Tyson Fury vs Hasim Rahman unlikely for the 16th/ Meehen rejected by Sky

Guest Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:33 pm

BoxingScene.com was advised that Tyson Fury's team is still attempting to secure former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (49-7, 40KOs). If they can close a deal, the fight will take place in a featured position on the Amir Khan-Paul McCloskey undercard on April 16 at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

As previously reported, and later confirmed, Rahman's trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is not comfortable with his boxer taking such a fight on two weeks notice. After there appeared to be trouble with Rahman, the fight with Fury (14-0, 10KOs) was offered to tough veteran Kali Meehan (37-4, 30KOs). While Meehan accepted the fight, BoxingScene has now been told that Sky Sports rejected him as an opponent.

Khan Promotions [the lead promoter of the show] are actually trying to save the fight by raising Rahman's purse. But, the problem heads right back to Muhammad. Regardless of the money, he doesn't want Rahman to take the fight. And, when Rahman tried to push the issue on accepting the deal - Muhammad told him that he won't travel to Manchester to work the boxer's corner.

http://www.boxingscene.com/team-fury-still-attempting-secure-rahman-april-16--37860

**gomez1012** Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:36 pm

why turn down Meehan?

ok enough step up imo

Guest Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:39 pm

gomez1012 wrote:why turn down Meehan?

ok enough step up imo

Not a clue why Sky rejected Meehan, he's a solid opponent for Fury at this stage in his career.

Guest Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:15 pm

i see sky is doing stupid things.does not fury no matter who hes fighting add to the tv card.

**GrantZilla** Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:54 pm

Why doesn't Fury fight Chirsora? Chisora got the British HW belt, so why not defend it against Fury? Be a step up fight for both of them.

Guest Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:59 am

GrantZilla wrote:Why doesn't Fury fight Chirsora? Chisora got the British HW belt, so why not defend it against Fury? Be a step up fight for both of them.

Don't know, Fury is Chisora's mandatory. My guess is the date is too close for that fight.

dbudge Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:34 am

Ali wrote:
gomez1012 wrote:why turn down Meehan?

ok enough step up imo

Not a clue why Sky rejected Meehan, he's a solid opponent for Fury at this stage in his career.

because the issue is with the card being a PPV event. if Sky put on a Fury vs Meehan fight then it costs them more money and they still can't broadcast it as a PPV. with Rahman they have a name. Rahman KO'd Lewis, albeit 10 years ago, and it would be easier for Sky to hype that up then trying to hype Meehan up. Sky aren't trying to salvage the show, they are trying to salvage a PPV event. this is supposed to be Golden Boy's event and Sky are the only ones making the effort to try and rescue it

Guest Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:43 am

This was before the card was removed from PPV. Fury could still have fought Meehan on the undercard even if it was on regular Sky, it's not like that fight is expensive to make.

dbudge Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:31 pm

Ali wrote:This was before the card was removed from PPV. Fury could still have fought Meehan on the undercard even if it was on regular Sky, it's not like that fight is expensive to make.

it is when you have a set budget and the one name fighter on the card's fee takes up most of that. Sky Sports have got to put on a show that is going to turnover a profit for them and be worth it. Meehan is not a name fighter, yeh it would be a good fight but it wouldn't do the numbers the card needs. Sky rejected Meehan before PPV status had been dropped for that reason. now because the card is not going to be on PPV they do not have the budget to accomodate Fury and Meehan's fees. when fighters know a promoter is desperate to salvage a card they put their wage demands up higher. supply and demand

**gomez1012** Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:33 pm

Ali wrote:This was before the card was removed from PPV. Fury could still have fought Meehan on the undercard even if it was on regular Sky, it's not like that fight is expensive to make.

+1

And Meehan had already agreed, dont see how it was a $ issue

dbudge Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:41 pm

gomez1012 wrote:
Ali wrote:This was before the card was removed from PPV. Fury could still have fought Meehan on the undercard even if it was on regular Sky, it's not like that fight is expensive to make.

+1

And Meehan had already agreed, dont see how it was a $ issue

you guys just said it. this was before the card was removed from PPV. so Sky Sports were still looking for a suitable opponent for a PPV card when they rejected Meehan. now the card is not PPV, meaning that it is going to make Sky a lot less money so there is less money in a budget now for a non-PPV card to be shown with 2 extra heavyweight boxers fighting on it as well. Khan is now taking up the bulk of the money in the pot. because the card is not on PPV anymore the pot of change Sky have to work with is a lot less. mainly because of Amir Khan's wage demands. what good is it to Sky putting on a show where their outgoings are greater than their incomings. business brains guys

Guest Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:44 pm

Sky are wrong on this part, Meehan is the perfect opponent for Fury at this stage in his career.

dbudge Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:54 pm

Ali wrote:Sky are wrong on this part, Meehan is the perfect opponent for Fury at this stage in his career.

yeh he definitely is, i agree with that. but Sky Sports boxing department has to make a profit in order to survive as any business does. if this had been sorted 2 months ago we have no problem and the PPV card would have survived, but poor promoting has really fucked them over. Meehan would be a perfect opponent for Fury, but they are already having to fork out lots of money to pay Khan and McCloskey. quite simply the money isn't there for this event. Sky can put on a show at a later date with Fury and Meehan that would turn over a profit as a headline fight as a regular fight night show where they're not already having to weigh out £500k on the event already. that's business and that is the way it goes. say Sky Sports lose over £1million on a failed show. how does that reflect on their boxing program to the executives running Sky??? with the fragile state of the economy right now it would be pretty damn hard to justify wasting that money. they can't just try and throw a lot of money and something that is definitely going to fail when they cannot guarantee a return.

It's a great solution for the fans, but we all know by now that is not how the boxing world operates. if Khan wants to be paid "box-office wages", then Golden Boy need to put in the required effort to make him a "box-office attraction". this ain't Sky's fault at all, this is Golden Boy's. they are there to protect Amir Khan's interests and to sell him as a product. what promotion have they done for this fight in the UK where the core market is????? nothing. i'm not blaming Sky for this situation at all

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