HBO today made the "extraordinary decision" to not buy fights from Golden Boy Promotions "for the foreseeable future." That "will mean the exodus from the network of a number of Golden Boy stars," including lightweight Adrien Broner and light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins. HBO Sports President Ken Hershman opted to part with Golden Boy "after running into issues with company executives." Since Stephen Espinoza joined Showtime Sports as Exec VP & GM, the "vast majority of its televised boxing offerings have come from Golden Boy" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/18).
Notified by Hershman of the stance this morning, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer phoned Espinoza to ask whether Showtime would be interested in a planned June 22 bout between Broner and Paulie Malignaggi, previously assumed to be headed to HBO. "I told him what happened and his answer was brief: 'Count me in,'" Schaefer said. "There was no hesitation. If you are a network which is involved in boxing and you get the opportunity to be involved with Adrien Broner, it's like Christmas in March" (Bill King, Senior Staff Writer).
