By Babatis Banda: It is common knowledge and a fact that Floyd is one of the great cash cows of boxing ever. We also know that he is central to the success of ‘HBO 24/7 hype series’ since its invention. Floyd has taken the business side of boxing to a whole new level and the numbers show for it.
There is a lot involved here I believe, and this includes actual gate takings, the Pay per View sales and other deals with go with the bout. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has maximized his takings, first by being smart. He owns a promotional company, the ‘Mayweather promotions’ which co-promotes his fights. Floyd, being a super star and a business genius, he has become the most well paid boxer of all time and takes full advantage of this position.
Boxing for a good part has been kept alive by what I call the ‘Mexican effect’. Mexicans are successful boxers and lovers of the sport. It is quite clear that the Mexican effect is a serious factor to the success of the sport. Other than the Mexican influence, we have a new phenomenon, The Manny Pacquiao ‘fanatical-fan base’. The difference is that while the Mexicans have been a real factor on the sport for many years generating huge sales, the Filipinos are a recent factor, and only imposed a cult-like effect on the sport. The only common factor is that the two however needed a fertile ground to blossom, and the United States provided it.
Unlike Manny Pacquiao, who has a ‘cult-like’ following, Floyd is unlikely to out-sell Manny on the gate takings for that reason. The avid boxing lover and the hard-core fans are likely to watch from the comforts of their homes and that is where the numbers and the money is, and the difference is thus drawn.
For as long as Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweahther Junior remains the fighter to beat, the situation may remain so for a long time to come. While I admit that the battle should not be between the PPV numbers and gate takings, this is a factor used for bargaining purposes in negotiations. Successful negotiations are the beginning of good things before we can dream of the time when this whole controversy will come to an effective end through the ring.
Having said this, I leave you with one question to answer. If Floyd was fighting Marquez for the second time, who would have been the clear favourite to win the fight? I believe the answer is stupidly straight forward, isn’t it?
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