Mayweather vs. Paul: You did not pay for a Boxing match, you bought tickets to the Circus

By Boxing News - 06/07/2021 - Comments

By Leigh Seto: P.T. Barnum made a fortune off the unique and the bizarre. Probably known more for his promotional skills than the acts that actually followed.

Floyd Mayweather has tapped into P.T. Barnum’s ability to raise everyone’s curiosity with the latest version of himself. He is no longer a boxer. He is an entertainer. Not that this last charade could be considered entertaining.

People tuned into his Saturday event for a number of reasons. Some watched to see him win, some watched to see him lose, some just had nothing better to do on a Sunday evening, and they heard from friends or read about the circus that was coming to town. Either way, people tuned in.

You can’t knock either fighter for their participation. I’m certain most of us sitting on our couch would surely take a few powder punches from Floyd to make a million-dollar check. However, it does hurt the sport.

Image: Mayweather vs. Paul: You did not pay for a Boxing match, you bought tickets to the Circus

The sport has been struggling for years, with rival promotion companies not allowing their fighters to cross the line and fight each other.

Also, fighters themselves are not willing to risk their undefeated records like days of old. Mayweather laid the groundwork for successful promotions, and despite most of his fights not being competitive, most fights not against the top fighters at the time (P.Williams, Spence, Thurman). People still tuned in.

That “Zero” losses must mean he is the greatest of all time? Or has he been handpicking flat-footed and one-dimensional fighters the 2nd half of his career? Notice I said 2nd half, the first half of his career when he was “Pretty boy Floyd” he was amazing.

I would be remiss to say it’s all his fault, but he is a problem. So with the new “Entertainer Floyd,” he hurts the sport because his fights are just not very fun to watch. These latest fights have done little to excite casual fans and younger fans to gain their interest.

Boxing is a dying sport. Floyd, with his sheer number of fans, could raise this sport, but he won’t. People didn’t fill up the coliseum in Rome to watch gladiators do the waltz together. People tune into boxing to see fights. ‘Money’ Mayweather just doesn’t fight anymore, and really most of the 2nd half of his career, he didn’t do much fighting either.

I hope I can state this as clearly as possible. 100% of Boxers will lose an MMA fight against a professional MMA fighter, 100% of MMA fighters will lose against even amateur boxers in boxing. Julio Jones, on his best day, couldn’t outsprint Usain Bolt. Michael Jordan was a terrible baseball player. Let’s stop being so curious about the sideshows.

Image: Mayweather vs. Paul: You did not pay for a Boxing match, you bought tickets to the Circus

The best fight on Sunday’s card was between 2 professional boxers. That should tell us all that boxing is still a great sport. When these sideshows show up, let’s let our casual boxing fans know how ridiculous the fight will be. Save your money or buy lottery tickets your money will be better served either way than purchasing this kind of debacle.

People were left disappointed, but what do you expect when you go to the circus? You went to see the bearded lady and realized it was just a woman with hair glued to her face.