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By Jake Donovan - The news that Floyd Mayweather Jr. was once again returning to the ring was just the beginning of the good news that would accompany the “Star Power” press tour.
Not only was one of the two biggest – if not only true – stars returning to the sport, but doing so against newly crowned welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz, a fighter ten years his junior who is in his prime and coming off of the biggest win of his young career.
Even better news – the pay-per-view headliner would come with a star-studded supporting cast, including undefeated rising star Saul Alvarez and the legendary (albeit faded) Erik Morales in separate televised bouts. Rounding out the telecast is a solid junior welterweight scrap between Jessie Vargas and Josesito Lopez, a bout that carries possible future title fight implications.
Given what the sport normally offers in the way of pay-per-view events, this one carried the rare scent of giving fans their money’s worth.
That was until it was revealed that this will be the most expensive boxing pay-per-view event ever.
The announcement that “Star Power” comes with a $59.95 price tag ($10 more for those who still charge extra for HD) was offered in a casual manner as if it were commonplace.
Suddenly, the selling points of the event were put under a microscope.
Alvarez is facing Alfonso Gomez in a junior middleweight bout that few if any predict to be very competitive. In fact, some oddsmakers have the 21-year old Mexican as heavy as a 22-1 favorite to win what is being billed as a split site co-main event.
As he has been led to believe that he is above being referred to as anyone’s co-feature attraction, Alvarez headlines a card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Everyone else involved in the show – including the heart of the media coverage - will be situated at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the evening’s true headliner and its supporting cast.
Morales’ appearance comes at the heavy price of compromising what’s left of the sport’s integrity. He is now looking at his third mentioned opponent in Pablo Cano, who accepts assignment on short notice after Lucas Matthysse was forced to withdraw after suffering an untimely illness last week. Matthysse was a replacement – and a massive upgrade at that – for Jorge Barrios, the originally suggested opponent for this pay-per-view slot.
The aforementioned integrity hit comes with what’s at stake in this fight – an alphabet belt, which if won by Morales would make him the first ever in the history of Mexican-born prizefighters to capture a “world” title in four separate weight classes.
Those who weren’t completely disgusted by such a thought were willing to look the other way when he was still facing Matthysse. What came with the fight wasn’t nearly as important as the fight itself, which promised to be an all-out war (does Morales know any other way, especially these days?) for however long it lasted, and quite possibly steal the show in terms of pure action. [Click Here To Read More]
Not only was one of the two biggest – if not only true – stars returning to the sport, but doing so against newly crowned welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz, a fighter ten years his junior who is in his prime and coming off of the biggest win of his young career.
Even better news – the pay-per-view headliner would come with a star-studded supporting cast, including undefeated rising star Saul Alvarez and the legendary (albeit faded) Erik Morales in separate televised bouts. Rounding out the telecast is a solid junior welterweight scrap between Jessie Vargas and Josesito Lopez, a bout that carries possible future title fight implications.
Given what the sport normally offers in the way of pay-per-view events, this one carried the rare scent of giving fans their money’s worth.
That was until it was revealed that this will be the most expensive boxing pay-per-view event ever.
The announcement that “Star Power” comes with a $59.95 price tag ($10 more for those who still charge extra for HD) was offered in a casual manner as if it were commonplace.
Suddenly, the selling points of the event were put under a microscope.
Alvarez is facing Alfonso Gomez in a junior middleweight bout that few if any predict to be very competitive. In fact, some oddsmakers have the 21-year old Mexican as heavy as a 22-1 favorite to win what is being billed as a split site co-main event.
As he has been led to believe that he is above being referred to as anyone’s co-feature attraction, Alvarez headlines a card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Everyone else involved in the show – including the heart of the media coverage - will be situated at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the evening’s true headliner and its supporting cast.
Morales’ appearance comes at the heavy price of compromising what’s left of the sport’s integrity. He is now looking at his third mentioned opponent in Pablo Cano, who accepts assignment on short notice after Lucas Matthysse was forced to withdraw after suffering an untimely illness last week. Matthysse was a replacement – and a massive upgrade at that – for Jorge Barrios, the originally suggested opponent for this pay-per-view slot.
The aforementioned integrity hit comes with what’s at stake in this fight – an alphabet belt, which if won by Morales would make him the first ever in the history of Mexican-born prizefighters to capture a “world” title in four separate weight classes.
Those who weren’t completely disgusted by such a thought were willing to look the other way when he was still facing Matthysse. What came with the fight wasn’t nearly as important as the fight itself, which promised to be an all-out war (does Morales know any other way, especially these days?) for however long it lasted, and quite possibly steal the show in terms of pure action. [Click Here To Read More]
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