Boxing SuperFights: R.I.P.

BBC SPORT:
"Floyd Mayweather delivered, in his words, a "masterpiece of boxing" in defeating Oscar de la Hoya in Las Vegas last Saturday.
But while the purists were drooling over "Pretty Boy's" technical proficiency, the sporting hoi polloi must have been wondering what all the fuss was about.

For boxing didn't need an under-stated Monet at the MGM Grand, what it needed was a riotous Tracey Emin, something to get those all-important crossover fans buzzing about the sport again.
To blame Mayweather for the fight not living up to the hype, as many pundits have decided to do, is a little harsh.

True, Mayweather spent the four months leading up to the bout promising a "toe-to-toe war", but anyone who had seen him fight previously should have known that was unlikely to transpire.
Boxing is always a war of sorts, but why volunteer for shelling on the front line when you can safely conduct the battle from range?

Mayweather, like Roy Jones before him, is too good for his own good, able to win fights without getting his senses scrambled.
But it is that defensive bent that will prevent him going down alongside the two Sugar Rays, who he name checks so often, as one of the all-time greats.
Both Robinson and Leonard knew that entertainment was part of the deal.

Stand and fight and the crowds will love you. Skirmish on the periphery and they will always be suspicious.
What now, then, for both fighters? Mayweather has reiterated his intention to retire, but most think it unlikely he will stick to his word.
Only 30 and steeped in the sport from birth, it is inconceivable that he'll be gone for long, bored of his inactivity and vexed by the myriad gauntlets that are sure to be scattered about his feet.

De la Hoya is undecided about his future, but it is difficult to see what he has to gain from remaining in the sport.
A six-weight world champion, he has upwards of £75m in the bank and nothing left to prove, unless, of course, a rematch with Mayweather can be negotiated.

The frightening part for boxing is that for perhaps the first time in the sport's history, without De la Hoya, there are no genuine "super-fights" to make.
The big beasts in the heavyweight division have gone for now, and like some exotic animal on the brink of extinction, he is the sport's last remaining crossover superstar.

With the rowdy spectacle of Ultimate Fighting killing boxing in terms of pay-per-view sales in America and the proliferation of titles and champions showing no sign of abating, Mayweather-De la Hoya was never going to be anything but a short-term fillip for boxing.

Like a gravely ill man being administered shock treatment, the sport sprung up from his hospital bed, gasped loudly, and will now fall back into its slumber.
The stars were out in force in Vegas on Saturday, but by the time the next "super-fight" rolls round, there is a possibility Jack Nicholson will be watching it from a Hollywood nursing home and Michael Jordan will be four or five inches shorter."

:dunno: opcorn:

 

If Cotto destroys Judah and then Margarito. Floyd vs Cotto will be a big fight!!

If Shane has a big win against a name opponent...Floyd vs Shane will be a big fight.

Floyd is a star now in his own right, doesn't need Oscar to make a big fight.

How do I know?

Most casual fans that I've spoken to in the last week or so referred to last weekend's fight as


"The Mayweather fight"

 

Skilled boxers are the most popular type of fighter. If you brawl hardcore fans will love you but nobody else will even know you.

 

:: You got that one soooo right.

 

Ridiculous.

 

There is no hope for you. You're a thick cunt.

 

People like to see the best fight each other. That's why the World Series has the two best baseball teams instead of the two teams with the worst pitching staffs.

 

Exactly - these are all 'IF's.

Cotto - can't even speak English - that takes him right of the equation of being in the 'superstar' status. :nono:

Mosley - how many years has he got left? :dunno:

Mayweather - retiring or not retiring? Would the average punter pay to see him shoulder-roll and pot-shot his way to vistory? ::

You're completely missing the point here.

 

I posted a few weeks ago that this was the last of the big money PPV's for a long, long time. Floyd will never be able to carry a PPV to big numbers on his own, regardless of his win over De La Hoya.

I do think there will be a Floyd\Oscar rematch though, as there is too much money to be made, and no risk for either fighter not to make it. Floyd knows he can beat Oscar, so there's no risk for him, and Oscar knows even if he gets beat again, Floyd can't hurt him, so there's no risk of injury there. And I'm sure Oscar has no problem losing a little more luster off of his legacy if it'll pocket him another 20+ million.

But a rematch will do nowhere near the numbers the first fight did.

I just hope if there is a rematch, De La Hoya hangs them up when it's over. I don't want him to head down the Evander Holyfield path.

TFK

 

With something like 75-100 million in the pot, why not throw a true GoldenBoy PPV card...

Undercard could be:
Baraera-Marquez II

Mosley-Cintron

Hopkins-Kessler/Calzaghe :dunno:

Main event could be:
Oscar-Mayweather II

There is enough money in the pot that everyone could get paid and this is the type of card that could really save boxing, not to mention really showcase GoldenBoy Promotions.

 

Cotto can speak English.

Mosley looked just fine against Collazo. He could have 1, 2, or 5 years left. Mainly up to him.

