Boxing to become leagues? HBO splits from Golden Boy

There might be a flurry of posts over the next 24 hours as my one off day is nearing its end and it's back to the road office tonight.
We have Devils vs Rangers,tons of stuff clogging the inbox and more from our interview with Sean Nicol as well,so might be some work to be done tonight!

This might have waited until the next edition (coming soon) of the Overhand Right,but I wanted to devote a full post to the decision by HBO to divorce itself (for the time being) from Golden Boy Promotions.
These things happen from time to time,but two things appeared to make a move of this type bound to happen.
The first was when Showtime hired Stephen Espinoza to run its boxing department after Ken Hershman jumped Showtime's ship to work for HBO.
Espinoza had worked for Golden Boy as its legal counsel for years and as soon as he took over,the word began to spread that Showtime was going to be the house organ for GBP,which is pretty much what happened as Showtime began to get the better fights from their company,while HBO settled for Adrian Broner against the guy pushing the mop at the Valley Mall and yet another dull Bernard Hopkins push and shove bout.
The second was when Floyd Mayweather decided to move to Showtime's PPV arm for a six fight deal (If Floyd actually fights six times on this contract,disbelief is a kind word for my feelings then) and leave HBO,his career long home.
When Mayweather made this decision,his "advisor" Al Haymon lost his leverage with HBO,who had showcased fighters that were not ready to be showcased ( Andre Berto and Keith Thurman to name just two) in bouts that weren't competitive or interesting in order to placate Haymon.
The flight of Floyd made it very easy for HBO cut ties with the rest of the bunch,although I am sure that they would love to keep Broner,although his leaving 135 pounds and avoiding the murderous 140 lb. division in order to hit the far weaker 147 pound class made him few admirers anywhere.

The net result for now is basically that boxing almost has two leagues with HBO having Top Rank and its stars and Showtime with Golden Boy's standouts and the handful of smaller promoters with top fighters (Gary Shaw,Lou Dibella,Main Events etc) being able to deal with either side.
In some cases,that is a good thing as promoters that hold the cards in one division are more likely to have the best fight the best as Golden Boy having the best at 140 and Top Rank the top fighters at 160,but if the best two fighters each fight for one or the other,the best fights will be difficult to make such as at Jr Featherweight where Nonito Donaire (HBO/Top Rank) and Abner Mares (Showtime/Golden Boy) talk about a fight,but seem unlikely to do so with promotional issues,although April's Donaire vs number three fighter Guillermo Rigondeaux is a nice consolation fight at the weight.

HBO and Showtime survive by subscribers,not by ratings,so their boxing programs are driven to add subscribers not by how many people actually watch programs.
Showtime is pouring money into boxing to see more stars and build their subscriber base that is a solid,albeit distant second to HBO,which is always the brand name in pay television.
Showtime may not be trying to catch HBO boxing as much as making a run for customers that they currently do not have.

This fissure might not be the best thing,but boxing will manage to get by.
Loads of money was lost when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao never fought,but the game survived.
Don King and Bob Arum were mortal enemies like Arum's Top Rank and Golden Boy are now,but when business needed to be made,they made it work and I am sure it will happen again.
I don't count anything involving Floyd Mayweather in that statement as despite the brilliant skills of Mayweather,he has spent most of his career fighting people of lesser skills,at weight disadvantage or fights of little interest in an attempt to finish his career undefeated.
I've seen this movie before though in Roy Jones,someone unexpected will catch Floyd and then with his skills diminished,he will fight better guys and far more often.
I don't think the ordinary Robert Guerrero is that guy,but I didn't think Antonio Tarver was the guy that would stop Roy Jones either.

However,for now-Boxing fans will either have to pick one or buy both and in this climate,both might be a tough sell.....