Two recent world title purse bids have left questions asked of top boxing promoters as their respective boxers get left in limbo.
Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing faced head-scratching over respective defeats in purse bids for their champions, Janibek Alimkhanuly and Jaron Ennis.
Janibek, the current unified middleweight champion, asked, “I have no words! What is this?” when he discovered that his promoter, Bob Arum, had lost an IBF purse bid by a mere $1000.
The two-belt ruler is due to face Andrei Mikhailovich after a previous fight was canceled after Janibek failed weight. Mikhailovich’s promoter, No Limit, won with a bid of $351,000 to Top Rank’s $350,000. The victory is reportedly the closest-ever purse bid for a world title event.
After the triumph for No Limit, fans urged Janibek to move up in weight and vacate his titles.
Ennis’s failure to land a unification with Brian Norman Jr. for over an extra $300,000 turned farcical. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, subsequently lost a purse bid for his rematch with Karen Chukhadzian.
P2M Box Promotions claimed the right to promote an IBF mandatory rematch after outbidding Matchroom by around $200,000 and $300,000. Ennis already has a date for another event in Philadelphia, which hinges on Eddie Hearn winning the purse bid.
Ennis seems to have been backed into a corner, and the P4P star may be forced to vacate to keep his Philly date alive.
In the aftermath of failed negotiations with Ennis, Norman Jr’s manager, Adrian Clark, exclusively told WBN, “There was an offer from Matchroom for Brian to fight Boots [Ennis] in Philly on 11/9.”
He added, “They presented an offer, and we countered. They presented another offer, and we countered again. From our standpoint, we wanted Brian to go home [after paying for everything] with around $1.3m-$1.5m. He was at $810k take home after Matchroom ended negotiations. I know it is not their job to worry about our deductions, expenses, etc.
“However, my client made it clear what the arrangement needed to be to make the fight happen. Matchroom failed to reach that number [Which would have been $1.9m-$2m].”
In the current climate, it is astonishing that Ennis’ promoter, Hearn, didn’t pay the extra and then lost the purse bid by the same amount.
Upon hearing the purse bid result, Clark said, “We were trying to negotiate. We just wanted a little bit more money.”
Since then, fans have questioned Top Rank and Matchroom’s backing of their champions, and plans for Janibek and Boot’s next boxing bouts have been thrown into turmoil.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
