By Sizzle JKD: Here’s the thing, boxing promoters make millions and millions of dollars because they’re great at what they do. Most of the time, it’s their words that speak much louder than their actions but in the fight game this is the norm. In order to get people to watch, they have to talk the talk before they walk the walk.
With the super fight between boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and the undefeated Mayweather looming, the recent announcements of Pacquiao and Mayweather traveling to England and Australia, respectively, offer great insight into the minds of a boxing promoter doing prize fight promoting.
Weeks of speculation about the mega fight have spun the sports world into a frenzy, with each day passing by as fans and journalists alike search for clues and sources in order to get the truth, the story, and the details of the contract. Will Floyd sign? Is there an actual contract? What’s going on with the talks between HBO and Showtime? Will the fight happen?
Unbeknownst to us, the most revealing sign or hint has been sitting right under our noses the whole time. But first, we must ask the following questions.
Why the heck would Manny travel to England and Floyd go to Australia in the middle of negotiations? Wouldn’t that be bad timing, especially if both fighters are supposedly trying to lock up their next opponent? Manny has just finished promoting his docu-film “Manny,” so why would he go to Europe just to have dinner with Prince Harry? Just dinner, really? It doesn’t make sense. And what’s the purpose of Floyd’s trip to Australia? For what, vacation? It just doesn’t add up. Is it also a coincidence that both Floyd and Manny happen to be traveling overseas at roughly the same time? Since when did Floyd and Manny decide to simultaneously take a vacation when it isn’t even holiday season?
What we are seeing here is both Pacquiao and Mayweather conducting their not-so-impromptu world tour to promote their super fight on May 2nd. Before you call me crazy, let’s dig a little deeper and analyze it.
We all know Mayweather already has a huge following in the U.K. Over the years, his fan base in England has grown exponentially. Therefore, his name needs no introduction. However, Pacquiao’s sphere of influence, although worldwide, is not as popular in the U.K. as Mayweather’s is. So what better way to secure his share of fans in England than to meet with Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth, get the newspapers, television and radio stations to talk about him, and ultimately generate hype before the official announcement is made. Manny did not go to England just to have dinner with Prince Harry. Believe me, there was an ulterior “marketing” motive to why he was there.
Conversely, Mayweather does his part by flying to Australia, where Manny has a bigger following than Floyd, in order to convince everyone in the Land Down Under that it’s Floyd who is the best fighter in the world. According to the Daily Telegraph, a news publication in Australia, Mayweather is “expected to unveil his long-awaited superfight against Manny Pacquiao. The announcement will take place at Crown Casino next Friday.”
The promotional strategy is genius. Both TMT and Top Rank are not only saving time by having the respective fighters essentially promote themselves across the world, but both promotional companies are also saving millions of dollars by not having to organize a worldwide promotional tour that almost always involves numerous logistical issues.
According to most promoters, it takes at least 5-6 months for a fight of this scale to be promoted the right way. There is so much preparation involved that it almost becomes a logistical nightmare for both camps to organize budgets, advertising partners, sponsors, and media so that everyone is on the same page and every aspect is coordinated with seamless precision.
The negotiations between both camps and between HBO and Showtime are so complex that there simply isn’t enough time to promote the event the way Arum and Haymon want to do it. Therefore, Plan B became this – to have Floyd and Manny travel abroad and market themselves while the promoters, advisers, lawyers, and cable executives stayed at home to finalize all the contracts.
With the super fight scheduled for May 2nd, both promotional companies have their hands full, considering Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank only have about a month or so to conduct their press conferences and city-to-city promotional tour. The fighters will probably commence training around March and train for 8 weeks, leaving the entire month of February for them to promote the fight in the major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, and maybe even Chicago and Detroit.
And during the Super Bowl, when hundreds of millions of people around the world will be tuned in, the super fight instantly gains the added promotional exposure it needs to guarantee that Mayweather-Pacquiao will be the highest grossing sporting event in the history of mankind. No tour, just one commercial and a single announcement on Super Bowl Sunday, with hundreds of millions of people around the globe with their bi-focals glued to the tube in great anticipation. Just imagine the drama and excitement unfold before your eyes.
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao World Tour begins in two continents – Europe and Australia. It stops in the Americas.
Get ready folks. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The announcement is coming.
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