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Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr: Boxing Was Already Dead, So Who Cares!
Kevin Murphy
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Contributor Written on January 29, 2010
Boxing as we know it is officially over. Kiss the sweet science good bye. It's time for all the fans who follow the sport to officially hang up the gloves and move onto bigger and better things like MMA or, well, MMA.
Haven't we seen this movie before? You know, the one where everyone declares boxing dead. Boxing is not dead. The sport of boxing isn't going anywhere. Did you hear me? I said, boxing isn't going anywhere!
So the super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't going to happen, so what! This fight wasn't going to save boxing anyway. It wasn't going to save boxing because the sport doesn't need to be saved in the first place.
Didn't the Mayweather vs. De La Hoya fight have the same title? "The Fight To Save Boxing?" Didn't the Holyfield vs. Tyson bout get labeled as the "Fight To Save Boxing?" Last time I checked, neither super fight lived up to the billing, and boxing is still alive and kicking.
How many fights can you slap this tag on? "The Fight To Save Boxing!" Think about it for a minute. This title is totally irrelevant. It's just something shameless promoters like to say to pump a fight. It doesn't mean a damn thing because there will always be another big bout. There will always be another super fight, and when it rolls around it will be labeled, "The Fight To Save Boxing." How original.
There is a reason boxing is still around. There is a reason the Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight has been so publicized. The reason is people still love boxing. People still love the idea of two gladiators throwing hands. People still love the idea of hand to hand combat and only hand to hand combat.
There is something so pure about the sport. There is something that is so riveting about two men standing toe to toe. It's a pair of fists vs. a pair of fists. Nobody is going to get kicked in the head. Nobody is going to get thrown in an arm bar or choked out. It's the science and strategy of the sport people love. Boxing is so much more than a fight. It is an art. It is poetry in motion. It is a dance that can take a lifetime to perfect.
Boxing will always have a fan base. There will always be a market for the sport. Intelligent sports enthusiasts know this. How many times can a sport be proclaimed dead, only to rise from the grave again? How many times will this happen before the casual sports enthusiasts realize the sport was, has, and always will be alive and well?
If the sport of boxing has passed away, how do you explain the projected pay per view buys the Paqcquio vs. Mayweather Jr. fight was supposed to get? Upwards of 2.44 million buys were projected. A total that would have been an all-time pay-per-view record. The record it would have surpassed at 2.44 million previously belonged to none other then Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya set back in 2007. How ironic, the two top pay-per-view buys of all time belong to boxing, and I'm supposed to be fooled into thinking the sport is dead? The numbers don't lie. Boxing is still very much alive.
I look at boxing as a sleeping giant. Just because it doesn't make noise for awhile doesn't mean the sport isn't alive! It will always be a giant in the sporting world and will always have its time to shine.
Call it what you want. Whether it is labeled a super fight or a "Fight To Save Boxing" is totally irrelevant. It isn't a catchy phrase that keeps this sport alive. It hasn't seen a 10 count or been KO'd for one reason and one reason only. It's a part of us and always will be. It's what we refer to as the sweet science, and it only continues to get sweeter with time. Keep saying the sport of boxing is dead. How sweet it will be when the sleeping giant is awoken once again.
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