Is Oscar\Floyd Boxing's last 'Big Money' PPV?

In spite of being past his prime, Oscar De La Hoya is still boxing's biggest name right now. The other big names of recent past have either retired, or in the cases of Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield, fallen so far in the eyes of the public that they just don't generate nearly as much interest as they used to.

Floyd Mayweather may be at the top of everyone's P4P list, but that hasn't turned him into a PPV star, for many reasons. He may be boxing's 'best' right now, but he's not close to being boxing's 'biggest'.

And most likely, nothing but a devastating KO of De La Hoya will do anything to change that. Even if Floyd does KO Oscar in convincing fashion, I don't think it will lift him into the Tyson\Holyfield\Oscar PPV stratosphere, because detractors will point out Oscar's age, and the fact that he's already lost that air of invincibility he once had.

So after this fight, where is the next big money PPV? If Floyd wins, he's not enough of a draw on his own to generate huge PPV buys, and there's no other opponent out there that will carry him to PPV buys like De La Hoya.

And if Oscar wins, he's just beaten the P4P best fighter, so who's left for him to fight? Oscar would sell PPV's if he fought a pile of dirty laundry, but if he beats Floyd there's no other opponent out there that would create the 'Mega Fight' hype.

One of boxing's biggest faults over the past several years has been it's inability to create new stars. Once Oscar goes, there's no more boxers out there that transcend boxing and make non boxing fans talk about the sport. No more Oscar, no more Tyson, no more Big George, no more Lennox, and for all intents and purposes, no more Holyfield or Jones.

Sure, Manny Pac might be exciting and a star among hardcore boxing fans, but a small, non english speaking fighter isn't gonna be the next big thing. Floyd has already proven he doesn't transcend boxing. There's no heavyweight out there that has captured the public's interest, and none on the horizen.

When you take an honest look at things, there are no big stars outside of Oscar in boxing anymore, and there are none that are up and coming to fill the void once Oscar is gone.

So enjoy Oscar\Floyd on Saturday, because it could very well be the last 'Mega-Fight' Boxing sees for a long, long time.

TFK

 

Last for May 2007, sure..

 

So what Big Money, Mega-Fight PPV's are on boxing's horizen? What fights in boxing's future will transcend the sport and have even non boxing fans excited about them?

TFK

 

Law of probability dictates that another mega fight will come at some point in time, unless the world suddenly ends by means of Extinction Level Event Asteroid collision.

We may not know who, at the moment..but it'll happen.

When Ali retired, we wondered if there'll ever be another huge Heavyweight star...suddenly Tyson comes out of nowwhere.

Know'wh'am'sayin?

 

To me, part of the decline of boxing can be attributed to the decline of the heavyweight division, and to a lesser extent the middleweight division.

Historically the Heavyweight division has always been boxing's cash cow, with the middleweight division playing second fiddle.

Right now both divisions really lack a clear marquee figure who can transcend the sport. Sure, Wladimir and Jermaine are good fighters, but they lack that special something to really set themselves apart.

Just look at how hot the division was in the mid-90s even with a faded Tyson, old Holyfield, and passive lennox.

Remember the middleweight tournament with Trinidad and Hopkins leading the pack? For a short time the middleweight division was boxing's star field.

Now all the best personalities are at lower weight classes namely Pacquiao, Arce, and of course Floyd and Dela Hoya.

This lack of famous big men is really hurting the sport badly.

 

Nothing really out there right now.

 

I'd also like to comment on the lack of stars replacing retired stars.

In the past 5 years, we've lost Felix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr., Naseem Hamed, Mike Tyson, and Lennox Lewis. Who has come along with the same star power to replace them?

Pacquiao... and that's about it.

I think the "old" Ricky Hatton really had a shot at becoming a star but his new style has really put a damper on his star power. Maybe he'll show up in the Castillo fight.

The sport really needs some star power badly.

 

I've been thinking the same thing for a while actually. That's why I'm looking forward to this PPV more than I usually would.

Floyd is amazingly talented but lacks that "IT" factor that the PPV stars have. I am a fan of Floyd, but when I watch him it seems like he tries to manufacture something that is not there. He is playing the part of the villian but it comes off forced and unnatural. I just don't believe it. I think this comes from the fact that Floyd desperately wants to be a star. You take a look at Bernard Hopkins who plays that role, but that's who Hops is. Plus Hops is witty, funny and has a charming ruthlessness that gave him a diehard fan base.

Floyd will apologize after the fight if he wins just like he did Gatti, Baldomir. If he loses, I don't know what he'll do. Its hard to predict how an undefeated fighter acts after his first loss.

