The super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is expected to be the highest grossing bout in history but will do nothing to resuscitate a sport that has been in perpetual decline for years, according to experts.
Boxing will enjoy more exposure than it has seen in decades during the buildup to the May 2 fight but will quickly reclaim a back seat to other sports after the last crushing blow is landed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“It’s going to be massive, but it’s also going to be a massive one-off,” Bob Dorfman, executive creative director of Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, told Reuters.
“It would’ve had more impact overall on the boxing world if it happened five years ago when it could’ve been the beginning of an ongoing series of fights between these guys that would’ve maybe built in momentum.”
Mayweather and Pacquiao will be 38 and 36, respectively, on fight night and their failure to agree to meet earlier in their illustrious careers robbed the boxing world of what could have been one of the sport’s all-time great rivalries.
But for one day, at least, boxing will likely be at the center of the sporting universe given the intrigue of watching Filipino left-hander Pacquiao, who has held world titles in eight different weight divisions, take on an undefeated Mayweather.
“This may be the last hurrah of boxing,” said Robert Boland, sports business professor at New York University. “It’s an interesting moment and maybe a moment that boxing will come together and figure out where it goes for the future.”
Tickets for the fight between two of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters have not gone on sale to the public yet but are expected to start at $1,000 with ringside seats fetching a face value of $5,000, according to Forbes.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said on ESPN Radio last week that ringside seats for the fight will be made available only to customers who have a $250,000 line of credit with the casino.
A news conference in Los Angeles on March 11 featuring both fighters is expected to draw such a massive contingent of media that those wishing to attend must apply for credentials to gain admission, which is unusual.
For Kathy Duva, chief executive of New Jersey-based boxing promotion company Main Events, the long focus on getting boxing’s two biggest names in the ring has only served to hold back other up-and-comers who could help the sport.
“This fight has taken so long that talking about it, waiting for it, has so consumed the fans and the media that I am just happy that they are getting it over with,” Duva told Reuters.
“There are a lot of good younger fighters out there who are ready to step up and become the stars and it’s hard to do that when you got two people who are still there, lingering and not willing to pass the torch.”
A lack of star power, the rise of other genres like mixed martial arts and splintering sanctioning bodies that left casual fans wondering who the true champion is have all contributed to boxing’s decline.
It is now a far cry from a nearly 80-year period during the 20th century when boxers were among the biggest names in sports, including Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.
“Certainly new talents will always come to any sport and a transcendent talent can change the dynamic of any event,” said Boland.
“But this is definitely a situation where there really are not fighters in the pipeline and this is a time when boxing is probably at its lowest point since the beginning of the 20th century and the rise of pro fighting.”
Pacquiao is just a shell of what he was five years ago, says former conditioning coach Alex Ariza
Manny Pacquiao's former strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza is convinced that the Filipino ring icon is no longer the same athlete he trained years ago.
The controversial Ariza who kicked Freddie Roach in a training session with Brandon Rios in 2013, will get another chance to beat his old boss after signing as Floyd Mayweather's new conditioning coach months ago.
"You know, if you talk to the trainers and fighters who know this sport, there's a reason why they're all picking Floyd to win," Ariza told fighthype.com.
"For me, the guy that I trained five years ago, the guy that was walking through walls and that was literally breaking bones with shots and comatizing people with single shots, the opponent that we have now is a shell of that guy."
As for the upcoming showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather on May 2, Ariza feels rather confident of his new boss' chances come fight night.
"For me, I think I've been in harder fights," says Ariza.
"It's just very hard for me to see where our weaknesses are in this fight versus our opponent's weaknesses."
The controversial Ariza who kicked Freddie Roach in a training session with Brandon Rios in 2013, will get another chance to beat his old boss after signing as Floyd Mayweather's new conditioning coach months ago.
"You know, if you talk to the trainers and fighters who know this sport, there's a reason why they're all picking Floyd to win," Ariza told fighthype.com.
"For me, the guy that I trained five years ago, the guy that was walking through walls and that was literally breaking bones with shots and comatizing people with single shots, the opponent that we have now is a shell of that guy."
