While Gatti and Mayweather Argue, Castillo Sneaks In

[ProBox1]

There are fighters whose talents are unquestionable but for whatever reason they can’t attract a crowd when they fight. Take Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather. This fighter is as talented as any fighter today but he has yet to highlight his own big PPV show. Everyone feels that Mayweather is the better fighter compared to Arturo Gatti but it is Gatti who sells the tickets. The force behind the proposed Mayweather-Gatti PPV was Gatti’s popularity and the fact that Gatti owns a piece of the junior welterweight championship. My point is that at this stage of Mayweather's career, he should be a major star but he is not. The recent collapse of the Gatti-Mayweather fight demonstrates Mayweather's dilemma, namely whom can Mayweather fight to get a title shot and a big PPV. Let say that Ricky Hatton upsets Koysta Tszyu. Hatton is the bigger draw and he can easily fill out an arena in England. So Mayweather is not guaranteed that he would get the lion's share of that purse and again, it will be Hatton that fills the seats, not Mayweather. So Hatton will be in the driver's seat in any negotiations with Mayweather just as Gatti is now.

Vivian Harris? Well, Mayweather could gain a title and maybe some leverage when it came to pondering bigger fights. However, a Vivian Harris- Mayweather fight is nothing more than a Boxing after Dark on HBO. No PPV for that one; Mayweather does not have enough star power to carry the ratings. Contrast to Oscar De La Hoya, who could sell out a PPV fighting the local janitor. De La Hoya is a star, Mayweather is not. [details]