Brian Norman Jr. will defend his WBO welterweight title against #7 Derrieck Cuevas on November 8th at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Failed Negotiations After Lowball Offer
Unfortunately, the negotiations for a unification fight between the unbeaten Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) and IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fell apart over money. According to Norman Jr’s manager, Adrian Clark, Boots Ennis’ management “didn’t want to pay what we were asking for.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that they’d offered Norman Jr. $1.5 million for the fight, which he describes as a “fortune.” It’s believed that Norman wanted over $2 million for the fight. While some fans complain that Norman Jr. should have accepted the offer from Hearn, $ 1.5M for a risky unification fight against a popular champion like Boots Ennis is a lowball offer.
Given the risk and the magnitude of the fight, it’s worth more than $1.5 million for Brian Norman Jr. or any of the champions at welterweight. If Hearn can’t see that, he’s blind. I wouldn’t expect the casual fans to understand, but Hearn should.
If only $500K to $750K prevented the match from being made, it’s surprising that Hearn didn’t come up with the money because Boots Ennis needs this fight to further his goal of becoming undisputed champion at 147. Hearn doesn’t see the big picture.
If Hearn believes the champions at welterweight will accept whatever he’s offering them for a difficult fight against Boots Ennis, he’s deluded. He doesn’t understand the champion.
Would Hearn accept less money to have one of his popular fighters face someone he didn’t think they could beat? He wouldn’t do it. So, Hearn will have to pay the champions what they’re asking for if he wants to help Boots capture the remaining three titles at welterweight to increase his popularity and become undisputed.
Hearn doesn’t say what Boots Ennis will be getting, but some believe it would be in the same ballpark as what recently signed lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is getting for his next fight, which is $5 million guaranteed.
Undercard Status
Norman Jr. will fight on the undercard of lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis vs. Gustavo Lemos. Top Rank is pushing the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn hard, trying to turn him into a star. Hence, Norman Jr. will be given the undercard treatment despite being the world champion.
What’s sad about this is Keyshawn Davis is heading nowhere with his career, and he’s the one who should be on Norman Jr’s undercard, buried at the bottom. However, this is business, and it’s about selling tickets. So, the less talented fighter, Keyshawn, is headlining while the valuable gem, Norman Jr., is on his undercard.
Keyshawn isn’t popular in the U.S. outside of Virginia, but Top Rank is shoving him down fans’ throats by putting him in highly visible spots on ESPN, hoping he can gain a following.
It’s an oddity for sure, but it shows that world titles no longer mean anything in this era of boxing. It’s interesting that Norman is being put on the undercard of a fighter like Keyshawn, who doesn’t look like he’ll ever capture a world title in his career and has looked horrible in his recent fights. What a waste.
Now, it’s more about selling tickets, attracting interest, and name recognition, and it’s less about titles or actual talent. Norman Jr. will need to destroy the Puerto Rican native Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) to continue gaining attention from the boxing public to headline cards.
Cuevas, 29, has fought obscure positions his entire professional career and will likely be out of his depth going up against Norman. It’s unclear why Top Rank chose Cuevas as the opponent for Norman Jr, but perhaps this was as good as it gets with the money on the table.
If Norman Jr. were headlining, he’d be better positioned to get a notable contender like Alexis Rocha. However, the welterweight division is weak now, with few quality fighters for talents like Norman Jr and Boots Ennis to fight.
Dude used to managers accepting whatever for their clients. We came to negotiate and get the best deal for @OfficialBNorman .
They didn’t want to pay what we asked for.
We’ll try it again next year. 🤷🏾♂️ #boxing— Adrian Clark (@TheAdrianClark) August 30, 2024
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