then I got tricked into doing a
7:27
going on a job interview.
7:28
>> Uhhuh.
7:29
>> You know, a guy an agent at at CIA, he
7:32
told me, he said, "Hey, um, you know,
7:34
there's a position at Showtime open.
7:36
They want to talk to you and get your
7:38
opinion on who they should hire."
7:40
>> I said, I said, "Okay." Like, "Yeah,
7:42
what?" He's like, "I I'll set up a
7:44
lunch. You're going to lunch tomorrow."
7:46
>> Um, so the next day, you know, he sets
7:48
up the lunch. I go to lunch. It's the
7:49
president of the network.
7:51
>> And I'm like, "This is a little weird,
7:52
but okay." And I'm 10 minutes into it
7:55
and I realized he's interviewing me for
7:58
a job like that I didn't know I was
8:00
applying for. Um, but he was a great
8:03
salesman. Uh, he probably saw some
8:05
things in me that I didn't see in me.
8:07
>> A week later, I'd signed a contract. Two
8:09
weeks after that, I moved to New York
8:10
and all of a sudden, I'm not a lawyer.
8:11
I'm running a network. And I said to him
8:14
before before I signed my contract, I
8:16
said, "Look, I understand this green
8:18
light authority. I get to put stuff on
8:20
air, decide part of the programming for
8:22
the network. He says, "Yeah, that's
8:24
that's the job." I said, "You do realize
8:26
I've never worked at a TV network
8:28
before."
8:29
>> He's like, "Yeah, well, we think you'll
8:30
figure it out."
8:32
>> Yes.
8:32
>> And if not, we'll just fire you in three
8:34
years when your broadcast is done. And
8:35
and that position was the president of
8:37
sports at Showtime.
8:39
>> That's right.
8:39
>> And how long were you were attorney
8:41
prior to that?
8:42
>> 15 years.
8:43
>> Wow. Beautiful.
8:44
>> Yeah. Give that man a round of applause
8:46
for real. We walking up the line real
8:48
quick and we ain't even getting into the
8:50
nuances of it all, but one of the big
8:52
things you did um at Showtime Sports was
8:55
you brokered a deal with Floyd
8:57
Mayweather
8:58
>> for six fights, I believe it was.
9:00
>> Whose idea was that? And then what were
9:04
you hoping as an outcome and what real
9:06
impact did that make that series?
9:08
>> Well, look at at at the time when I
9:09
started HBO was HBO Sports was it.
9:12
>> Yeah. you know, boxing and otherwise,
9:14
they were the gold standard. And being
9:16
completely honest, Showtime was, you
9:18
know, number two and probably a little
9:19
distant number two.
9:20
>> Yeah.
9:21
>> So, I said, "Look, I gave up my career
9:23
as an attorney. I decided to move across
9:26
country. I never lived in New York City
9:27
before. Like, I'm not going to I didn't
9:30
do this to not compete."
9:32
>> So, I said, "Look, let me make the
9:34
biggest splash I can. What What can I do
9:36
to change the trajectory of what's going
9:38
on here?" And look, it's Floyd, you
9:41
know, he's he's he he did that. So, I
9:44
chased him. First time I didn't get it.
9:47
>> Yeah.
9:47
>> You know, I I chased him. I chased him.
9:49
He decided to fight Cotto on HBO.
9:52
>> Mhm.
9:52
>> Then I went after him a year later and I
9:55
signed it and that sent the message to
9:57
everybody, we're not playing around no
9:58
more.
9:58
>> Yeah.
9:59
>> You know, and and that's where it was
10:00
and it changed the way the network was
10:03
was was really perceived.
10:05
>> Yeah. And you know, I think you know,
10:07
Floyd, it was changed the way Floyd was
10:10
perceived. You know, you you're around a
10:12
place so long sometimes they take you
10:14
for granted.
10:15
>> You've been at HBO for 12, 13 years. So,
10:18
he wanted a fresh start,
10:20
>> you know, and together. And I think at
10:21
that point HBO had sort of said to him,
10:24
you know, go ahead.
10:25
>> I think they publicly said, you know,
10:26
we're not sure he has any good fights
10:28
left.
