Columnist Dean Juipe: ESPN might be softening its stand on not paying promoters for TV cards

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Based on the experience of promoter Art Pelullo, ESPN may be backing off from an edict that many believed would cripple the sport on the cable network.

Late last year, ESPN revealed that it would no longer pay promoters to televise fight cards. Previously, the network's standard fee to a promoter for televising a card was $50,000.

In addition to eliminating that fee, ESPN also indicated it would force promoters to sell up to $240,000 worth of advertising in order to get a card televised.

But the network seems to have had second thoughts.

"From the rumors I was hearing, absolutely no one was going to go along with them on this," Pelullo said this week, speaking for the sport's major promoters and their reluctance to agree to ESPN's new mandates. And Pelullo, who runs the Philadelphia-based Banner Promotions, wasn't about to do a fight card for ESPN without receiving a fee, let alone produce $240,000 in advertising revenue for the network.

He said as much to ESPN's Bob Yalen when they met in New York earlier this year, and he told him again when they talked last week.

"I was in Phoenix 10 days ago and I called Bob," Pelullo recounted. "He said to me, 'Can you do (a card) Feb. 27?' He literally brought it up to me, and I told him 'Yeah, I can do one if you're paying.' "

Just like that, Yalen offered Pelullo $20,000 to provide a card for the Feb. 27 date. Pelullo agreed and that card will take place on the specified date at the Orleans in Las Vegas, with super bantamweights Art Simonyan and Juan Ruiz headlining.

"I got lucky," Pelullo said. "I knew the Orleans had a show scheduled for the night ESPN needed, so I got together with Jeff (Grmoja, of Guilty Boxing) and told him I'd provide the main and co-main events and they could have the three or four other fights on the card.

"I'll still lose $3,000 or $4,000, but it gives me a chance to keep some fighters busy and get them on television."

Pelullo said he warned Yalen and the ESPN executives at their New York meeting that promoters weren't going to buy into their changes.

"I said, 'You guys can't seem to sell advertising for your shows, so how are we going to do it?' " he said. "I told them that what they were asking of promoters simply wasn't realistic.

"I've got a feeling that's why they came up with this $20,000 business."

In addition to Simonyan, who is 14-0-1, vs. Ruiz, 16-1, the Feb. 27 card at the Orleans will include Felix Cora, 13-0-2, vs. an opponent yet to be determined in an eight-round cruiserweight bout. Guilty Boxing will provide the following fights: Melinda Cooper, 9-0, vs. Jeri Sitzes, 5-2-1, six rounds, junior bantamweights; Jamar Nolan, 10-0, vs. Oliver Foy, 2-2, four rounds, middleweights; and bantamweight Juan Carlos Santiago, 6-3, and junior welterweight Luciano Silva, 1-0, in four-round fights with opponents yet to be determined.

Simonyan is riding a hot streak, having beaten Carlos Contreras (who was 19-6-3), Ablorh Sowah (17-3-1) and Radford Beasley (22-1) in succession.

His next opponent, Ruiz, suffered his only loss in Las Vegas, having dropped a split decision to Erik Rodriguez a year ago.

BOXERS OR BRIEFS: Promoter Cedric Kushner has announced a monthly series of pay-per-view cards that will usually be shown on a one-day taped delay basis. But the first of those telecasts is scheduled for March 1 (with a $20 price tag) and will be a replay of Saturday's card in Reno that features Michael Grant in the co-main event. ... Scott Walker, 34, who fought Alexis Arguello and Julio Cesar Chavez in Las Vegas, has died in Mesa, Ariz. Walker, 25-7, drove Arguello into retirement by beating him in a 1995 fight at Arizona Charlie's before losing to Chavez at Caesars Palace. Walker, a member of the Arizona Boxing Hall of Fame, routinely wore pink-colored trunks and outfits to his fights. ... Dorian Beaupierre defeated the favored Dante Craig by split decision in the junior middleweight main event of Friday's card at the Fort Cheyenne casino in North Las Vegas.

Gerald Nobles may be IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd's next opponent. ... Promoter Don King bid $8.5 million to gain the right to promote the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver light heavyweight rematch, scheduled for May 15 and likely to be in Las Vegas. Jones beat Tarver by majority decision Nov. 8 at Mandalay Bay. ... Richard Steele says help may be on the way and that Nevada Partners may provide him with an alternate gym after it closes its gym April 1. ... Anthony Thompson (15-0) vs. Grady Brewer (15-8) and Wes Ferguson (3-0) vs. Felix Malespin (3-1) have been added to the Feb. 28 card at the MGM. ... Jeff Lacy is injured and off the March 6 card in Connecticut. He was to have fought Tito Mendoza at 168 pounds.

Don't take George Foreman's "comeback" talks too seriously. He told King if he can get down to 225 pounds, he'd like to fight one more time. But at 55 years old and probably 275 pounds, Foreman would have to demonstrate his fitness to be licensed. "He's a medical marvel, so I wouldn't put anything past him," said Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner, adding that he didn't expect Foreman to apply for a license here but if he did "I would refer him right to our medical advisory board." ... Some 100 ringside physicians will gather in Las Vegas at the J.W. Marriott on Rampart next Wednesday to take part in a clinic sponsored by the American College of Sports Medicine. The event, entitled "Medical care for the athlete in boxing and the martial arts," will include presentations by Dr. Margaret Goodman and Dr. Fl ip Homansky of the NSAC.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Sturm and Bernard Hopkins vs. Robert Allen is all but set for June 5 and the card has been offered to at least two properties in Las Vegas. Sturm, 20-0, edged Daniel Santos, 27-2-1, for the right to face De La Hoya in a move that wasn't foreseen even by his handlers. "It was a surprise offer for us," said Sturm's promoter, Peter Kohl. "However, Felix is skilled, hungry and willing to fight his idol." Allen, 36-4, gets a rematch with Hopkins, the undisputed middleweight champion, in the companion main. If both De La Hoya and Hopkins win, they'll fight in September or November at the same site as their June fights.