By Mark Havey: Unraveling the fact from fiction, the genuine from the public image, the facts from the promoting, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) is gets people talking. People get carried away and believe in the hype. One thing is certain, Mayweather is a genius.
A man that has been at the pinnacle of boxing for so long, Mayweather will tell you that he has sat on top of the throne for 17 years. Not strictly true, but he has been there for a long time. His biggest marketing factor is that he is unbeaten. Again there is disputes surrounding that. But officially, he is unbeaten. There are claims that he is the highest paid athlete in the world. some people are quick to shoot that opinion down. He certainly is the highest paid boxer in the world.
fighters and their managements talk them up. Commentators of course are biased to whoever is signed to the network that pays them. How many times have we heard that Manny Pacquiao is the only man to ever win titles in eight weight divisions? No one has won titles in eight weight classes. Since winning a title at a catch weight isn’t a real weight class, Pacquiao is a seven weight world champion. So it isn’t just Floyd Mayweather that does it. All fighters do.
If you take all of the talk away, Mayweather is an incredible fighter. I believe he is the best in the world. but there is one thing that puts him above everyone else, he is a businessman. One of his best moves also bends the truth, his viewing figures. The image is painted that if 1.5 million buy the fight they are all paying to watch Floyd. That isn’t true. His undercards are always brilliant. He puts people on with a lot of fans of their own. Mayweather faced Cotto who was 3rd in the ppv rankings. The figures were always going to be high. He then had Alvarez vs Mosley on the undercard. Both bringing a lot of fans. So people weren’t just paying for Mayweather. 4 fighters were bring their fans into the equation resulting in 1.5 million buys.
The Floyd Mayweather haters would jump on this fact. Boxing fans in general will praise him for giving fans their monies worth. Nothing frustrates me more than a poor undercard. As exceptional as his fighting skills are, his business brains have made him the king of the best sport in the world.
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