10:29
>> And they did say that.
10:30
>> Wow.
10:31
>> And then you booked six of them and they
10:33
were all, in my opinion,
10:34
>> Oh, yeah. No, they they laughed at me.
10:35
Everyone was like, "You're going to lose
10:36
a ton of money. He's never going to
10:38
fight twice a year. You know, he's just
10:40
going to, you know, cash his checks and
10:41
fight nobody."
10:42
>> Yeah.
10:43
>> You know, second second fight was versus
10:45
Canelo.
10:46
>> Uhhuh.
10:46
>> You know, the fifth fight was against
10:49
Pacquiao,
10:50
>> you know, and then I got a bonus fight
10:52
against against McGregor.
10:53
>> Yeah. And you did all of those fights.
10:56
Which fight profit? Which fight grossed
10:58
the most out of those three?
11:00
>> The Pacquiao fight. Pacquiao fight
11:02
grossed in in that three hours about
11:05
$600 million.
11:06
>> Oh my god. 600,
11:07
>> you know. So you you think about it like
11:09
for a a Marvel movie or something like
11:12
that, you know, that's a that's a
11:13
fantastic number, but that takes what?
11:15
Three, four, five, six weeks.
11:17
>> Yeah.
11:18
>> This is a 4-hour event which in that
11:21
little span of time generated $600
11:23
million. So, what what do the boxers
11:26
actually get from that 600? Like, is it
11:29
a percentage? What is the the the
11:31
blueprint for that kind of payout?
11:34
>> So, every deal is a little bit
11:35
different, but in in that one, there's a
11:37
percentage split between Floyd and and
11:40
Pacquiao. So, on that one, the vast
11:42
majority of the money is going to the
11:44
fighters. That's one thing that's
11:45
different about boxing business from
11:47
other combat sports. So, you know,
11:49
obviously there's expenses off the top,
11:51
the production, the marketing, and all
11:52
that, but after that, it's a split. And
11:55
and look, I don't want to get into too
11:57
much of Floyd's business, but I I'll
11:59
I'll just say this. On the Monday after
12:02
they fight, we wired him in advance, and
12:06
the advance was $100 million.
12:08
>> Yo, me and Horus always wonder if the
12:10
money's real.
12:11
>> I always thought if the money was real.
12:13
>> Yeah. And it's I probably have a picture
12:15
in my phone, you know, at some point of,
12:17
you know, the the check request I had to
12:19
sign because someone came to me and it's
12:21
probably the only time this is going to
12:22
happen in my career. Someone comes to me
12:24
with a nine figure check and says, we
12:27
need your signature in order to release
12:28
this.
12:29
>> Wow.
12:30
>> You know, and that's when it set in.
12:31
It's like, wow, we're we're at a
12:32
different level.
12:33
>> Yeah, man. Steve Espinosa is here, man.
12:35
You can ask him anything. 888742
12:38
3345. Horus, you want to jump in?
12:41
>> Oh, man. Steve, I know you out here
12:42
because of the biggest fight that's
12:43
going they they say it's the biggest
12:45
fight in boxing. What's your prediction
12:47
for the fight?
12:49
>> Damn, horse.
12:50
>> He went you went you went straight here.
12:52
Look, I we were talking about this
12:55
before like one one of the great things
12:57
about sports is cultural rivalries, you
13:00
know, and some of the biggest fights
13:01
like boxing is not shy about leaning
13:03
into,
13:04
>> you know, black versus white, black
13:06
versus Latino,
13:07
>> you know, and and it it does. Now, I've
13:10
yet to and I don't know who you guys are
13:12
picking. I know who is picking. Um, but
13:16
I would say 99.9% it breaks down on
13:19
ethnicity.
13:21
>> Damn. So, I'm picking Crawford, but not
13:23
because of that.
13:23
>> I know. I know. I know. It's weird. And
13:26
I'm picking I'm picking Canelo. I'm
13:27
Mexican-American. I'm picking Canelo.
13:29
>> Well, you're doing that on purpose.
13:33
>> It is. I I think what it says is it's a
13:36
it's it's really a tossup fight.
13:38
>> Yeah.
