By Daniel Larson: With Manny Pacquiao’s star dimming after one of the most brutal knockouts in recent memory at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez, and Mayweather desiring to retire at thirty-eight, we are left to ponder who will carry the sport financially and be compelling enough to peak the imagination of the casual fan. In Golden Boy’s ideal world Adrien Broner will seamlessly transition into Mayweather’s image and mold and hopefully capture the hearts of his existing fan base. Similarly Top Rank must be hoping for a comparable transition with Nonito Donaire as he ascends through the weight classes as Pacquiao did before him. Unfortunately for those two fighters there is no active Oscar De La Hoya in the sport of boxing.
Out of the Mayweather, and Pacquiao, De La Hoya may be the only one of the three that truly resonated as a crossover star on his own merit. In his prime he carried a following that sometimes resembled an Enrique Iglesias tour rather than a fight promotion; however, it was that sensationalism that he brought, along with his Olympic pedigree that made him a perennial heavy hitter when it came to pay per view numbers. It was only after the exposure Mayweather and Pacquiao got after fighting De La Hoya that they started making the big money that they are more accustomed to today. So do we wait for someone to dethrone these great fighters at the tail end of their career and hope they can create the electricity that we have felt for so many years with Mayweather and Pacquiao, or do we need to search harder for an alternative narrative?
Interestingly enough the only place that the sport of boxing is wavering is in America, there is still a massive fan base in the global market, so maybe an exciting American Heavyweight could be an answer to the gap that will inevitably be left by Mayweather and Pacquiao. Our options are rather slim unfortunately. There is Cristobal Arreola, the exciting Mexican-American who really likes to mix it up and has an everyman quality that could endear him to the general public. He lost his one title shot to Vitali Klitchko and since has been horribly inconsistent. Then there is Deontay Wilder, an undefeated fighter with all wins coming by way of knockout, Olympic bronze medalist, and has the size and height of today’s modern heavyweights. However, he’s been moved along so slowly that we still have no applicable gauge of his talent. So sadly for us there is no Mike Tyson on the horizon to excite the dredges of today’s heavyweight division.
But traditionally during heavyweight lulls there have been little fighters like the Sugar Ray Leonard’s, the Mayweather’s, and the Golden Boy’s to garner attention for the sport. Maybe it’s impossible at the moment to capture all the momentum of the Golden Boy, but there are qualities here and there that are present in other fighters. Canelo Alvarez has the looks and the female following that Oscar De La Hoya did, but as of now he is still primarily only a darling in the Latin market. He has been moved along smartly, mostly fighting the hollow names of faded fighters, but asides from his looks, like De La Hoya he really seems to have a hunger for the sport and want to fight everyone. His lack of opposition has been primarily the fault of Golden Boy protecting their investment. Nevertheless, it is hard to be a crossover star in America when you don’t speak English. So what about Andre Ward? Gold Medalist, good looking guy, and wholesome family man. Aside from that he seems poised to, and in certain analysts mind, has already assumed the mantel of best pound for pound fighter in the world. But in a sport where since Ali, we look for a fighter’s charisma as much as his talent and skill, Ward offers little to the imagination. However juxtaposed with the interesting storyline of a Kelly Pavlik we have great cinema. At the moment that fight has fallen by way side, but maybe even more momentum can be built up for it if Kelly Pavlik can show glimpses of his old form.
And what about Kelly Pavlik? There has always been an interest in boxing and the idea of a great white hope. The blue collar kid from Youngstown Ohio with thunder in his fists; however, after battling his demons outside of the ring it seems that his best days may be behind him. His story could provide another fold with that facet, in that everyone roots for a comeback. Sadly though, if you talk to a casual fan about either of these fighters you may be met with a blank stare filled with nothing but confusion and perplexity. Which may ultimately tell us where the money will come from in boxing.
Do we need a flashy promoter to excite people once again about a sport that has seemingly lost interest? A Don King, or at the very least a Rock Newman? Could Mayweather ultimately mean more to the sport after he retires assuming the hat of braggart promoter? Who knows? What I do know is that despite the lack of viewership, outside the heavyweight division we are not suffering from a lack of talent. I remember years ago Roy Jones Jr. suggested a boxing league to keep fighters active and interest peaked. This was met with people scoffing at the idea, and why not? Boxing was still making a ton of money and not in financial peril. But now we see something as successful as the UFC and we take a look at their biggest stars: Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierre. Inside the ring they’re extremely exciting, but outside they are some of the most boring athletes in the world. The idea of a league is interesting, even if it just started to the effect of Golden Boy having in house tournaments in each of their divisions to determine a “Golden Boy” Champion, it could blossom into something fruitful. The culture of fight sports is changing, and in the interest of boxing maybe it should change to.
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