A change of venue would've done wonders for this fight. What some people don't realize is that Floyd's drawing power comes from taking on guys the public views as threats to his 0. He is not DLH or Tyson and people aren't tuning in to see him knock out tomato cans in the 1st round or buying his fights because he has crossover/pop appeal like those guys. If the public thinks there's a chance that the loud-mouthed, brash, unlikable Floyd will get KTFO on international tv, they'll go in droves to see that. Ortiz is not seen as anything but a glorified sparring partner. He's as high as a 12-1 underdog in some sports books.
If Manny had fought Clottey at Vegas as usual, the gate would've been horrendous. But the change of venue, the appeal of boxing being showcased in a new state-of-the-art monster arena helped make a fight against a complete nobody with no real promotions a legitimate box office success.
Mayweather-Ortiz in Dallas (they discussed this at first), or the Giants/Jets new stadium, or Dodgers Stadium, etc would've gotten people's attention if for no other reason that it was something new. But it's just the same old Vegas thing with a guy who on his best day could only be a fighter of Floyd's caliber's sparring partner. Maybe other states need to revamp their lidocaine laws
We'll see if the desperation move of pandering to Mexican fans with the split-site Canelo sparring match and Morales on the card will help boost the lackluster and uninteresting main event. So far I haven't seen any real buzz and it looks like ticket sales are poor.
If Manny had fought Clottey at Vegas as usual, the gate would've been horrendous. But the change of venue, the appeal of boxing being showcased in a new state-of-the-art monster arena helped make a fight against a complete nobody with no real promotions a legitimate box office success.
Mayweather-Ortiz in Dallas (they discussed this at first), or the Giants/Jets new stadium, or Dodgers Stadium, etc would've gotten people's attention if for no other reason that it was something new. But it's just the same old Vegas thing with a guy who on his best day could only be a fighter of Floyd's caliber's sparring partner. Maybe other states need to revamp their lidocaine laws
We'll see if the desperation move of pandering to Mexican fans with the split-site Canelo sparring match and Morales on the card will help boost the lackluster and uninteresting main event. So far I haven't seen any real buzz and it looks like ticket sales are poor.
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