by David P. Greisman - Allow me, for a moment, to recall two brief conversations that took place during another great weekend of boxing.
One friend, a fellow reporter, told me of the results of an informal poll he’d conducted, asking which pay-per-view fight his readers were most looking forward to. An overwhelming majority picked the bout between 140-pound titleholders Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse, and not the main event from that same broadcast pitting Canelo Alvarez against Floyd Mayweather, nor either of the other two upcoming major matches, Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios. I agreed with them.
Another acquaintance sounded somewhat surprised when I told him I was no longer as excited about Mayweather’s and Pacquiao’s fights as I once might have been.
It wasn’t intended to be a knock on their talents or their personalities. They remain two of the biggest stars in this sport, with legions of fans who will pay hundreds or thousands to travel just to see them perform, and with millions more staying home on a couple Saturdays each year to watch pay-per-view shows that are essentially the Super Bowl of The Sweet Science.
Their storylines are still compelling. Mayweather, his legacy long ago secured, is finishing his career with a string of huge paydays. That includes this September’s fight with a younger, heavier, hard-punching junior middleweight in Alvarez, who also happens to be the biggest boxing star in Mexico and who is increasingly popular within the United States. [Click Here To Read More]
One friend, a fellow reporter, told me of the results of an informal poll he’d conducted, asking which pay-per-view fight his readers were most looking forward to. An overwhelming majority picked the bout between 140-pound titleholders Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse, and not the main event from that same broadcast pitting Canelo Alvarez against Floyd Mayweather, nor either of the other two upcoming major matches, Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios. I agreed with them.
Another acquaintance sounded somewhat surprised when I told him I was no longer as excited about Mayweather’s and Pacquiao’s fights as I once might have been.
It wasn’t intended to be a knock on their talents or their personalities. They remain two of the biggest stars in this sport, with legions of fans who will pay hundreds or thousands to travel just to see them perform, and with millions more staying home on a couple Saturdays each year to watch pay-per-view shows that are essentially the Super Bowl of The Sweet Science.
Their storylines are still compelling. Mayweather, his legacy long ago secured, is finishing his career with a string of huge paydays. That includes this September’s fight with a younger, heavier, hard-punching junior middleweight in Alvarez, who also happens to be the biggest boxing star in Mexico and who is increasingly popular within the United States. [Click Here To Read More]
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