By Chester Rivers: Alright fight fans, the fight we all wanted to see is a done deal for the Mayweather-Alvarez undercard. Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s), 30, of Argentina will battle Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KO’s), 25, of Philadelphia for the lineal junior welterweight title. Many think this fight was added to insure that this card will set a new ppv record but I think the addition of this fight is to set up Mayweather’s next big fight.
It’s no secret that Showtime was less than impressed with the numbers of Mayweather’s last fight. In order for Floyd to get the public interested again he and his team had to find a popular opponent that could be marketed as a serious threat. Canelo Alvarez fit the role perfectly. Canelo at the age of 22 has already built a huge fan base with the Mexican population and his 20 pound weight advantage has been the main topic when fans argue his chances of winning the fight. Because of the popularity of both Mayweather and Alvarez, this fight will surpass 2+ million ppv buys without the addition of Matthysse-Garcia.
So why is Matthysse-Garcia being placed as the co-feature? To understand the reason why, you first need to understand the politics of boxing. Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy are positioning themselves for a Mayweather victory. They understand that Floyd is only concerned with zeros, the zero on his record and the zeros on his paycheck. Mayweather doesn’t care if he wins a boring fight as long as he win. Mayweather next opponent will have to be perceived as a major threat and with Matthysse-Garcia likely ending with a knockout it makes boxing sense to book this fight as the co-feature.
Rewind your mind back to May 18. Matthysse had just destroyed Lamont Peterson when Schaefer jumped into the ring and declared Matthysse as the new Manny Pacquiao. Golden Boy and Showtime will need Matthysse to repeat that performance in order to promote him as a legitimate threat to Mayweather.
Even if Floyd wins every round against Alvarez, the image of an unconscious Garcia laying flat in the ring will be the image that the 2+ million viewers would remember. The demands for a Mayweather-Matthysse fight will be hailed as the Floyd-Manny match-up that we were deprived.
Let’s not sell Danny Garcia short. Matthysse has never fought an opponent that hits as hard as Danny. Garcia could leave Matthysse motionless face down in the middle of the ring. Danny’s boxing skills could be a little too much for Lucas to handle.With his hip-hop good looks and his ability to speak English and Spanish, Danny could be very marketable to the younger generation.
This fight is a win/win for Showtime and Golden Boy. The winner will most likely move up and face Mayweather while to loser will stay @ 140 and continue to dominate the division. The only loser is the one who deserves a Mayweather fight the most and that’s Miguel Cotto but that’s the politics of boxing.
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