The Latest Boxing Gossip and the Most Interesting Man in the World

Just got off the phone with someone close to Jonathan Goldsmith, the 78-year-old actor who played the World's Most Interesting Man in the Dos Equis commercials (before they sent his particular iteration of the James Bond-ian persona into space). I had asked him weeks ago whether he'd watch Bernard Hopkins' final fight with me this Saturday night in his home in Vermont.

I figured there'd be no better viewing partner for the bout -- as Hopkins is arguably the most interesting man in the boxing world and has been for 30 years now. Feisty and not always friendly -- but never anything but original. Hell, he won his first title from an Ecuadorean named Segundo Mercado -- which translates to "Second Market" in English -- in their second fight, after the first was ruled a draw in Mercado's hometown of Quito. Hopkins has seen some things -- been places the World's Most Interesting Man knows well.

Unfortunately, Goldsmith is on set shooting commercials for Luma, a home WiFi system. The consolation is that we have more Goldsmith commercials coming our way (my tipster told me to look out for campaigns from multiple companies), and also, on a personal level, that I'll be ringside in LA for Hopkins-Smith anyway.

Meanwhile...

Al Haymon is disgruntled in his Vegas bunker. He can’t understand why the media isn’t more outraged at HBO’s announcement that its 2017 match between Miguel Cotto and James Kirkland will be on pay-per-view. It’s a bout that his outfit – PBC – would put on network TV or premium cable, he has told his subordinates. He feels there’s a double standard at play among the media – HBO’s matches don’t have to be as competitive and widely-offered as his for them to receive good will in the press. He feels his best events face a degree of reporter-resistance before they’re eventually recognized and/or praised. (He’s probably right, to a degree – and he knows, too, that he shook up the game – he just thought by now it would’ve adjusted to his heft and stabilized).

Cotto was promised big money by his current promoter and so this impending fight planned for HBO PPV, Cotto’s last under that deal, is about getting one fighter off the stage with his due dough – not making the best match for fans. But don’t be fooled: HBO’s boxing resources were constrained in 2016 due to parent Time Warner’s fears Rupert Murdoch might attempt a hostile takeover of the company (in which case Time Warner would need bucks to fend him off). The proposed AT&T deal for HBO’s parent is backed by both parties, freeing up cash again for HBO Sports to make the deals it desires in 2017.