The Bergen Record of New Jersey reported in Friday’s edition that HBO is going to pay Andre Berto the sum of $1.25 million to fight a guy named Freddy Hernandez which will be part of a November 27 HBO triple-header. The column by Keith Idec also states that “other boxers have opened HBO’s Boxing After Dark triple-headers for five-figures” and questions why HBO would pay Berto “seven-figures”?
Of course, Idec suggests the fact that Berto is advised by Al Haymon probably has something to do with it.
With HBO’s history of catering to the interests of Haymon, one might suspect that HBO might actually back off of it’s previous demands to produce Pacquiao vs. Mayweather for May of 2011, which obviously is not at all in the interests of Mayweather, who keeps creating new obstacles to block the fight everyone wants to see.
It’s becoming conceivable that Haymon and Mayweather could manipulate HBO to actually ignore making the biggest fight in boxing history a glorious reality.
If HBO is willing to overpay and reward one Haymon fighter (Berto) for a handpicked “fight”, it certainly seems plausible that HBO would show a consistent, overly generous hand to another Haymon fighter (Mayweather) who has made his career out of handpicking.
George Peterson told us last year that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather “isn’t gonna happen. Some fights aren’t meant to be made.”
Every day it’s looking more and more like George Peterson was 100% right.