Marketing 101: Or How Arum and Schaefer Camps Bluff to Sell Fight

Leo Reyes Dec 29, 2009 http://www.digitaljournal.com/img/3/3/7/3/0/6/i/4/9/6/o/3403135391_a5b0c3f503_m.jpg Bob Arum may be bluffing when he said Monday that the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is off and that he will bring in Paulie Malignaggi instead to face Pacquiao on March 13. Boxing experts say that his bluffs create hype and awareness to sell the fight. Marketing 101: Or How Arum and Schaefer Camps Bluff to Sell Fight Some if not most boxing writers and commentators are saying that the Pacquiao-Mayweather boxing match will happen as scheduled on March 13. And the reason why the fight will happen is obvious. There's just too much money that will go down the drain if the fight does not happen and both Pacquiao and Mayweather know that letting go of at least $70 million net each will bring them many sleepless nights. But why is there too much controversy in the way the fight is being packaged? Again the reason is obvious. Controversy creates hype for the upcoming fight. The more controversial it becomes the more people will be drawn to the fight. And when they are hooked, they become potential contributors to the money pot by either purchasing tickets, subscribing to pay-per-view TV feeds or just by just patronizing the products and services that promoters and boxers are endorsing. One of the most effective 'marketing tool' that Arum and Schaefer are using is the 'nego bluff' or simply bluffing while negotiating. A full week before the announced promotional tour in New York and California by the two boxers and their entourage, the Internet sports sites are exploding with subjects and topics about the upcoming mega fight. Many viewers and readers of print media are hooked to their respective sources for news about the result of the on-going fight negotiations. When Bob Arum said Monday that he will sign up Paulie Malignaggi to face Pacquiao on March 13 instead of Mayweather, he was simply bluffing. He knows that by doing so, he is creating hype among boxing fanatics around the world who are salivating for a Pacquiao-Mayweather match and to these boxing fans, any substitute opponent is unacceptable. Of course Schaefer and the Mayweather camp will call the bluff in order to sustain public awareness that the event needs to generate massive patronage. Boxing commentators and analysts say that the Pacquiao-Mayweather match has long been agreed upon between the two promoters (Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions). It is a done deal according to them. And the real reason why the contending parties are 'washing their dirty linen in public' is their common desire to create hype and maximum public awareness to the promoter's most ambitious promotional event. The promoters must recoup their investments and make substantial amount of money to pay off the fighters and their staff, cost of venue usage, promotional costs, etc. So far, Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer have been quite successful in creating public awareness on the upcoming fight as shown by the news firestorm in both Internet and print media. Journalists who are privy to the on-going negotiations say that the Pacquiao-Mayweather match has been agreed upon by both parties weeks back and the quarrel between Arum and Schaefer are just for promotional purposes. They believe that final announcement for the Pacquiao-Mayweather match on March 13 will be made any day now.