The fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will shatter many records in boxing. The fact that it is being anticipated by millions around the world can only attest to its billing as the fight of the century.
Financially, the showdown next month at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will be the biggest in the history of the sport. In fact, its promoters said they expect it will generate more than $400 million.
However, can the fight save a dying sport? Can Mayweather and Pacquiao be able to live up to our expectations and produce a classic fight that would signal the revival of boxing?
If they were boxing’s true saviors, the Money and the Pacman should have fought six years ago, when they were still in their prime and when the world first clamored for them to slug it out.
But, as the world knows it, it was the two fighters who killed the fight themselves, blaming each other for failing to come up with a contract. Mayweather would blame Pacquiao for not agreeing to the blood test he demanded while the latter would accuse the American of avoiding him for demanding too much.
Had the American and the Filipino congressman agreed to fight in 1999, their May 2 showdown could have been the last of their trilogy. And their rivalry could have already earned a prime spot in the sport’s history.
Let’s admit that boxing is well on its way to extinction. Gone are the days when it used to be a major sporting spectacle that every time the likes of Ali, Hagler, Leonard, Duran and Tyson would fight, the world would come to a halt.
The last time boxing has a true star was when Oscar de la Hoya fought his way into a global attraction. The Golden Boy had cashed in on his Olympic success to become the face of professional boxing when Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were no longer the force of the sport.
During his prime, De la Hoya gained a huge following for fighting gallantly against the best in his division. He was best remembered for fighting Tito Trinidad, Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins – although his matches with Mayweather and Pacquiao are both top grosser.
When De la Hoya retired, Mayweather and Pacquiao were left to carry the torch. Although there were quite a few stars, they do not have the bankability that would command huge pay-per-view results.
In order to rescue boxing from becoming irrelevant, the fight that many have wanted to see for years is finally happening, in a ring date that is expected to be the richest in boxing. The public clamor was so strong that even rival American television networks HBO and Showtime agreed to jointly broadcast the fight.
But what will happen to boxing after the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight? Of course, no one will know if the anticipated match between a highly defensive fighter and a slugger who are both past their prime is all what the fans need to save a dying sport.
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