Mayweather/Pacquiao: The fight the fans deserve

By Boxing News - 09/08/2009 - Comments

mayweather4347665By Eoin Cooke: 2009 hasn’t been an enjoyable year for fight fans. Save for the fireworks of Marquez/Diaz, there has been little to excite the boxing public this year. Set aside that fight, and possibly Clottey/Cotto and 2009 has been mostly a tale of poor cards and cancellations. In February, HBO charged almost $50 for fans to see Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik crush overmatched opponents.

Then in May, Ricky Hatton fought Manny Pacquiao in a fight that last under six minutes and had a very boring undercard. Summer looked promising with the return of Floyd Mayweather and the intriguing Klitschko vs. Haye bout, but they were just two of many fights that fell apart for one reason or another during the season. Now we head into the Fall with the rescheduled Mayweather/Marquez and the mouthwatering Pacquiao/Cotto.

However the public don’t seem to care much for Floyd’s return and seem unwilling to pay to watch him fight a blown up Juan Manuel Marquez, supported by a very average undercard. Presumably due to poor PPV sales, the fight will now be shown in movie theaters, proving the boxing public has become disgruntled and unwilling to fork out huge sums to watch mismatches during recessionary times.

Expect Pacquiao/Cotto to destroy Mayweather/Marquez at box office and also expect Mayweather to make up an imaginary PPV figure so he can still self proclaim himself as the “cash cow” of boxing. I do believe that Mayweather at heart thinks Pacquiao is too big a risk to fight, and doesn’t plan to fight him in 2010. However, once the PPV numbers come in I think Mayweather will realize he has to step up to the challenge, otherwise no one will watch him.

Pacquiao/Mayweather is the fight everyone is talking about, Floyd recently gave an interview and spent far more time discussing Pacquiao than his future opponent Marquez. Also, Freddie Roach has admitted he is frequently quizzed over the potential match up.

If Mayweather gets by Marquez (which I firmly believe he will) and Pacquiao gets by Cotto, then there will be uproar if the next fight doesn’t see the two square off. If the “Pretty Boy” was really the cash cow he could fight whoever to wants to, knowing people will tune in just to see him fight.

If this were the case he could continue with low risk opponents, I’d say Berto is about the biggest challenge he’d face. However once Floyd knows in his heart that you cannot con boxing fans during recessionary times, he just might step up to the plate.

The negotiations will be long and tedious, but if people uses their brains they will find a way to cash in on this potential box office smash. It is without doubt the biggest fight since De La Hoya/Trinidad, and after the horrible year that we’ve had so far in 2009, it is a reassuring thought to know something massive might be on the horizon in 2010.



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