By Shawn Sangster: The purpose of this article is to paint a scene. A scene that is painted on the canvass of reality is with the brush strokes of possibility. The possibility that we will explore is an ideal promotional pairing, however, before we get into that lets look at the current landscape of boxing (the canvass).
With the recent announcement of the Pay Per View numbers coming in at between 750,00-800,000 for the last Pacqiao, and with Pay Per View purchases expected to be around 1 million for the recent Mayweather fight, it is clear that boxing is in need of a boost. While these numbers have not been terrible, they are also not good omens, as the both Mayweather and Pacqiao are on the front lines of the war to keep boxing alive and relevant.
While it is true that a September rematch between Mayweather and Maidana may produce more excitement and potentially more pay per view buys, the reality if Mayweather destroys Maidana he will need another big match for the summer of 2015, and in the wake of Amir Khan’s recent hug fest against Collazo, and the lack of a real fan base for Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter the prospects are not looking so good for future bouts.
Enter Danny Garcia, a rough and tumble undefeated fighter who already has victories over names like Lucas Matthysse, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Erik Morales (twice), Nate Campbell and Kendall Holt added to his resume. Garcia is also a 140 pound champion who is already planning on moving up to 147 and who has an impressive resume in his short professional career. When you consider his resume in light of the fact that Garcia has shown vulnerability (in his fights against Herrera and Matthysse), as well as, a sporadic ability to finish fights (as 16 of his 28 fights have ended by knockout), it creates a wonderful concoction of possibilities for what this match up could produce in the ring. While it is hard to imagine any scenario in which Mayweather would ever lose to Garcia, it is not hard to imagine that this would be an entertaining fight.
However, the most entertaining part of this fight will not be what happens in the ring, but rather the spectacle that will ensue during the promotion of the fight. How could anyone not get giddy at the possibility of the trash talk, drama and excitement that would be created by two promotional master minds in Floyd Mayweather and Angel Garcia (Danny Garcia’s father). Angel Garcia has quickly become known as the mouthpiece for Danny Garcia, and he is truly the most entertaining aspect of any Danny Garcia press conference. Just imagining the trash talk that will ensue between the always confident Mayweather family (Floyd Sr, Floyd Jr and Roger), the brash Garcia camp and the oft opinionated Oscar De La Hoya (particularly in his penchant for backing Mayweather opponents) is enough to whet any boxing fans pallet.
A Mayweather v. Garcia fight would also produce an exciting All-Access series in which Mayweather’s opponent not only has similar bravado, but also does not have a language barrier. In his recent All-Access series with Marcos Maidana and Canelo Alverez, Mayweather was in a position where he essentially had to singlehandedly carry the program (promote the fight) not only because both fighters seem to embody an I would rather fight than talk persona, but also because of a language barrier. In Danny Garcia, Floyd would be promoting the fight with an opponent who is not only bi-lingual, but who’s father displays a similar amount of bravado, confidence and who is as opinionated as Mayweather.
All in all, what this fight will bring to the table in terms of promotional excitement will more than make up for any excitement that it may lack on fight day. If you can’t see how this would be a promotional masterpiece, I challenge you to watch a video of Angel Garcia at a press conference and tell me that he can’t hold his own in a trash talking war with the Mayweather family. If promoting a fight with humble souls like Guerrero, Alvarez and Maidana were considered entertaining, then a fight promotion with the Mayweather family against the Garcia camp should truly be a work of art.
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