When it was announced that, after 11 years, Floyd “Money” Mayweather (49) was coming out of retirement to face rival Manny Pacquiao (47) on Sept. 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, I had only one reaction.
Pass!
That’s right, I will try my best to be busy that night while the two Hall of Fame grandpas go at it.
Boxing is in a dark place because competitive fights are not the norm.
Boxing has seen recent head-scratching matchups like Mike Tyson vs. Jake (I can’t fight) Paul, and Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champ (no pro fights).
In the past, there were always farces in the ring. Former champ George Foreman once battled five fighters on one card (1975), and you can’t forget Muhammad Ali vs. wrestler Antonio Inoki (1976).
It’s getting worse today as Mayweather (50-0; 27 KOs), before fighting Pacquiao (62-8-3; 39 KOs), is going to have exhibitions against Mike Zambidis in Athens, Greece, a kickboxer (157-24; 87 KOs) whose last fight was in 2015.
Then he’s also going up against Tyson, maybe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or maybe not at all.
And there is more trouble ahead for boxing as former super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez’s next fight is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (September 12), while true heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk (24-0; 15 KOs) will face Rico Verhoeven (May 23) at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Verhoeven is the greatest heavyweight kickboxing champ (66-10; 21 KOs) who has a 1-0 record as a boxer.
The WBC, in its ultimate wisdom, has elevated this fight from “Special Event” status to a full-fledged title fight.
But with the ongoing war in the Middle East, who in their right mind wants to go to Egypt or Saudi Arabia to watch boxing?
Even former champ Fury (34-2-1; 24 KOs) gets into the fray by coming out of retirement (again) to meet unknown Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2; 19 KOs) April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, North London.
Boxers used to be measured by the best fighting the best. Now, it’s the best fighting whoever is unknown and poses no threat.
Former President and CEO of Time Warner Sports, Seth Abraham, is not impressed with what’s passing for boxing.
“It’s hardly a sport,” says Abraham, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who oversaw big-name fighters like Tyson, Ray Leonard, and Oscar De La Hoya battle on HBO. “It is somewhere between Vaudeville, Burlesque, and PT Barnum, and he would be right at home.”
Is boxing killing boxing?
“Yes,” he states flatly. “The people in the sport today have made it a sideshow. It’s cartoonish. It’s no longer a sport, and it continues to fade.”
The only hope for boxing?
“A real star coming out of the 2028 Summer [Olympic] Games in Los Angeles would become the beginning. That would go a long way to restoring it as a sport.”
With Mayweather and Pacquiao stepping into the squared circle (hopefully) for the last time, the question is, why?
It’s very simple: It has always been and will always be about the money. Don’t believe anything else.
Boxing has too many champions and too many organizations and too many fees to said organizations.
If a fighter unifies the title, you can bet one or more organizations will strip him if he doesn’t face some handpicked “Number One” contender that half the planet has never heard of.
To prove my point, do you remember who Mike Zambidis, Rico Verhoeven, and Arslanbek Makhmudov are fighting?
Take your time while I lock in my non-fight plans for Sept. 19.
Turning off the TV is a start.
The post With boxing on the decline, Mayweather-Pacquiao II is a hard pass appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
