By Manuel Perez: It looks like HBO will be starting another series of 24/7 boxing episodes, this one involving Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. The series will be called Pacquiao-Cotto 24/7 rather than perhaps the more appropriate Cotto-Pacquiao 24/7. The series will start on October 24th, and then run weekly – e.g., November 7th, November 13th – until a day before the bout on the November 14th.
Let’s hope that the Cotto-Pacquiao 24/7 is more interesting than the HBO Mayweather-Marquez boxing series, because it has failed to cause much excitement for the fight from what I can see. Perhaps by the time that the Cotto-Pacquiao 24/7 starts, HBO will have thought up some ideas to make the series more interesting for boxing fans to watch.
They can start with by getting the fighters to get some emotion going. I don’t want to watch Cotto and Pacquiao showing those same old blank faces, and looking like a couple of wooden actors. Shake them up somehow and try to get them out of their comfort zone. Make sure any scenes of Pacquiao playing guitar and singing are left on the editing room floor. Don’t want to see that again.
The same goes for wasted video of Pacquiao’s huge entourage. This was hideous to watch Pacquiao putting them through their daily movements, having them diet and other such nonsense. Pacquiao looked like little wind up king in those episodes and it was more than a little off putting for me. With Pacquiao, you’ve got to get him away from his gang of enablers and put him alone or something.
Don’t get him started on politics. That’ll for sure put the TV audiences asleep while at the same time make them suffer through Pacquiao’s tortured English. I have a bad feeling about this series. Neither Cotto or Pacquiao have much personality or charisma that I can see.
This looks like a series where a lot of the side people are show – trainers, gofers and family members – just to liven it up. I can see through all that. HBO needs their ratings and if none of these fighters have any stage presence, then one of their members from their party will have to be chosen for the comic relief.
I just hope HBO has a good eye for that and not the tin ear they’ve shown on the current Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 for hunting down someone to bring some life to the boring episodes.
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