The average punter just did pay to see Mayweather fight. If they were only paying to see dlh fight, it would have had about 60% fewer buyers.

 

Because Richard and Oscar are too greedy.

I don't hold it against them as businessmen and capitalists to try to make as much money as possible, but it's kind of irritating when I hear them talking about how Golden Boy Promotions is going to save and change boxing and all that junk.

2 million PPV buys. G claims they spent $50 million on advertising.

Yet they couldn't give us a better 2nd fight on the card than Rocky "The Featherweight Dominick Guinn" Juarez and Jose Hernandez?

 

Now that's what boxing PPV's should be like. Not the crap they feed us now.

TFK

 

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Bro , common people are still asking me "who was that guy Delahoya fought last week ?"

 

Most casual fans I've spoken to since the fight said they thought the fight sucked.

Many of them caught 24/7 and expected Floyd to fight like he talked.

 

No shit... And to make matters worse, Floyd did absolutely nothing to distinguish himself DURING the fight..

Hell, there were 3 Mexicans next to me watching the fight that kept calling him "Merriweather"...

 

Some people even thought he was fighting Mosely again ... :dunno:

Lets face it , common people (who make up the PPV buys) don't know Mayweather ...

 

this would explain to me the kind of hicks you watched the fight with that "thought DLH won"

 

Well, I actually thought Floyd won a clear but close decision. That, however, doesn't take away from the fact that Floyd is not a household name and did little to improve his popularity in the fight.

 

Hicks :laughing: :laughing:

I live in North Jersey . I can see Manhattan from where I am ...
This whole area is mixed race .... Probably the most diverse around ...

Maybe you are the hick ...

 

Maybe its a race issue. Alot of the people I talk boxing with, casual sports fans mind you, are black. There was a buzz about this fight because of Floyd and Oscar. Floyd is a household name for most casual boxing fans, in the way that mosley and hopkins are IMO.

 

I think this post is fair. Oscar is a crossover name. As was Mike Tyson. Non-boxing fans knew them and watched them. Floyd is known in the boxing community, but not that known outside of it. I would classify many in that status, guys like Hopkins, Wright, Mosely, Cotto, and even Wlad. The problem is Floyd had the perfect stage to take over as the crossover star. Boxing fans appreciated his performance, but the non-boxing fan(who make up over 50% of those ppv buys) were bored. He left them all drifting torwards the hype that is the MMA right now. Floyd bragged of a "going to war" and he would stand "toe to toe" with oscar and trade. If he had, it would have been a great night, but he didn't. And the sport will suffer until some talent comes around that gets it. The only one that comes to mind is Pac, but thats a big if all around. Wlad has a shot, but he needs to unify and do it with KO's.



P.S. ESPN radio's hosts get Mayweather's name wrong. That's how much of a household name he is

 

Damn good post... Floyd had the most amazing stage on which to make himself one of the most recognizable fighters in history.. But he didn't want greatness, he only wanted a win..

 

Funny how those casual fans came out in droves to see someone not that known outside of the boxing community.

Hell, even Tyson Lewis or Tyson Hollyfield didn't have the same numbers.

And to blame it all on dlh is ridiculous...funny that Mayorga, a guy who is known in the boxing community...did less than half the buys.

 

agmikE

 

Yeah, because getting a win, but not a ko, in a huge fight is never the way to go for a great fighter...

Jones Toney, Jones Ruiz, Jones Hopkins...
Lewis Holy, Lewis Holy2
Dlh Tito, Dlh Whitaker
Whitaker vs everyone

Floyd won clearly and pretty easily. That's what a great fighter does. The dlh fans have to talk out of both sides of their mouths...either floyd is so much better than dlh that he should have gone for the ko or the fight being close showed that floyd isn't that great...or (pathetically) that dlh actually deserved the decision...

 

True, but Mayorga-Oscar did almost a million PPV buys which was

1) Absolutely amazing

2) Nearly 3 times more than any Mayweather fight..


Hmmmm..

 

Did I say anything about a KO?

You can be impressive and gain fans without a knockout..

But being content with a narrow decision that could have ended up being a draw is what separated Floyd from capturing greatness.

Can that really be argued? I would hope that even the most staunch Mayweather fan would have wished he would have done more, thrown more, tried more..

Just my thoughts (as a Mayweather fan believe it or not).

 

Cotto: okay - he's learnt English.
Who the fuck knows about him?

Mosley: as far as 'super-fights' go, this guy is done. (WTF is Collazo?)

Stop making excuses - the last 'great' fight we had was Corrales - Castillo....that wasn't even billed as a 'Super Fight' and now one of them is dead.

 

I didn't say he wasn't known outside the boxing community. I said he wasn't a crossover star. Floyd is not known very well outside the boxing community. He has an undefeated record so that helps his draw, if he had an entertaining style he would be the draw. Not to mention let his fighting speak for his greatness over Ali/Robinson/etc. People don't want to hear how great you are unless you go out and beat the best.