Your weekly random thoughts …
• The
Joe Calzaghe-
Bernard Hopkins fight marked the first boxing event hosted by
Robert Earl's Planet Hollywood casino, the latest player on the Las Vegas fight scene. Earl seems serious about being in boxing for the long haul, despite obviously losing money on Calzaghe-Hopkins, for which he dramatically overpaid by putting up $9 million (he'll learn how to evaluate site fees better in the future, I hope). Despite the lackluster ticket sales for Calzaghe-Hopkins, Planet Hollywood has two other events already scheduled,
Chris Byrd's light heavyweight debut against
Shaun George May 16 on ESPN2 and the July 5
Ricardo Torres-
Kendall Holt junior welterweight title rematch on Showtime. I hope Earl and Planet Hollywood stick in boxing for years to come. The casino did a marvelous job hosting last week's event and, at least from my perspective as a media member, the entire staff went out of its way to be helpful and make the press feel welcome with whatever we needed. Besides, it's always good to have more than one casino competing for big fights. Las Vegas has been more or less a one-company show since the MGM Mirage bought out Mandalay Bay a couple of years ago. Planet Hollywood has a terrific 7,000-seat theater, which hosted the Calzaghe-Hopkins weigh-in and is perfect for boxing. It will serve as the arena where rising British lightweight star
Amir Khan will make his U.S. debut later this year thanks to a deal made between Earl and promoter
Frank Warren.
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Dan Rafael
