By Luis Sandaval
Floyd Mayweather will once again participate in what promises to be one of the biggest and most financially lucrative fights in the sports’ history when he takes on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.
Mayweather along with Oscar De La Hoya hold the record for the most Pay Per View buys with their fight in 2007 having 2.45 million purchases. This fight with Alvarez assures to be on the same level and some even think it could break the record as Golden Boy has promised to have the fight accompanied with a stellar undercard.
Mayweather’s success as a household name goes hand in hand with his skill set which is regarded as the best in the sport. His defense along with his ring IQ, speed and fighting ability has led to an undefeated career thus far. Despite being considered the pound for pound best, there are still some who refuse to give him proper credit or respect according to Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of respect. I think sometimes you have fans who are uneducated about the history of the sport and the accomplishments. How can you not have a genuine respect for any athlete who’s been the most dominant in their sport for the last 17 years? How can you not respect that? You’d have to be an idiot not to respect that” said Ellerbe.
“Love him or hate him you got to respect his fight game. You don’t have to like him as an individual because you don’t know him but you got to respect his fight game and what he brings to the table. Here is a guy that’s taken boxing – which is a niche sport – and he’s the highest paid athlete in all of sports”.
Floyd is one of the few boxers who has been able to tap into the mainstream market and put the sport of boxing on a huge stage whenever he fights. Boxing used to be considered a major mainstream sport but over the years it was pushed to the back of the shelf and struggled to retain a mainstream audience.
Ellerbe feels Mayweather doesn’t get the deserved credit for being the fighter who continues to push boxing to the forefront and giving other fighters opportunities to make the most money.
“Every fighter that has ever fought Floyd has earned the most money that they’ve ever earned. You can’t name one fighter out there that before fighting Floyd and after fighting Floyd that they have generated or made more money. That’s one of his greatest strengths that he brings to the table: his star power. And star power is something you can never over look. He’s the one that’s attracting the general casual fan to the sport. And like I said, he doesn’t get enough credit for putting this sport of boxing on his back and continue to elevate the sport. By him doing that, all he’s doing is creating more opportunities and sponsorships. Hopefully one day soon boxing will become a mainstream sport again” Ellerbe would state.
Whether boxing as a sport ever returns to its original form is yet to be seen and something all fans have been waiting and hoping for. The one thing we do know is September 14th will be a major day in boxing as two of its biggest stars will attract the masses to a sport that has been said to be dying on the vine for years. At the moment however, it still looks alive and thriving.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to BoxingScene Radio, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
