Stephen Espinoza Chimes in on Failed Jermall Charlo v Jaime Munguia Negotiations
Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza has broken his silence on the failed negotiations between WBC 160-pound champion Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo (32-0, 22KOs) and former WBO 154-pound champion Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31KOs). The two fighters had reportedly agreed to a deal before Oscar De La Hoya, promoter of Munguia, threw a counteroffer that included a stipulation of DAZN’s involvement in the fight.
Obviously, with Team Charlo reaching out to Munguia in hopes of making the fight, it’s rather odd that De La Hoya would want such a thing drawn up in the contract. This is especially true after a counter-offer was made by the representatives of Charlo, who said that in the event that Munguia won, the rematch would take place on DAZN. Still, that wasn’t enough to appease the Golden Boy.
Well this is what Espinoza had to say on the matter:
“I have no doubt that Munguia wants the fight. First of all, I would never question the heart of a fighter, certainly someone as accomplished as Munguia. But Munguia had a deal. He reached an agreement, and he accepted the terms of the fight. So I have no doubt that he negotiated it out and accepted it. He said ‘okay, I’m willing to participate in this fight on these terms.’ So for us, his part was done. He accepted the fight. Things broke down over networks, and Munguia’s promoters requested that we bring in another platform to collaborate with them.
We can get into some of the details of that, but the reality is that it didn’t make sense. We tried to make some concessions. By alternating, we get the fight, and Munguia’s network can get the rematch. Ultimately, that never got anywhere and we weren’t able to reach an agreement, so we had to move on and get Jermall the best available fight after that.”
So with that, that’s how Jermall Charlo v Maciej Sulecki came about. It’s very unfortunate that something so insignificant costed fight fans a terrific matchup. On the bright side, however, is the fact that Munguia can still fight for the vacant WBO 160-pound title against Janibek Alimkhanuly, which was previously ordered by the WBO.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
