Tag: Madison Square Garden

James Dolan – The Madison Square Garden …

James Dolan – The Madison Square Garden chairman, who has tested positive for coronavirus, but is said to have mild symptoms, is paying arena workers in his many venues through at least May 3 and has established a $2.3 million relief fund for them. Joe Tsai – With help from the Nets’ owner, China is donating 2,000 much-needed ventilators to New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday. Cuomo singled out Tsai, his wife Clara Wu Tsai and Jack Ma, co-founder, with Tsai, of Alibaba, for helping to make it happen. Tsai has also pledged to pay Nets and Barclays Center workers through the end of May if games and events are canceled, as is expected.

Teofimo Lopez frustrated with Vasiliy Lomachenko’s demands

The lightweight clash between Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko is looking less and less likely because of the coronavirus…

With the coronavirus causing boxing cards to fold left and right, the much anticipated Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez lightweight title bout also appears to be on the cutting block.

The fight, which had a working date of May 30 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, is likely to get postponed. But there are questions as to whether the fight will take place at all even after the pandemic subsides.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Lopez claimed that the Ukrainian had been dragging his feet at the negotiating table for the past few months. Lopez says his side agreed to all the terms; not so with Team Lomachenko.

”We were waiting, particularly on Loma and his team for the fight,” a frustrated Lopez told ESPN. “I think he was being mad difficult with certain things, negotiation-wise. He wanted a bigger cut, he wanted a bigger percentage, such and such.”

Lopez (15-0, 12 KO), a native of Brooklyn who took a piece of the lightweight crown from Richard Commey last December, says Lomachenko even has an issue with the fight’s intended locale.

“We gave him everything he needs and everything he wants, and now he’s complaining about New York. He wants it in Vegas, he wants it in Cali,” Lopez said. “It’s been annoying.

“Honestly, we’re not going to wait on this guy.”

A strapping lightweight, Lopez has long hinted at moving up to 140 pounds in 2020. He wants to unify against Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs), but he also needs to listen to his body.

“I’m not going to just be there like a sitting duck and just wait on this man,” Lopez said. “Obviously, I’ve been saying for a while now that I want to move up to 140, and that is still on my mind. The only thing keeping that from happening and existing is the Loma fight.

“If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t occur, it’s not on me. It’s just difficult at times like this because of how things play out and how things are.”

Indeed, in these times, it’s difficult to plan for anything.

“You really can’t do much at times like this,” Lopez said. “It’s unpredictable. You have to really just sit and wait.”

Madison Square Garden sent a memo that …

Madison Square Garden sent a memo that stated event-driven employees — such as those who work at MSG on game nights for the Knicks and Rangers — will be paid through the next pay period, ending March 22, as the NBA and NHL navigate the coronavirus crisis. Both NHL and NBA seasons are currently suspended. It is unclear when — or if — either season will resume. This leaves arena workers who are paid wages for working Knicks and Rangers games without a paycheck.

Bob Arum on why cards at Madison Square Garden were canceled

Bob Arum of Top Rank eventually decided to cancel the Shakur Stevenson and Mick Conlan cards at Madison Square Garden because fighters…

It came down to one question: Can fighters be tested for the ever-expanding coronavirus?

Ultimately, the answer was a no. So on Thursday promoter Top Rank and New York City’s Madison Square Garden decided to pull the plug on both the Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga and Mick Conlan-Belmar Preciado cards that were scheduled to take place today and Tuesday, respectively, at MSG’s Hulu Theater.

Initially, both Top Rank and MSG decided to carry on with both cards without a live audience, inviting only relevant staff and media. That fulfilled the criterion laid down by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced a ban on gatherings larger than 500 people. Stevenson-Marriaga was scheduled to be featured on ESPN, Conaln-Preciado on ESPN+.

But with nearly the entire American sporting scene moving to suspend seasons outright – from professional and collegiate basketball to hockey, soccer and baseball – there was pressure for boxing to do the same. Then, of course, there was the question of testing. Or rather, the inability to do so.

