0:00
One of the big things you did um at
0:02
Showtime Sports was you brokered a deal
0:04
with Floyd Mayweather for six fights I
0:09
Whose idea was that? And then what were
0:12
you hoping as an outcome and what real
0:14
impact did that make that series?
0:16
Well, look at at at the time when I
0:18
started HBO was HBO Sports was it?
0:20
Yeah. You boxing and otherwise they were
0:22
the gold standard and being completely
0:24
honest, Showtime was, you know, number
0:27
two and probably a little distant number
0:28
two. Yeah. So, I said, "Look, I gave up
0:30
my career as an attorney. I decided to
0:33
move across country. I never lived in
0:35
New York City before. Like, I'm not
0:37
going to I didn't do this to not
0:40
So, I said, "Look, let me make the
0:42
biggest splash I can. What What can I do
0:44
to change the trajectory of what's going
0:46
on here?" And look, it's Floyd, you
0:49
know, he's he's he he did that. So, I
0:52
chased him. First time I didn't get it.
0:55
You know, I I chased him. I chased him.
0:57
He decided to fight Cotto on HBO.
1:00
Then I went after him a year later and I
1:03
signed it and that sent the message to
1:05
everybody we're not playing around no
1:07
You know, and and that's where it was
1:08
and it changed the way the network was
1:12
was was really perceived.
1:14
And you know, I think you know, Floyd it
1:16
was changed the way Floyd was perceived.
1:19
You know, you you're around a place so
1:21
long sometimes they take you for
1:23
You've been at HBO for 12, 13 years. So
1:26
he wanted a fresh start, you know, and
1:28
together and I think at that point HBO
1:30
had sort of said to him, you know, go
1:33
I think they publicly said, you know,
1:35
we're not sure he has any good fights
1:39
And then you booked six of them and they
1:41
were all in my opinion.
1:42
Oh, yeah. They No, they they laughed to
1:43
me. Everyone was like, you're going to
1:44
lose a ton of money. He's never going to
1:46
fight twice a year. You know, he's just
1:48
gonna, you know, cash his checks and
1:51
You know, second second fight was versus
1:54
Uhhuh. You know, the fifth fight was
1:58
you know, and then I got a bonus fight
2:00
against against McGregor.
2:01
Yeah. And you did all of those fights.
2:04
Which fight pro what fight gross the
2:06
most out of those three?
2:08
The Pacquiao fight. Pacquiao fight
2:10
grossed in in that three hours about
2:16
you know. So you you think about it like
2:18
for a a Marvel movie or something like
2:20
that, you know, that's a that's a
2:21
fantastic number, but that takes what?
2:23
three, four, five, six weeks.
2:27
This is a four-hour event which in that
2:29
little span of time generated $600
2:32
So, what what do the boxers actually get
2:35
from that 600 like is it a percentage?
2:38
What is the the the blueprint for that
2:42
So, every deal is a little bit
2:43
different, but in in that one there's a
2:45
percentage split between Floyd and and
2:48
Pacquiao. So, on that one, the vast
2:51
majority of the money is going to the
2:52
fighters. That's one thing that's
2:53
different about boxing business from
2:55
other combat sports. So, you know,
2:58
obviously there's expenses off the top,
2:59
the production, the marketing, and all
3:01
that. But after that, it's a split. And
3:03
and look, I don't want to get into too
3:05
much of Floyd's business, but I I'll
3:07
I'll just say this. On the Monday after
3:10
they fight, we wired him an advance, and
3:14
the advance was $100 million.
3:17
Yo, me and Horus always wonder if the
3:19
I always thought if the money was real.
3:21
Yeah. And it's I I probably have a
3:23
picture in my phone, you know, at some
3:24
point of, you know, the the check
3:26
request I had to sign because someone
3:28
came to me and it's probably the only
3:30
time this is going to happen in my
3:31
career. Someone comes to me with a nine
3:33
figure check and says, "We need your
3:35
signature in order to release this."
3:38
You know, and that's when it set in.
3:39
It's like, "Wow, we're we're at a
3:41
different level." there man.
