Much has been made about the state of boxing and whether the sport can and will survive. With Floyd Mayweather getting a guaranteed 41 million to face Canelo Alvarez tomorrow night in Vegas, it's hard to imagine how the sport can be dead when the PPV cost upwards of $75. Why would anyone pay that kind of money to watch a dead sport? How could a PPV event of said dead sport generate the buzz that would warrant a $75 rate?
Boxing in terms of the golden age when the other professional sports where not as big as they are now are over. Frankly there are not too many people alive who can honestly recall the golden era of boxing. You can read the stories and watch the old clips but the days of the everyone waiting on baited breathe for a fight are primarily over. Stars sell sports, regardless of what it is. During my lifetime only 3 boxers have captivated the sport: Tyson, Roy Jones and Mayweather. All three dominated the ring and had pop culture status outside of it.
Tyson was an absolute marvel, his reign brought the essence of being heavyweight champion back to the front pages. His destructive knockouts, stoic face, high pitch yet still intimidating voice, all of it captivated audiences worldwide. Celebs and non-celebs all wanted to know what he was doing, he could be on the front page of SI, the NY Post and The National Enquirer all at the same damn time. His downfall from grace was just as spectacular and his continual appearances in the public eye still gets attention from die hard fans and the public alike. Its not strange coincidence that Tyson and Tupac were close.
Roy Jones Jr. was the bridge between Tyson and Mayweather, he was more of the bling bling era boxer. He emerged during the time when flossing was the thing. He rapped on the way to the ring. He signed a deal with the Jordan brand. He owned and performed on his own rap label. He tried to play basketball on a semi-professional level. He showboated in the ring making opponents look foolish, doing things never seen before. His downfall from grace came quick and he never could regain the spotlight that once followed him around. Much like Nelly, Roy can keep trying to fight for the spotlight but the public has moved on to the next big thing.
Floyd is and will be the next big thing until his record breaking Showtime deal runs out. Floyd is the most polarizing boxer in any weight class since Tyson and has garnered the same love-hate relationship with the public that Tyson enjoyed which fueled PPV buy rates. Floyd has cornered the market in terms of branding, not needing a promoter, being in complete control of his image and status. His financial standing is legendary and more and more boxers (Adrien Broner) are trying to follow the Floyd blueprint to being financially independent. He has the cash, the persona, the attitude that drives the public to see what will happen in the ring. No matter how good his boxing skills are, its the sideshow leading up into and sometimes during the fight that pushes the public to the TV. He has balanced himself nicely where he can still make corporate deals such as the landmark $250 million deal with CBS/Showtime but still garners the same attention and respect from the urban market that supported him when he was more Pretty Boy Floyd instead of Money Mayweather. Comparing him to Jay-Z is not as far fetched as you may think but here it fits. Mayweather is the Jay-Z of boxing. He has cornered the market for a financial windfall that pundits, analysts and experts never expected much like Jay with the Magna Carter deal with Samsung.
So again tell how can a sport with a athlete at the top of his game, completing deals never seen before and garnering attention from pop culture be dead?
Hardcore fans will always follow boxing no matter whether the pound for pound champion is a popular figure or not but the masses will come and go until the next polarizing boxer emerges.
No comments:
Post a Comment