Originally Posted by reedickyaluss
Now that Golden Boy Promotions is one less Horseman in Marco Antonio Barrera, the notion of promoting Mayweather has just become promoted itself. And the notion of Arum pissing himself has just pissed itself; as well. Since bailing the Top Rank banner, Mayweather has no real promotional support system but himself. And let's be honest, 'Mayweather Promotions' holds the same amount of water that 'Winky Promotions' does unless working with Golden Boy or the likes of Don King Productions. This is chapter-and-verse with Mayweather's career progression: Great fighter, little drawing power, unappreciated by the masses for his genuinely pure talent. It took the right opponent to propel Mayweather to bankable heights. Wisely hitching onto the momentum, Mayweather gave the nod to, not just appearing, but participating - and doing it quite well - on the ABC hit 'Dancing with the Stars.' He followed it with a successful World Welterweight Championship defense against World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton; then did a little bit of play-fighting in the WWE. Considering such different forays, Mayweather saw, and absorbed, the business sides of each form of entertainment. Should Mayweather join the executive ranks at Golden Boy, he'll bring the lessons he's learned; being an ever-too-brief crossover commodity, making 'Money' himself a slick, suit-wearing rainmaker of a smile in the tradition of Diddy as well as a member of the Golden Boy fold that Oscar would be insane to overlook.
And if that wasn't enough, how 'bout the build-up (Had to handle that myself. ‘The Lone Gunmen’ handle the lowdown-oriented material)?...
With the pieces already in place and fan criticism for any opponent Oscar proposes to face, i.e. Pacquiao or Mora, De la Hoya could choose to call his last fight against Steve Forbes his final fight altogether (Insert enraged fan response...but remember, it's all a ruse). The spin could be that Forbes is a skilled competitor, a former IBF junior lightweight titlist and a 'Contender' (season two) participant. What more would Oscar need to leave satisfied (wink, wink!)? Yeah, it would be piss-poor but Oscar has made eyebrow-arching statements in the past (getting 20 friends together in a living room to pay two clams a head to watch De La Hoya-Yory Boy Campos on pay-per-view comes to mind). With a wink and a nudge, De La Hoya fires off the secret cue for Mayweather to ‘come back’; deciding that he had to prove his first win over De La Hoya wasn't a fluke and that he couldn't live with merely a split decision win (Mayweather’s only split decision victory, courtesy of judge Tommy Kaczmarek). Oscar accepts the challenge in mock anger and takes the challenge because his dance card is 'empty.' The resulting effect would be like holding a palm over a vacuum hose for about 15 seconds, then letting go. If 'Unfinished Business' wasn't already taken (Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II), it would be the perfect title for the event.
The fight would be only to sate Mayweather's fur-lined ego and make both men even more truckloads of cash then they already have. No crappy alphabet belts on the line. No crappy sanctioning fees to dole out. Nothing but a fight and a real fight at that (This may be a conspiracy but, not once, did I claim the rematch was anything but on the real. Sorry, ‘Smoking Man’). In fact, that's the most genuine thing about this business venture.
There's still the end result to consider. The end-of-the-12th-round, final bell judgment. No matter if Oscar wins or loses, it might be safe to assume he's out; that is, unless he takes that one last winning fight against that one opponent who's not truly tested but has a big enough name to squeeze out one more fight for. Junior middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fits that bill perfectly. The history's already in place, with De La Hoya beating Papa Chavez twice via TKO in 1996 and 1998. The timing is perfect. The angle is perfect. Both fighters are well-matched, comparatively. It just works for that one last victory.
And then there was Mayweather.
As mentioned before, there will be no title belt at stake in the rematch. Should Mayweather emerge victorious, there might be one last green strap left to take. That one is currently won by Andre Berto; who won the vacant belt in June and is slated to defend against none other than Steve Forbes himself in September. At both Mayweather's and Berto's stages of the game, a Mayweather win for the belt he used to hold would not just be possible, but expected.
And let's just say this happens early enough in 2009. Maybe April? May? Hell, maybe even June. If Floyd doesn't hang 'em up, there's only one fight left to pursue at the ginormous, money-making, pay-per-view level.
A welterweight throwdown with Manny Pacquiao.
For all the same reasons Maxboxing.com's Steve Kim laid out in his recent "I'm Drinking The Kool-Aid" piece last week; regarding a De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight, I see Mayweather-Pacquiao as a realistic and viable match between two comparatively parallel athletes. Mayweather's last fight at lightweight (against Phillip N'dou), Pacquiao's current division, was five years ago and four years later, Floyd was squaring off against Oscar at 154. Is the weight gain really that big of a deal? The WBC belt notwithstanding, what would be truly on the line would be the mythical Pound-For-Pound designation between the two best active fighters of the last four years; both possessors of the dubious distinction that, curiously, means almost as much as any stramineous alphabet strap.
Should Mayweather prevail, he goes out already a first-ballot Hall of Famer but takes with him what he left behind; along with the criticism that he still never faced a true welterweight, pre- or post-World Welterweight Championship.
Should Pacquiao, another first ballot entrant in the hallowed halls of Canastota, New York, win, he takes that Pound-For-Pound designation and Mayweather's WBC belt to retirement (assuming this would be his final fight).
To make the hypothetical even more engaging, Floyd can skip the Berto fight, altogether (especially if Mayweather sees risk involved), and face Pacquiao in a 'Cinco De Mayo' weekend 'battle for honor,' made to defend all Mexican entities Pacquiao has vanquished; as well as De La Hoya (as a gesture of penance, due to Mayweather's backward sombrero-wearing display; prior to their first fight...Good lookin' out, GBP execs!). By May 2, 2009, both Mayweather and Pacquiao will be rested and recovered from their scraps with De La Hoya and Humberto Soto, respectively. Your winner? Talk amongst yourselves and behave; or else I’ll have to fire up the garden hose later to get your loud, fantasy-fight debating asses off my lawn.
So, there you have it, Dear Howlers. Oscar De La Hoya will get the revenge fight he wants and Floyd Mayweather Jr. gets the excuse he needs to return to action.
You didn't REALLY think he was retired now, did you?
Then again, I just might be full of s__t.
Damn 'Acme' crystal ball.
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08-21-2008, 04:47 AM
