Junior middleweight Alfredo Angulo has turned down a $750,000 offer to face middleweight champion Sergio Martinez at 155-156 pounds.
The decision was made by Angulo’s promoter Gary Shaw, who wanted his charge to receive a $1 million purse for what would be his fourth consecutive HBO appearance.
Angulo’s manager Mike Criscio disagreed with the move, arguing that Angulo is not yet a superstar who can command big contracts.
“I think he should have taken the fight. I think that $750,000 is a more than fair offer. In fact, it was a great offer for that fight,” Criscio explained to AOL Fanhouse. “There’s not many people with 20 or less fights that are making almost $1 million…Martinez only got around $750,000 for fighting Kelly Pavlik, so I thought $750,000 was more than enough for Angulo as an opponent.”
Angulo is currently 19-1 with 16 KOs. His last victory was a 1st demolition of Joachim Alcine on July 17th.
Angulo’s recent win was a WBC title eliminator, which would place him in line to face the winner of November’s Pacquiao-Margarito championship match. Shaw had discussed with Don King the option of making an Angulo fight with Cory Spinks before Spinks lost his IBF strap to Cornelius Bundrage last Saturday.
At press time, Gary Shaw has not disclosed his other fight options for Angulo.
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This is another example of what can happen when networks make a habit of overpaying up and coming fighters. Once they get to their first or second name fight, their promoter or management can be prone to overstating their value.
Andre Berto is the current poster child for this. He’s been showcased heavily on HBO in recent years. The reason Shane Mosley is fighting Sergio Mora in September and not him is that Berto demanded a 50-50 split despite never being on PPV. On the other hand Mosley has been involved in the highest grossing PPV of the year and in 2009 set an attendance record with Antonio Margarito at the Staples Center.
HBO appears to be holding firm and I hope they continue to do so. After a good 2009, the competitive fights on the network have slowed compared to Showtime’s revolutionary Super Six tournament and their proposed 118 tournament. When HBO puts their young fighters in tough the results are usually very good contests like last year’s Ortiz-Maidana fight or even Pirog-Jacobs (even when they lose).
Angulo would be hard-pressed to find a better offer. If Pacquiao decimates Margarito in November as expected, he won’t get that fight while a third round of Mayweather negotiations loom. Dzinziruk is a good option but won’t pay more money. Paul Williams doesn’t appear to be interested in Angulo. And a fight with newly IBF titlist Cornelius Bundrage would yield the lowest financial reward if it gets picked up at all by HBO.
If anything, this sheds light on how bad the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez negotiations are going if the champ is willing to fight at lower catchweight.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 