By Chris Williams: Yesterday there was a rumor circulating around the boxing world that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim had made an offer of $65 million to WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao for him to face Mexican super star WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez for a bout that would be taking place in Mexico City. As soon I heard it, I figured it as more of the typical make believe stuff that floats around the net.
And it looks like I’m right, as ringtv is reporting that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, the promoter for Alvarez, is saying that this rumor is false. Schaefer apparently knows Slim and said he spoke to him about it and it’s not true. So there it, folks. I suppose this is bad news for Pacquiao fans, because it would have been huge payday for their favorite fighter. But come on, who in their right mind would pay $65 million for an Alvarez-Pacquiao fight when they could get that fight for so much cheaper than that. I don’t see that fight as a pay per view attraction right now. I can see some Clottey-Pacquiao-like PPV numbers for a Alvarez vs. Pacquiao fight. Sure, you might sell out an arena in Mexico, but I can’t see people frothing at the mouth eager to dump $55 to see Pacquiao beat up on an unproven 20-year-old like Alvarez. Heck, they’d have to pay to watch that one. I wouldn’t pay a dime for. Even if they discounted it to $4.99. That’s still too much for yet another terrible mismatch. I want to see Pacquiao face a live body like Martinez, Alfredo Angulo and especially Ortiz.
Billionaires become rich by being smart with their money, not giving it away on fights that really aren’t in demand. I don’t know of many people right now that are calling for a Pacquiao-Alvarez fight. Alvarez is just now getting known in the U.S and it would laughable to try and put these two fighters together at this early stage in Alvarez’s development. I can understand a rich guy wanting to match Pacquiao with Sergio Martinez, because Martinez is the best fighter in two divisions – junior middleweight and middleweight.
But I doubt that Pacquiao would take a fight with Martinez unless it at 147, a weight that Martinez can’t make. Martinez is one of the few interesting opponents that Pacquiao can be matched against other than Floyd Mayweather Jr. I have no interest in Pacquiao’s November fight against 38-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez. That’s another mismatch, especially with the fight taking place at 144. That fight will be a Mexican version of Shane Mosley, a 39-year-old fighter that Pacquiao just finished beating. I don’t know why but it seems like Pacquiao is getting matched up against old timers nowadays. I want to see Pacquiao face some young relevant fighters like Victor Ortiz. Why isn’t Pacquiao facing him? Why do boxing fans have to see him face guys that are nearly 40?
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