Boxing just jealous of Mayweather guru’s primetime spot: promoter

🌺Manhattan-based boxing promoter Lou DiBella says he’s nobody’s “sham” and thinks Al Haymon’s efforts to bring boxing back to network television should be applauded and not the subject of mounting lawsuits.

DiBella, head꧒ of DiBella Entertainment, will serve as the lead promoter of an Aug. 1 boxing card at Barclays Center. It will be part of Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series, making its first prime-time appearance on ESPN.

Two of Brooklyn’s finest — two-time world champion Paulie Malignaggi and middleweight champion Danny Jacobs — headline in separate bouts. Malignaggi takes on popular junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia of Philadelphia in Garcia’s first outing as a 147-pound welterweight. Jacobs defends his WBA belt against Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora.

It’s another in the growing list of boxing offers by PBC that began in March and includes deals with CBS, Spike TV, FOX Sports and ESPN. Haymon, backed by $400 million from an asset management firm, has purchased time for the bouts, hoping to turn a profit when ratings begin to improve and demand grows. Not everyone is happy about the endeavor by Floyd Mayweather’s right-hand man.

Top Rank Inc., headed by longtime promoter Bob Arum, filed 🌌an🎉 antitrust suit in federal court in California last week alleging Haymon of violating the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Among the charges: Haymon is acting in the role of manager and promoter.

Haymon also is accused of blocking venuesﷺ in southern California from other promoters. Golden Boy Promotions — headed by Oscar De La Hoya — filed a similar lawsuit against Haymon in May.

DiBella▨ is not a defendant, but takes issue with his portrayal as a👍nything less than a traditional promoter and not a “sham” for Haymon.

“I know who I am,” DiBella told The Post on Wednesday.🐈 “I k🍸now I’m not a sham. I’ve promoted my [butt] off since I left HBO in 2000. I’ve been in the sport for over 25 years. I guess because I’m doing business with the PBC or because I’m doing business with Al Haymon, I’m a sham? Was everybody else a sham who was doing business with him previously?”

The Aug. 1 card at Barclays is an important step for PBC. Ratings haven’t been spect♔acular but remain promising as the PBC and the networks find a suitable balance between establishing a brand and over-saturation.

Arum and Haymon are longtime rivals, and De La Hoya lost favor with Haymon when Golden Boy pushed out Richard Schaefer as CEO two y🍸ears ago. That’s why you won’t see any PBC car♑ds promoted by Top Rank or Golden Boy anytime soon. The lawsuits were inevitable in a sport where lawsuits are as common as ring-card girls.

Should Top Rank’s suit ever go to trial, the testimony should offer a fascinating look into today’s unregulated 🍌world of big-time boxing. The lines between promoter/manager/networks have always been blurred.

“Anybody could have taken an initiative to make an investment in the sport,” DiBella said. “Anyone could have taken the initiative and say, ‘I’m going to raise money. I’m going to go out the🧸re and try to bring the sport back to more eyeballs; to bring it to free television and basic cable outlets.’ It’s happening now because somebody is making an investment. What’s the problemꦬ with that?”