IS HBO KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG?
Don King states that prior to the electrifying comeback fight of Felix “Tito” Trinidad against Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga on Oct. 2 at Madison Square Garden, he complained to executives at HBO Sports that the event was not receiving the marketing and promotional effort it deserved. King stated, “They gave Bob Arum six months to promote Oscar de la Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins, and they gave me six days to promote Trinidad vs. Mayorga —the fight of the year.” “HBO Pay-Per-View was short-sighted in giving De la Hoya vs. Hopkins the big push, and subsequently short changed their subscribers by not adequately promoting Trinidad vs. Mayorga. I think they took this action because I was involved in the fight. I feel like a homeless promoter.” HBO Sports announced yesterday that Trinidad vs. Mayorga generated 420,000 pay-per-view buys. Senior Vice President HBO Pay-Per-View Mark Taffet said, “the fight performed within our expectations.” “It certainly did not perform up to my expectations,” King