13:38
>> Yeah. It's 50-50. And then so a lot of
13:40
people are going like who they feel a
13:42
connection with, you know, and look,
13:43
there's there's Mexican fans who are
13:45
going for Crawford. There's black fans
13:47
who are going for Canelo. It it's not
13:48
that simple. But that's one of the fun
13:50
things about the sport.
13:52
>> Yeah.
13:52
>> Is like here, you know, you've got the
13:54
two the two groups which are the biggest
13:56
supporters of the sport, Latinos and
13:59
blacks.
13:59
>> Uhhuh.
14:00
>> You know, and it's a friendly rivalry.
14:02
It's a great atmosphere. It's a lot of
14:03
trash talking. And it's it's one of the
14:06
the most interesting and fun things
14:08
about the sport.
14:09
>> Why why Canelo though? You've seen them
14:11
both fight up close.
14:13
>> Look, you you can't like I I sort of
14:15
feel like Canelo um Canelo has a a
14:19
slightly stronger resume. You know, he's
14:21
he's been in there with Floyd, he's been
14:23
there with Triple G three times. He been
14:25
there with Bivo. He's more comfortable
14:27
with the weight. like I I just think his
14:29
his toolkit is slightly better than
14:33
Crawford's. Um having said that, it's
14:36
like Crawford has a longer reach. I
14:38
think it's going to be a very technical
14:39
fight. I think it's going to be the
14:42
slimmest of margins. It's going to be a
14:44
lot of people arguing about the results
14:46
after the fight.
14:47
>> Steve Espinosa is here. Bridge business.
14:49
Man, Steve, you know, I got so many
14:51
questions to ask you about boxing,
14:52
Steve. I mean, you sitting here. Why not
14:55
David Benvdz? Why Crawford?
14:58
Well, you know, they both at 168. This
15:00
the, you know, two Mexicans that's come
15:02
to a fight. I mean, I think that would
15:04
for me on paper, it seemed like that
15:06
would have been a bigger fight than
15:07
Crawford than in Canelo.
15:09
Look, at the end of the day, Canelo runs
15:11
his own business, you know, and he's
15:12
made it clear, you know, for whatever
15:14
reason, he's not interested in David
15:16
Benoviz right now. Now, knowing Canelo,
15:19
Canelo has never run away from a
15:20
challenge, not his entire career. In
15:21
fact, he's taken a bunch of fights that
15:23
people said don't take. So, I'm not
15:25
gonna I'm not going to say it's never
15:27
going to happen. I know that they're a
15:28
different weight class, but I know
15:30
Canelo and Canelo likes challenges. He's
15:32
all about legacy. So, I still hold hope
15:35
that that could happen.
15:36
>> What was the fight that they told him
15:37
not to take? Floyd?
15:38
>> Um, they told him he was too young for
15:40
Floyd. You know, remember, you know,
15:42
you're you're you're a guy who whose
15:44
ball is a sport. They told him not to
15:46
fight Eris Landara.
15:47
>> They told him not to fight Austin Trout
15:49
when he fought him in the Garden. Those
15:51
are guys nobody wanted to fight. And he
15:53
was like, you know, those are guys like
15:55
he was fighting Lara before Floyd.
15:57
People are like, you might get the the
15:58
Mayweather fight. Where are you gonna
15:59
fight this Cuban guy who's tough to
16:01
fight?
16:02
>> He took it anyway, man. Man, Stephen uh
16:05
Steve Espinosa is here, our good friend.
16:07
Listen, we started Bridge Business um
16:10
podcast where we just focused on on
16:12
boxing. And what year, horse?
16:14
>> Maybe 2019.
16:15
>> 2019. And every fight that horse and I
16:18
people will see us on TV, see us right
16:20
on the rings, man. You know, they
16:22
thought it we had something to do with
16:24
it. Every fight that we got tickets for.
16:26
>> Yeah.
16:27
>> My brother Steve Espos and I used to
16:29
have the hardest time calling you for
16:31
tickets. Remember that?
16:32
>> I I you know, I know I I know what it
16:34
is. I don't like asking people for
16:36
favors either.
16:37
>> You know, even somebody I known, you
16:39
know, long. Yeah. That long.
