HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg may have lost pay-per-view boxing stud Manny Pacquaio to rival Showtime for a May fight against Shane Mosley, but that has nothing to do with why he's leaving the premium network after 33 years, he told the New York Times.
"I lived through [Julio Cesar] Chavez and [Mike] Tyson," he said, shouting down a chorus suggesting he was fired.
Greenburg did admit to being burned out by the difficulty in dealing with boxing promoters, however.
HBO has yet to name a replacement, but co-president Richard Plepler and programming president Michael Lombardo praised Greenburg in a statement:
“We believe that Ross’ track record speaks for itself. He has helped redefine the sports programming genre and set an extraordinary standard of excellence in the industry. We will miss his leadership, vision, creativity and passion for sports television.”
Greenburg will take 51 Sports Emmys and 8 Peabody Awards to his next endeavor.