That was the final nail in the coffin, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

“We were consulting the whole time with the New York State Athletic Commission,” Arum told SiriusXM. “They correctly brought in their medical staff and their advisers, and they said we would advise you to not go ahead [with the two shows] because who is going to test the fighters? And if a fighter has the virus, he could easily transmit it to his opponent, who might not have it, because they’re in very, very close contact.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 testing is only available for those who have received doctor’s orders or “have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, or if you live in or have recently traveled from an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19.”

Fighters who show no apparent symptoms, therefore, would not be eligible to get tested.

Arum had hoped that the shows could go on, given how much preparation and investment are made into one-off events like boxing.

“We have an obligation to these young men, to these fighters, who work like a bastard to get ready for a fight,” Arum said. “The last thing we wanted to do is pull the plug so we figured we could apply with the New York State rule, no more than (500) people in a room, and do the fight without an audience. No media, no nothing, just the television. And it looked like we could get that done.

“I mean it was a big sacrifice for us to lose the gate, but at least the fights [could go] on.”

But with no ability to test for the coronavirus, the fights, ultimately, were a moot point.

 

Follow Sean Nam on Twitter @seanpasbon

Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card latest to be postponed

Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Marriaga, his first since winning the belt, has been postponed because of the coronavirus.

Now the Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card off.

Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Marriaga on Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York has been postponed because of the coronavirus, Top Rank announced on Thursday evening.

Organizers had originally decided to conduct the card without spectators but pivoted.

A card featuring Michael Conlan vs. Belmar Preciado on Tuesday was also postponed.

Top Rank said in a statement: “After close consultation with the New York State Athletic Commission, it has been determined that Saturday’s and Tuesday’s events cannot proceed in light of the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. Top Rank will work with the Commission to reschedule the events as soon as it is safe for all involved.

“The health and safety of the fighters and their teams, and everyone involved in the promotion of these events, necessitated taking this step. We thank everyone for their understanding, and we will continue to work with our broadcast/venue partners and state and local officials to decide when the time is right to return.”

 

Shakur Stevenson wants to make statement even without spectators

Shakur Stevenson will make his first featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday in front of empty seats.

The building will be empty. But Shakur Stevenson’s future is not.

Stevenson will make his first featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday night at Hulu Theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden in front of empty seats because of the growing coronavirus threat.

Essentially, it’ll be a studio show for an ESPN audience. It’ll be different. It’ll be weird. Echoes instead of cheers, yet life and boxing careers move on. Nothing about Stevenson’s ambition changes, especially in a title defense that allows him to make a statement against Marriaga, a perennial title contender.

Before Stevenson (13-0, 7 KO) won his first 126-pound belt with a dominating decision over Joet Gonzalez last October in Reno, Nevada, he talked about 2020 as a year when he could begin to stake a claim on pound-for-pound contention.

“I want to be the king of boxing,’’ Stevenson, 22, told reporters this week on a promotional stop in his hometown of Newark.

He won’t necessarily do that against Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs). Stevenson is heavily favored. He is expected to win. But he has his own expectations. He’ll measure himself more by how he does than what he does. He’s hoping for a sensational performance, one that won’t get a crowd rocking, yet will be YouTube worthy. Fans can’t be there, but Stevenson wants to deliver a victory memorable enough to replay and share.

Marriaga is 0-3 in title shots. He lost to Nicholas Walters in June 2015, Oscar Valdez Jr. in May 2017 and Vasiliy Lomachenko in August 2017. Lomachenko, No. 1 in Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound poll, destroyed Marriaga, knocking down the 33-year-old Colombian twice and forcing him to quit after the seventh round of a junior lightweight fight.

For Stevenson, Lomachenko’s performance is the standard, one he hopes to surpass. Do that and maybe he gets some consideration from some of those pound-for-pound polls.

More immediate is a possible title unification fight with U.K. featherweight Josh Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs). Stevenson hopes to face Warrington in May. That might be a little bit early, but nobody ever became king by waiting around.