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By Cliff Rold - Any time a sport loses its biggest cash cow, the straw which stirs its drinks, it hurts. This week’s retirement of megastar Oscar De La Hoya will be no different. His last two pay-per-view shows did close to four million buys.
I’m not sure how many shows would have to be tallied together to get to that number over the same time period, but it’s a hell of a lot more than two.
Ouch.
Like a lot of Oscar’s career, this week’s lamentations about the end of his professional fighting tenure have been a healthy mix of substance (i.e. examinations of his impact on the game, reasoned evaluations of his accomplishments) and the substantially silly (winning ten belts is not the same thing as being a ten-time world titlist).
In the end, Oscar in the ring had a once in a lifetime, dream of a career. He made a ton of money for himself and others, brought mainstream attention to the sport when it wasn’t getting much, and won his share of big fights while signing to face more top guys and tough outs than anyone in his time. [details]
I’m not sure how many shows would have to be tallied together to get to that number over the same time period, but it’s a hell of a lot more than two.
Ouch.
Like a lot of Oscar’s career, this week’s lamentations about the end of his professional fighting tenure have been a healthy mix of substance (i.e. examinations of his impact on the game, reasoned evaluations of his accomplishments) and the substantially silly (winning ten belts is not the same thing as being a ten-time world titlist).
In the end, Oscar in the ring had a once in a lifetime, dream of a career. He made a ton of money for himself and others, brought mainstream attention to the sport when it wasn’t getting much, and won his share of big fights while signing to face more top guys and tough outs than anyone in his time. [details]
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