Arum, Goossen Set Up Dueling Shows on Oct. 4

With rival promoters Bob Arum and Dan Goossen both refusing to move off Oct. 4, boxing fans will be faced with two pay-per-view shows on the same night, believed to be a first for the sport.

Having received a site fee of more than $1 million from Staples Center, Arum is going ahead with a card that will include four title fights, headlined by Erik Morales against Guty Espadas. Goossen’s show will match four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield against International Boxing Federation cruiserweight titleholder James Toney in a nontitle heavyweight bout at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Showtime, which has the rights to Holyfield-Toney, will begin its telecast at 6 p.m. and be finished by 9. HBO, which has the rights to the Staples show, won’t put Morales in the ring until about 10 p.m., although that card will start several hours earlier.

“We thought this was an equitable solution, staggering the starting times,” said HBO executive Kery Davis. “This way, if a consumer wanted to buy both events, he could do so. They will be available to them.

“I think Bob’s idea is to market it heavily to the West Coast, market it heavily to the Hispanic community. It’s unfortunate both fights are on the same night, but this is where we are.”

Will fans on the East Coast pay for Arum’s late show?

“That’s not the question,” Goossen said. “The question is, who would want to pay for it on the West Coast?”

Arum tried to move his fight to Oct. 11 or 17, but Staples Center was already booked.

Arum had hoped to match Morales against Marco Antonio Barrera for the third time, but Barrera must first settle legal problems stemming from his attempt to break away from his management team. So instead, Morales will defend his World Boxing Council featherweight title against Espadas, who lost a decision to Morales in 2001.

Also on the card will be IBF super-featherweight champion Carlos Hernandez against mandatory challenger Steve Forbes, and IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez and WBC junior-flyweight champion Jorge Arce each will take on still-to-be-determined opponents.

“It was unavoidable,” said Arum of the dueling shows. “There was nothing that could be done about it.”