16:41
>> You like to say the number, I guess.
16:42
>> No, no, no. I'm not. That's exposing
16:45
That's exposing how old we both are.
16:46
>> Oh, yeah. Right.
16:47
>> Um, so no, I mean, but you know, with
16:50
you like No, not at all. Especially like
16:52
never I never hesitate when somebody's a
16:54
true fan like you guys, you know, who
16:56
show up early, you know, not just there
16:58
to put the Instagram post that I'm in
17:00
the main event and then walking out. You
17:01
guys are there early. Absolutely. Happy
17:03
happy to do that.
17:04
>> All right, man. I want to ask you about
17:06
the current state of boxing, you know,
17:08
with the chic who has entered the scene
17:10
and let me say it correctly, Turk
17:12
Alashik. And um when he entered the
17:16
scene, it seemed like the face, the
17:18
format, the the the programming of
17:21
boxing all changed. You got celebrity
17:25
fights almost. Uh uh Jake Paul came up
17:28
onto the scene. You you seeing these
17:30
really interesting matchups and it
17:32
seemed like it's really just about some
17:34
people say is it just about the money?
17:36
Is this hurting what we've seen in
17:38
boxing as as a traditional, you know,
17:40
sport? What are your thoughts of his
17:42
involvement? And now recently I
17:44
understand that you know even with
17:46
Netflix you know and Amazon being a part
17:49
of boxing now what what do you see the
17:51
effect of Turk Allesic has been on
17:53
boxing?
17:55
>> Look to be to be fair I I think the
17:57
juryy's still out.
17:59
>> You know he is he's obviously put a lot
18:01
of money into the sport. He's made some
18:02
fights happen that probably wouldn't
18:03
have happened otherwise. Um so but the
18:07
plan isn't really obvious. It's still
18:09
very in transition. the sport as a whole
18:11
is very much in transition. You know, it
18:13
used to be you could turn on ESPN, HBO,
18:16
and Showtime and find boxing.
18:19
>> You know, now none of those three
18:20
networks are currently in the sport,
18:21
>> right?
18:22
>> So, you've got different people coming
18:24
into the sport in terms of backing it.
18:26
You've got, you know, the TKO group, you
18:28
know, Dana Whites group
18:30
>> also coming into the sport. So, it's a
18:32
it's a period of transition. Um, and it
18:35
has been chaotic. It has been different.
18:37
there hasn't been a whole lot of rhythm
18:39
and consistency and predictability about
18:41
to what fights are happening and what
18:43
they're happening when. Um, but having
18:45
said that, it's never a bad thing to
18:46
have somebody with deep pockets in the
18:48
sport.
18:49
>> Um, but I I'm not sure what the strategy
18:52
and the plan is because it is it's a
18:55
little bit random at this point.
18:56
>> Uhhuh.
18:57
>> And and the other thing that I'm
18:59
concerned about is the lower the lower
19:02
and the middle tier of fights, those
19:04
aren't happening as much.
19:05
>> Yeah. M
19:06
>> so okay it's great we've got these these
19:09
star headline fights but who's building
19:11
the next set of of people who are going
19:14
to be headlining fights in five or 10
19:16
years you know and that that quite
19:18
hasn't happened yet maybe that's going
19:19
to be Dana White's group maybe it's
19:21
going to be you know Turkeykey's group
19:23
it's it's a little bit chaotic it's a
19:26
little uncertain right now it's
19:27
definitely
19:29
you know it it definitely is still in
19:31
development at this point
19:33
>> why why did um
19:35
Showtime sports. Why did it end? Um
19:39
largely it was um it was a budget
19:41
decision about priorities. Um you know
19:43
like a lot of the traditional media
19:45
companies um you know in particular
19:48
Paramount Paramount had you know 13
19:51
different cable channels. Nobody's
19:52
watching cable anymore.
19:53
>> Mhm.
19:53
>> You know you can you remember what MTV
19:56
was in the heyday?
19:57
>> Yeah. I was there,
19:58
>> you know, you were part of it.
20:00
>> And it now it's ridiculousness,
20:03
>> you know, 24 hours a day,
20:05
>> you know, and then some days it's
20:07
catfish, which I love, which I'll watch
20:09
that all day.
