Reports
have come out that the recent Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto Pay-Per-View fight
card only generated between 400,000 and 550,000 buys and the crowd at the MGM
was well short of sellout capacity. In the end, the overall event did not net a
major financial profit despite this supposedly being the “Money Mayweather”
final fight. Despite all the hype from Showtime and other media outlets, the
collective sports world did not put their money up to see Floyd Mayweather
dance in circles and play his counter-striking game one last time.
Whether
you are a fan or hater of Mayweather, there is a reason he has the nickname
“Money” because he has been very profitable for himself and his promoters for
over a decade. Despite the 49-0 fight record, the truth is that it does not
stack up against the likes of Mohammed Ali, Rocky Marciano, “Sugar” Ray Leonard
and “Sugar” Ray Robinson. Furthermore Mayweather’s career is arguably a weak
overall resume compared to contemporaries Andre Ward and Oscar De La Hoya in
the fact that Floyd never won an Olympic Gold medal. Over the last 55 years all
the great boxers from Ali to Joe Frazier to Leonard won Olympic Gold medals.
Mayweather supporters would say he was “robbed” at the 1996 Olympics but most
of Floyd’s life has been mired in controversy. From the domestic assault
charges and convictions to being stripped of his WBO championship title to him
hand picking fights with guys who are “past their prime”; some people say Floyd
Mayweather has done more hurt the reputation of Professional Boxing than any
other fighter.
But
I contend Mayweather is just a bi-product of what big time Professional Boxing has
become: A convoluted mess. From the alphabet soup of organizations to corrupt
promotors to judging controversies, Boxing over the last 30 years has fallen
from its pedestal as one of the premiere sporting events. Even the skills of
Olympic Boxing competitors has dropped off during the last few Olympics. Let us
also not forget that according to the online Journal of Combative Sport 2007 research
since 1960 over 667 deaths directly resulting from boxing related injuries in the USA alone. The sport known as “The Sweet Science” sure has left a
sour taste for many over the years.
Still,
millions of dollars are made every year off a sport whose fighters lack the
refined skill of years ago. Men such as Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Ali, Frazier
and Leonard were considered among the greatest athletes of their generations. In
today’s world the greatest athletes are training to be the best in other
sports. You see phenomenal athletes playing sports such as Football that would
have been found fighting in the ring 30 years ago. That is because boxing was
considered a way out for those who came from working class or poor economic
backgrounds. These men would channel their anger and rage against the world
into hours at the gym in order to exact that violence on another man to make
the money they couldn’t get working at the factories and warehouses across America.
In today’s world many great athletes who come from the same backgrounds look to
the NFL and NBA to raise themselves and their families out of poverty.
Also
the rise of Mixed Martial Arts has drawn men who would have gone to the boxing
gym into the local kickboxing club or convinced young kids to wrestle in High
School and College. Anyone who has watched MMA champions such as Cain
Velasquez, Jon Jones, Nick Diaz, and Connor McGregor know that they have the
natural skills needed to potentially be championship Boxers. Instead Jones and
Velasquez were amateur wrestlers; Diaz trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since his
mid-teens; McGregor has formal boxing training but found professional MMA more
appealing so he later trained in Kickboxing, Taekwondo, and Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu.
Furthermore,
MMA is overall a less brutal violence sport than Boxing. Many MMA fights are
ended via submission or Technical Knockout via referee stoppage. Even though
MMA is a fairly young organized compared to Boxing, we have not seen older or
retired MMA fighters suffering from the same psychological and money issues as
retired boxers. In fact, there has been only one Professional MMA injuries
related death and that was because that organization did not have their fights
or fighters sanctioned and overseen by a reputable Athletic Commission. After
that incident, that commissioner was removed and there was an overhaul in that
state’s MMA regulations.
But
still Professional Boxing generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year
while MMA grosses out only a quarter of the amount only thanks to television
contracts. Boxing has been making a dent
into the television market but many of the cable television fight cards are
relegated to average TV slots or they are stuck going head to head with more
popular sporting events like the NFL or College Football. The UFC, who is the
king of Professional MMA, has a multi-year TV deals with three different media
companies internationally and those deals total around a billion dollars. MMA
has not been able to draw the casual or hardcore boxing fans mostly because
these people do not find the submission and grappling aspects of MMA appealing.
The
truth is that the casual boxing fan tunes in for the excitement or violence of
the sport. Similarly to the people who
watch sports because they have money invested, these watchers do not appreciate
the game or skill involved, they want their money’s worth whether that is made
off winning a prop bet or seeing the explosive entertainment they expected. The
reality is that most of the people who watched the Floyd Mayweather fight just wanted
to see him win or lose and cared less about the rest of the fights on the
docket that night.
If
Floyd Mayweather is truly done with boxing, it will be a blessing and a curse
for the sport. While he made many promoters and opponents money, he also lost
many people money and cast a dark shadow over the sport. Mayweather was a
counter-striker with great speed who outside the ring had numerous domestic
violence charges who promoters and the media turned him into a money making
villain. Gone are the days of Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De la Hoya,
and Mickey Ward giving the fans an event to tune in for; without Mayweather,
Boxing potentially sees their last cash cow walk away.
The
future does not look very promising for the professional ranks of “The Sweet
Science” with the numerous other sports options out there for people to take
interest in and spend their money on. The mainstream sports media has Football,
Basketball and Baseball deals that produce money and drive ratings. Also media corporations such Fox Sports, NBC
Sports and Viacom have invested a lot of money into the UFC, World Series of
Fighting, and Bellator MMA already, so you know those events will get publicity
and marketing dollars. NASCAR is another sport growing in popularity, getting
big advertising dollars and TV contracts. Let’s not forget that the NHL and
college sports conferences like the Big Ten, PAC 12 and SEC now have their own
television networks.
The
market share for Boxing is shrinking with the all the other options out there
and most people have no idea who Gennady Golovkin or Roman Gonzalez are, yet
both men are undefeated champions. How can Boxing keep the money train going
without the recognizable names to sell tickets and PPVs to fans? How will they
keep the financial commitments from media outlets and advertisers? The clock is
certainly ticking on that conundrum.