I don't see many new stars on the horizon, but I do see talent (Berto, Pac, Rock, Diaz etc). That's a start. These guys are young so I say give them time. We haven't seen all the younger guy's personalities yet. That's all it takes, but you need the talent first.

 

There's nobody else today in the level of DLH, Holyfield or Tyson. We have to wait and see, you never know. But one thing is for sure, it won't be a heavyweight.

 

but in between Ali and Tyson, we had the Fab Four to bridge the gap. And even though Holmes was underrated/underappreciated in his day, he was still a dominant champion.

So, it's not like THE ENTIRE SPORT was left without a major superstar. Hence, a legit question being posed here.

 

For the next couple of years yes....this ppv will probably break Tyson vs. Lewis ppv numbers...

 

There are no stars in the making either. No real good prospects coming up, unless you're into Paul Williams, JCC Jr and Andre Ward.

 

Not even close. DLH/Floyd will get nowhere near the 1.9 million buys of Tyson/Holyfield 2. I'd say at best, they'll get 1.2 million.

 

Well, it is the last big money PPV...until the next one.

I have no idea how long that will take, because I have no idea what people are looking for anymore. But I'll be the optimistic one for once and say that another fight like this will come along sooner than we think. But for it to truly happen (and have a lasting help on the sport) then one of the networks will have to man up and put a fight on network TV. Fuck PPV.

If CBS said "screw it, we're buying this fight, buy out the fighter contracts so HBO doesn't sue, and put together our own team" then boxing would be back on the map right NOW.

*sigh* but that's stupid of me; I know that's not the case, so I'm left with the reality...this may be the last "mainstream" fight in a long time.

 

DLH vs. Mayorga did 900k without all the publicity this one is getting...i don't even remember Trinidad vs. DLH getting this much publicity...espn, time magazine, sport illustrated..etc....

 

"BIG MONEY" PPV....dont' come around every other month.....before this the big ppv was Lewis vs. Tyson 2002...befor that it was DLH vs. Trinidad in 1999...and before that it was Tyson vs. Holyfields I and II..back in 96/97..:dunno:

 

Still doesn't mean they'll hit 2 million buys. But if they do, hell that's great!

 

You forgot DLH/Mosley II, DLH/Hopkins, and DLH/Vargas. All huge ppvs.

 

That will only happen if DLH is involved and fights another superfight against Trinidad if Trinidad returns.

 

Once Oscar retires boxing will be done. With the MMA gaining popularity, boxing will never return to the mainstream.

 

MMA is too unstable. One MMA death outside of Central Asia will kill the sport. Can you imagine what the news reports will look like showing one guy beat another guy to death in a cage?

 

I don't know if that will happen. In MMA the guy either taps out or if he's taking too much shots the refs stop it. In boxing you have guys who have too much pride who takes shots for the whole 12 rounds and end up dying. Its happened a couple of times(even last year). As far as I know there hasn't been any deaths in MMA.

 

people need to cut that shit about boxing dying. There will always be money in boxing. There will always be casinos and promoters who can sell fights. There will always be hardcore fans that will follow the sport.

I dont' think it will go back to what it used to be back in the day. It will reamain the same way it is now. Up and down as far as fights like these.

I think MMA has taken off but I think alot of people like it but dont' considered themselves fans. I for one like the matches but I don't go out my way to order a PPV. If I happen to catch a fight I watch it. But it doesn't interest me the way boxing does. In boxing I still enjoy following all the weight classes and the carreers of alot of fighters.

 

I see it the same way.

 

I'm not usually one to bump old threads but it's interesting that Floyd actually went on to become boxing's highest grossing fighter ever and Pac WAS actually boxing's "next big thing", despite the predictions, which at the time were perfectly understandable.

Makes me wonder what makes a crossover star in boxing, a lot of it just seems to be the luck of being the right fighter, at the right place, at the right time. I don't think Floyd or Pacquiao become crossover stars without De La Hoya. The Hatton fights definitely got huge attention in the UK as well.

 

Good bump.
I am so not the boxing fan I used to be, but that is more of life happening than not liking the sport.
It is impossible that Don King and Bob Arum are still alive in 2024, but they are.

The things I thought were obvious and imminent such as Americans accepting and responding to Eastern Bloc Russian fighters is here.
All of the illegal immigrants actually should result in more boxers in the USA. The viewers seem to always be attracted to talent despite themselves.
Boxing always seems to have talent despite itself.

This means big PPV fights should continue to remain possible and therefore occur.

 

There is room for both, but it's the MMA fanboys more than anything that have traditionally bragged that MMA is gonna put us outta business. The acolytes of Dana. I think they're finally coming to terms that boxing isn't going anywhere.