Comments Thread For: Canelo: Mayweather-Pacquiao Really Hurt Boxing, Especially PPV

[hitking]

95% weren't boxing fans? still an exciting fight could have had the potential to win new fans. I'm guessing most of us became boxing fans after watching a great fight. For me it was Ali vs Foreman.

Ding ding ding, we got a winner.

Absolutely, if the fight was a good fight -- and I'm not even talking fight of the year stuff obviously -- even if it was just a good, solid scrap with some genuine dramatic moments, then it would've been a win all around. And yes, it would've birthed some new fans. It also would've had an afterglow affect that, for once, shone brightly on this much maligned sport. It would've left a good taste in people's mouths about the sport.

Instead it not only completely shut the door for some who may have taken a further interest in the sport, it f**king deadbolted that ****.

And you best believe that there were a sizable number of casual fans who witnessed that fight and said to themselves after paying $100 for that, "never again".

Like it or not casual fans do drive the PPV sales. They do. Casuals who are on the fence will typically make a night out of a good main event. But post Mayweather/Pacquiao those on the fence casuals not only hopped off the fence, they ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction of it.

Who cares about casual fans. Casual fans are the reason we get fights like Canelo-Chavez Jr instead of Canelo-GGG.

[soul_survivor]

I finally agree with Canelo. In fact, I've posted this very thing several times...but the I'm glad. If the PPV model dies out in the US, or becomes entirely unfeasible until there's a really big fight, then there's hope that the same can happen in the UK.

Fact is, PPV has never been and never will be a long term model of financial success, it is and always will be, a quick way to grab some money, all the while, killing the popularity of the sport and its exponents in the US. I thnk the perfect model is the way German TV has gone about it, with Wlad becoming one of their biggest sporting stars, packing out arensa, earning millions upon millions, without a foot in the PPV market. Exceptional.

[Progrssive_Jedi]

Wait, Canelo/De la Hoya Cite that Floyd/Manny fight as proof big fights take Time

Now these guys have been citing Floyd to duck ggg since 2015. In September it will be two years since Canelo said I'm ready. They say, well it won't take as long as Manny/Floyd, knowing damn well one of them is prime and one is leaving his prime.

And when they use this Chavez fight as reason to duck ggg and push it to May of next year, they'll again cite Floyd.

Canelo is a fraud.

Yes, but thank god we have you to restore all credibility with your epic, highly competitive ppv matchups against such esteemed opposition as Liam Smith, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

While citing Floyd as the guy who taught him to take epic risk like Khan.

The fight was an unmitigated disaster of biblical proportions

It was built up to be bigger than the f**king superbowl, I mean the whole world was watching...and for that??

I've heard Floyd fans say that people just thought it was boring because Floyd won and that all of the Floyd haters were butthurt, but no. A good fight is a good fight. And that was a f**king horrific "fight". It was basically light sparring for 12 rounds without a a single memorable or dramatic moment in the fight, unless you count the time Manny stunned Floyd and unleashed a barrage of mostly missed or blocked punches.

And yes, I get it, anybody who knows Floyd at all knew that he's a defensive fighter to the millionth degree, and it was never going to be a firefight, that much is true but still.

Both fighters exited the ring with career lows in punches landed. From just a pure entertainment perspective it was awful. It was beyond awful.

I will say this, though. I do think that the onus was on Manny. It was. We all know that Floyd is safety first, defense first at all times. Floyd could give two ****s about making it entertaining for the fans so long as he's winning the fight. So it was up to Manny to bring the fight out of him, and as we all saw, he couldn't do it. So yeah in the end the bulk of the blame goes to Manny.

But my God what a travesty of a fight. Ask any fan out there who didn't have a dog in the race and they'll tell you that **** was as entertaining as watching paint dry.

That fight was bad. Hurt boxing. Canelo and De La Hoya kicked

The fight wasn't a disaster and it didn't hurt boxing. Because 95% of the people that watched aren't boxing fans. And will never be boxing fans. A lot of stars had to align to make an event reach the magnitude of Floyd-Manny. And it probably never happen again.

The only travesty coming outta that fight is supposed fight fans acting like butt hurt teenage girls, b1tching and moaning because their guy didn't win.

WTF! They are fans of boxing, they paid to watch boxing. Yes mist were casuals, but most who watch when any fight does over a million are casuals. And that night drove 80% of them away, yet to come back.

Only fights to do anything close to good is when ethnic and national pride is on the line. Canelo/Cotto/Chavez.

Then the guy who they said would save it, well ducked his responsibility when the fight was at its most fever pitch.

Canelo knows it was a disaster, but one he and his team compounded, while citing that fight.

