By Sonee Thompson
It’s clear that when it comes to manager/adviser Al Haymon and boxing – there are two sides: Those having him and those hating him.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. who has been a firsthand witness to his deal making prowess refers to him as “the Ghost.” Haymon was instrumental in structuring Money’s $40 million mega deal with Showtime. Suddenly, there’s an epidemic sweeping through the boxing world of over-opinionated media and the plain ignorant.
It’s called Haymon Hating. Al Haymon has been ripped apart in the media and by some boxing fans, but mainly by people who have never met him – rarely seen him except in photos, and have no clue to the formula for his million, perhaps billion dollar success. Haymon is Harvard-educated, with a degree in economics and a Master’s in business administration; a music and concert promoter and now boxing adviser extraordinaire. His clientele extend from athletes to celebrities and he doesn’t have a high rise office, detests photos, voicemail interviews (hopefully I can change that one day), and anything used to track or document human existence.
His front men are Sam Watson, along with his sons Brandon and Marcus who escort fighters in and out of the ring as hype and support among other unknown duties. They alone have received their share of social media scrutiny and parody. I met Marcus in Miami at a Golden Boy Show with Jermall Charlo, and from what I saw, Marcus was taking care of business and following protocol, no clowning around.
I don’t see Top Rank or any other promoters sending out cheering sections and hype men for their champs. Not saying that it’s needed, but don’t hate the player, hate the game. They do what works for them. Rounding out the Haymon team are Brad Owens, who works with the fighters and Sylvia who assists Al and makes sure things run smoothly. Everything seems to be Haymon’s fault if the scoring’s off or a new boxer gets a shot on a big stage.
Just a couple weeks ago it was rumored that Keith Thurman won the $10,000 knockout bonus award from Golden Boy because he’s a Haymon fighter. Really? Though a great fight, Soto Karass’ knockout of a one-armed Berto was not super impressive to me. Berto even got up and Chaves stayed down after Thurman’s blow. Plus that 10K was up to Oscar not Al Haymon.
Words used when describing Haymon include, wielding as in power, shadowy as in shady, deep as in pockets, too much as in influence, in as in cognito and inferior as in opposition. The elephant in the room is that the able stable of Al Haymon thoroughbreds make cha-ching sounds every time they step into the ring and some people don’t like it. I’m surprised that Haymon doesn’t get the inkling to scream out at the next mega fight press conference ala Tony Montana – “Who put this thing together? ..ME! Who do I trust? . ME!”
Of late, the attacks I’ve read stem from calling him double minded, citing the Muhammad Ali Reform act, accusing him of having both HBO and Showtime in his pockets and garnering millions from fighting inferior opposition. In the same breath they talk about what an incredible night of boxing Showtime put together and the quality of the competition.
Haymon has been outwardly accused of having judges, referees and commissions well secured in his deep pockets. So Al Haymon has all these people hypnotized? Where is the proof of these accusations? Where is the Swiss bank account? The phone taps? Smoking guns? Where pray tell is this hidden corruption in the Haymon Hypnosis camp? You can’t just name call and recklessly throw around unfounded but opinionated accusations. There is a burden of proof especially as a journalist. Not to mention having some accountability for your own craft.
After all, this man does have an economics and business degree from Harvard correct? There’s something to be said for pure business acumen. At the same time the mudslinging is going on, there are legitimate fans out there purely enjoying the resurgence of competition and energy injected into today’s boxing via Haymon’s able stable.
The welterweight division alone is a minefield of explosive talent. At what point do we sit back and just enjoy what Al Haymon is setting up? When you upgrade to an HD video camera you expect a higher standard and more specifications than a normal camcorder – when you have a man like Al Haymon who has orchestrated this power pool of talents- his level of power and influence should and do rise equally.
You don’t hear any of those fighters complaining about him or ignoring him in their post fight “thank you” speeches. I know several of Haymon’s fighters and their trainers and I’ve heard nothing but good. They say they believe in him and trust that he will make the right decisions for their fighter.
Prior to the announcement of the upcoming Garcia vs. Mathysse fight on the Mayweather vs. Canelo card, it was said that he was afraid to pit his top fighters against each other. Again, untrue. The first time was earlier this year in late April when he matched Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin against a very ready Fernando Guerrero in a blockbuster at Barclays. Quillin KOed Guerrero in the seventh round with a big right to the head. This fight was the co-feature on the Zab Judah vs Danny Garcia card. The fighters have referred to him as fair dealing man, and I’m certain that if you polled a group of true boxing fans the majority would thank Mr. Al Haymon for managing, promoting, setting up deals, taking care of his boxers and allowing the fan front row seats to the action, whether live, via PPV or cable.
I was able to observe him in action briefly between my own interviews at the Mayweather vs. Guerrero fight in and around the MGM and in the media room and he is as smooth as silk. I saw him patiently taking time with Ishe Smith in a far corner and transitioning seamlessly into a waiting phone call – all while quietly exiting the room flanked by Sam and Brad whispering details of their next stop. No hoopla, bells, whistles or marching bands. I think it’s called swagger.
So it’s simple folks – don’t hate. Appreciate. In the end, if Al Haymon gave them what they wanted and were to put himself more out in the limelight (aka strike zone) in full view for everyone to point fingers and scream out “there he is, he did it,” Al Haymon’s monologue would still conclude Scarface-esque “So say goodnight to the bad guy! Bad guy comin’ through.”
You can’t win, Al, so keep the train a movin’. If the passengers and ticket takers aren’t complaining don’t be concerned with mumbling bystanders.