20:10
>> Jersey Shore, you got to remember family
20:11
reunion.
20:12
>> That's right. So,
20:14
>> so their business was challenged. So, as
20:16
a matter of fact, it's just an issue of
20:18
budget cutting, you know, and they
20:20
started just cutting, cutting, cutting,
20:22
and then decided one day at Showtime,
20:25
look, we don't need, you know, comedy
20:27
specials, we don't music specials, we
20:29
don't need any sports,
20:30
>> you know, and started, you know, cutting
20:32
back because they're under such
20:33
financial pressure,
20:35
>> you know, and that's that's essentially,
20:36
I mean, you look at, you know, at Warner
20:39
Brothers, you know, their media, they
20:41
lost the NBA. It was a financial
20:43
decision
20:44
>> going to Amazon. So there's a lot of
20:47
upheaval and that's part of the upheaval
20:49
in the sport is the business is
20:51
changing.
20:52
>> Steve Espinosa is here man. Give this
20:54
man a round of applause.
20:56
>> You are advising PBC now, right? Am I
20:59
mistaken?
21:00
>> No, that's right.
21:00
>> And that's the legendary iconic one. Al
21:03
Haymon.
21:04
>> Yeah.
21:05
>> Right.
21:05
>> Who I know from promoting concerts in
21:08
the Bay.
21:08
>> The Budweiser Super Budweiser Super
21:11
Festival.
21:11
>> Yeah. Working on Kel. Yeah, if you're
21:14
you're you're a certain age and probably
21:16
most of people even in this room, you've
21:18
been to an Alc Heyman show at some
21:19
point.
21:20
>> Yeah, at some point.
21:21
>> He's the most mysterious person in
21:23
boxing. You've seen him before.
21:26
>> I've seen him. I've had meals with him.
21:27
I've had lunch with him and dinner with
21:29
him.
21:30
>> All right. So, he just didn't hire you
21:31
on, you know. So, uh, where does PBC
21:34
now? The PBC is being, you know, it's at
21:37
one point it felt like it was it had a
21:39
cornerstone on boxing and boxers and now
21:42
you got all these new, you know,
21:44
contingencies that are rising up. What
21:46
is PBC's plan moving forward?
21:48
>> PBC is with Amazon Prime Video. Okay.
21:50
And look, and and they're adjusting.
21:52
They've got to continue to build stars.
21:54
You know, the reality is, you know, and
21:57
this is one of the challenges, you know,
21:59
you're building stars, you're building
22:00
guys. all of a sudden with one phone
22:02
call they get offered a big check over
22:04
in Saudi and they're gone
22:07
>> you know and you know that's happened
22:09
you know Shakur you know is you know
22:12
doing business out there there's other
22:14
guys David Benvitz is doing a fight out
22:16
there so it does throw some uncertainty
22:19
you know from a fan perspective
22:21
>> yeah sure like they're throwing money
22:23
and making fights happen but at the same
22:24
time
22:25
>> it it creates uncertainty for the
22:27
promoter because all of a sudden you had
22:29
a star like Shakur or David Venovas and
22:31
then they get offered four or five times
22:34
what they usually make by the Saudis and
22:37
they're gone which no one can blame
22:38
them.
22:39
>> Yeah.
22:39
>> Like it's a it's a it's a tough
22:41
provision. You got to take what you can
22:43
get when you can get it.
22:45
>> But then that just is a challenge for
22:47
the promoter business.
22:49
>> Uhhuh.
22:50
>> Because does championship boxing still
22:52
exist? Like the belts hold having a belt
22:54
does that even like make sense? It's
22:56
like, can you have a WBC, WBO and not
22:59
make the money that these guys are
23:01
making that a even champions?
23:04
I mean, look, the the reality is
23:08
everyone sort of has said there's too
23:09
many belts. There's too many belts, you
23:11
know, but then new people come into the
23:13
sport and what's the first thing they
23:14
do? They start creating their own belt.
23:16
I want to do my own belt. None of the
23:17
other ones are legitimate.