[eddiefutch]

Yes, but thank god we have you to restore all credibility with your epic, highly competitive ppv matchups against such esteemed opposition as Liam Smith, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Best thing I have read this morning

[Mike D]

Who cares about casual fans. Casual fans are the reason we get fights like Canelo-Chavez Jr instead of Canelo-GGG.

I feel you man, but where I'm coming from is, I just wanna see the sport of boxing do well. I'm first and foremost a fan of the sport. I get sick & f**king tired of everybody always bashing the **** out of boxing and Mayweather/Pacquiao only gave them that much more ammo.

A nice, entertaining fight with all that spotlight on it would've given the sport a feather in its cap.

Instead in the eyes of the rest of the sporting world outside of us hardcore fans, all Mayweather/Pacquiao did was throw more dirt on the coffin.

[Fabes88]

The fight was an unmitigated disaster of biblical proportions

It was built up to be bigger than the f**king superbowl, I mean the whole world was watching...and for that??

I've heard Floyd fans say that people just thought it was boring because Floyd won and that all of the Floyd haters were butthurt, but no. A good fight is a good fight. And that was a f**king horrific "fight". It was basically light sparring for 12 rounds without a a single memorable or dramatic moment in the fight, unless you count the time Manny stunned Floyd and unleashed a barrage of mostly missed or blocked punches.

And yes, I get it, anybody who knows Floyd at all knew that he's a defensive fighter to the millionth degree, and it was never going to be a firefight, that much is true but still.

Both fighters exited the ring with career lows in punches landed. From just a pure entertainment perspective it was awful. It was beyond awful.

I will say this, though. I do think that the onus was on Manny. It was. We all know that Floyd is safety first, defense first at all times. Floyd could give two ****s about making it entertaining for the fans so long as he's winning the fight. So it was up to Manny to bring the fight out of him, and as we all saw, he couldn't do it. So yeah in the end the bulk of the blame goes to Manny.

But my God what a travesty of a fight. Ask any fan out there who didn't have a dog in the race and they'll tell you that **** was as entertaining as watching paint dry.

I agree it was down to manny to force the issue and he didn't that's why I blame him. Floyd did what floyd does.

I remember watching the fight and although the fight itself was dull, I was so amped and felt like I was watching history there wasn't a point where I felt really bored. I never felt the need to rewatch though

[bojangles1987]

Alvarez doesn't help when he ducks one of the biggest fights left in boxing. He has no room to talk when it comes to others hurting boxing.

[bojangles1987]

Ding ding ding, we got a winner.

Absolutely, if the fight was a good fight -- and I'm not even talking fight of the year stuff obviously -- even if it was just a good, solid scrap with some genuine dramatic moments, then it would've been a win all around. And yes, it would've birthed some new fans. It also would've had an afterglow affect that, for once, shone brightly on this much maligned sport. It would've left a good taste in people's mouths about the sport.

Instead it not only completely shut the door for some who may have taken a further interest in the sport, it f**king deadbolted that ****.

And you best believe that there were a sizable number of casual fans who witnessed that fight and said to themselves after paying $100 for that, "never again".

Like it or not casual fans do drive the PPV sales. They do. Casuals who are on the fence will typically make a night out of a good main event. But post Mayweather/Pacquiao those on the fence casuals not only hopped off the fence, they ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction of it.

Spot on. Just look at the reaction to Joshua-Klitschko. New fans will come from watching that fight.

Mayweather-Pacquiao should have brought in millions of potential new fans. Instead it drove all those people away. The backlash after that fight was everywhere, and people still bring it up constantly when any superfight in boxing or UFC approaches. "I hope this isn't another Mayweather-Pacquiao."

Not to mention the financial reward both fighters received only fed further into the idea that a boxer can spend years ducking or putting off fights in demand and only make it more successful.

Everything about Mayweather-Pacquiao - the wait, the fight, everything - was damaging to the sport of boxing.

[MisanthropicNY]

Floyd intimidates the media. They kiss his butt. Floyd did absolutely nothing in that Pac fight offensively, but the media, especially HBO commentators acted like he was Ali in Zaire.

Pacquiao actually won a very boring fight because at least he did some damage in rounds 4 and 6.

As far as the fight hurting boxing... the biggest winner of Mayweather v. Pacquiao was the UFC - it converted everyone to UFC fans.

Canelo should shut his mouth though because ducking GGG was almost the final nail boxing's coffin until Joshua saved the sport last weekend.

[Verus]

Alvarez doesn't help when he ducks one of the biggest fights left in boxing. He has no room to talk when it comes to others hurting boxing.

What part of a $15 million dollar offer do you not understand? You don't duck someone when you offer to pay that kind of money to fight someone. This crap about ducking that you and others insist on putting out constantly must be part of the Russian robo calls, bogus social media posting and fake news that is plaguing the world.