Boxing manager AL HAYMON is at the forefront of the sport's "renaissance of sorts," as he has "created the Premier Boxing Champions that has brought the sport back onto network television," according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. PBC cards are "broadcast in prime time on NBC and also appear, or soon will, on CBS, Spike, ABC, ESPN, NBC Sports Network and CBS Sports Network." The fights so far "have been of high quality and have gotten better than expected ratings." Yet some fellow promoters "blast Haymon's efforts." The media has "dogged him for his 'time buys,'" and some fans, "particularly the hard-core ones, have blamed him for virtually every problem facing the sport." However, UFC President DANA WHITE said that Haymon "demonstrates an interest in the long-term future of the sport" by raising money and "using it to put on high-quality events." Iole noted Haymon reportedly raised $100M "to fund the PBC, which White thinks is an example of desperately needed unconventional thinking in boxing." Haymon's "business savvy and shrewd advice played a large role" in the "rise to iconic status" of FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR., the most prominent boxer among the more than 150 that Haymon advises. Still, he is "perceived to be the man behind the curtain even by those most closely involved." Top Rank Chair BOB ARUM, who promotes MANNY PACQUIAO, "has been irate because a contract has not been completed with the MGM to host the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout," scheduled for May 2. Arum suggests that Haymon is "behind the strings manipulating things, causing the delays." Iole wrote Haymon is a "polite and agreeable sort whose business strategy includes never speaking to the media." Sources said that his "mysterious ways have led to many incomplete or inaccurate portrayals of him" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/14).