As for the upcoming showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather on May 2, Ariza feels rather confident of his new boss' chances come fight night.
"For me, I think I've been in harder fights," says Ariza.
"It's just very hard for me to see where our weaknesses are in this fight versus our opponent's weaknesses."
No trash-talk from Roach, but he says Pacquiao can stop Mayweather
One element of boxing’s Super Bowl being made which bears watching is the trash-talk, or lack thereof, between the principals and parties affiliated with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Hardcore fans know that Pacman, a most devout Christian, is more inclined to tell us that he’s praying for a poor soul who has busted his chops publicly. Mayweather, they also know, is unafraid to sling it, bring it hard in the smack-talk arena. His dad, Floyd Sr., ain’t afraid to rumble with words, either. He told me last month that he thought when his son and The Congressman fought, Floyd would beat the excrement out of Pacman.
I asked Pac’s trainer Freddie Roach about that possibility when we chatted on Monday night. And yes; I was aware of the possibility that Roach, who often acts as the stand-in chops-buster, or the designated responder, if you will, for Manny or another of his quieter boxers, might return fire hard on Senior.
“They can have that opinion,” said Roach, who informed me that Pacman will be hitting the Wild Card on March 8, to begin his in-the-U.S.-training. “If I was his father, I might say that too! But I think Manny beats Floyd, breaks him down, and knocks him out before it’s over.”
No small task, considering how adept Floyd is as a defender…and also because while Manny showed pop galore in his last outing, against Chris Algieri, his last stop came in 2009 (vs. Miguel Cotto). Freddie explained further his reasoning.
“In watching Floyd’s career, he’s definitely slowed down somewhat,” the trainer said. “Manny has also some, everyone ages. But I think Manny’s legs are fresher than Floyd’s. Against Algieri, Manny boxed really good, good rounds the whole time.”
Indeed; his stamina tank was remarkably level the whole way through.
“When Floyd sits down and rests, Manny will catch him. Floyd is a defensive master. But he takes rests. And the only place to do it is on the ropes. If Manny catches him on the ropes…Floyd can look at Manny, think he has pretty fast hands, punches pretty hard. But you don’t really feel it until you’re in there with him. He has devastating power, and he jumps in so suddenly. He still has the power and speed to get a KO.”
Hardcore fans know that Pacman, a most devout Christian, is more inclined to tell us that he’s praying for a poor soul who has busted his chops publicly. Mayweather, they also know, is unafraid to sling it, bring it hard in the smack-talk arena. His dad, Floyd Sr., ain’t afraid to rumble with words, either. He told me last month that he thought when his son and The Congressman fought, Floyd would beat the excrement out of Pacman.
I asked Pac’s trainer Freddie Roach about that possibility when we chatted on Monday night. And yes; I was aware of the possibility that Roach, who often acts as the stand-in chops-buster, or the designated responder, if you will, for Manny or another of his quieter boxers, might return fire hard on Senior.
“They can have that opinion,” said Roach, who informed me that Pacman will be hitting the Wild Card on March 8, to begin his in-the-U.S.-training. “If I was his father, I might say that too! But I think Manny beats Floyd, breaks him down, and knocks him out before it’s over.”
No small task, considering how adept Floyd is as a defender…and also because while Manny showed pop galore in his last outing, against Chris Algieri, his last stop came in 2009 (vs. Miguel Cotto). Freddie explained further his reasoning.
“In watching Floyd’s career, he’s definitely slowed down somewhat,” the trainer said. “Manny has also some, everyone ages. But I think Manny’s legs are fresher than Floyd’s. Against Algieri, Manny boxed really good, good rounds the whole time.”
Indeed; his stamina tank was remarkably level the whole way through.
“When Floyd sits down and rests, Manny will catch him. Floyd is a defensive master. But he takes rests. And the only place to do it is on the ropes. If Manny catches him on the ropes…Floyd can look at Manny, think he has pretty fast hands, punches pretty hard. But you don’t really feel it until you’re in there with him. He has devastating power, and he jumps in so suddenly. He still has the power and speed to get a KO.”
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