23:19
>> You know, this, you know, I don't trust
23:21
those guys. I'm going to do my own belt.
23:22
So now we're we're headed toward having
23:25
more belts rather than others. And and
23:27
and by the way, I don't think it's
23:29
necessarily a bad thing. I I have
23:31
nothing but respect for champions, but
23:33
the reality is there's a lot of guys who
23:35
don't have belts and don't have
23:36
champions, which are the biggest
23:38
stylists in the sport.
23:39
>> Yes.
23:40
>> You know, there was times when Oscar de
23:41
Hoy didn't always have a belt. It didn't
23:43
matter,
23:44
>> right?
23:44
>> You know, it didn't matter. Now, having
23:47
said that, you can't tell a fighter that
23:49
because that's that's their legacy.
23:51
That's history. But at the at the same
23:53
time, you know, yeah, you can you can
23:56
look at it and we can get to like the
23:58
celebrity fights and all that stuff.
24:00
It's it's different. But yeah, the
24:03
reality is no one really knows what a
24:05
belt is worth right now because if
24:07
anything, there's becoming more and more
24:08
of them.
24:09
>> So the ranked fighters like cuz you know
24:10
you got the top 10 ranked fighters. So
24:12
the ranking is often also because
24:14
usually the rank is supposed to move
24:16
around like you know far as like the
24:17
number one ranked contender supposed to
24:19
fight you know the you know top five
24:21
that doesn't exist because of that right
24:23
to me.
24:24
>> Well well part of it and and that's
24:25
another situation the rankings and you
24:28
not to get too deep into it but the the
24:30
rankings some of them are now controlled
24:32
by the same people promoting the fights.
24:35
>> Oh
24:36
>> so you know
24:38
>> is that not corruption?
24:39
>> Yeah they do that in radio. Yeah.
24:42
So, you know, so it used to be like,
24:45
hey, that's your path. You could move up
24:48
the rankings and even if you had a small
24:49
promoter, you didn't have a lot of
24:51
power. If you got to the number one
24:52
position, you know, you'd have a good
24:54
shot at getting that championship fight.
24:56
At least there was a process there. If
24:58
you're now your promoter, the promoter
25:00
of your organization controls the
25:02
rankings,
25:03
>> then the question is, okay, are they
25:05
going to rank the people who are best
25:07
for their business? Are they ranking the
25:09
people who are the best, most skilled
25:11
boxers who depend that?
25:13
>> So, you know, there's always, you know,
25:15
there's always this thing about the best
25:17
throwing the best. The best fight the
25:18
best in the UFC. Do they fight in
25:20
boxing? Well, it's easy to say that,
25:22
hey, the UFC always has one versus two,
25:25
which they don't. But let's just assume
25:26
that for a minute. Well, when you
25:28
control the rankings and you can put one
25:31
and two together, then you can say, "Oh,
25:32
look, one and two are together." Well,
25:34
you just made those guys one and two a
25:36
couple weeks ago. M
25:37
>> so it's it's in your own control to say
25:40
the best are fighting the best. And
25:41
sometimes you look at those rankings, a
25:43
lot of those rankings, they're rankings
25:45
about who is best as a marketer.
25:48
>> Uhhuh.
25:49
>> Who is a best seller of pay-per-views,
25:51
who's a best seller of tickets, as
25:53
opposed to who really deserves it from a
25:54
skill perspective. Steve Espinosa is
25:56
here. I'm going to go to the phone call.
25:58
2887423345.
26:00
We going to go to song, but when we come
26:02
back, Steve, I'm about to put you to
26:04
work, man. You're about to co-host this
26:06
with us, man. Man, let's do it
26:07
>> because we got the three division uh
26:10
champ of the world. What is it? Light
26:12
wait featherweight, super featherweight,
26:14
and lightweight champ.
26:15
>> Wow.
26:15
>> The one and only Shakur Stevenson is I
26:18
want to bring him in. Where is he from?
26:19
Sway.
26:20
>> He's from planet Earth. All right.
26:22
>> Oh, the hat Jersey in the building. We
26:25
gonna bring and you can help us
26:27
interview him. Is that all right?
26:28
Absolutely. All right. The core speed to
26:30
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