Originally posted by PK3434
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main events jsut doesn't have the budget. kathy duva is on record saying that she's budgeted 5000 grand for marketing for kovalev's fights in the past.
RN is mostly to blame for letting their guy rake them over the coals . he did it for tuneups as well. they're looking to make an investment in andre ward, and they thnink they have the msucle to turn him into the next PPV star [the next floyd mayweather.]
floyd mayweather was a perfect storm of marketing. he played a villain role extremely well. in his prime it was tough to put a glove on him. ward's just an *******, he's not villain. you can put a glove on him, he'll just hold your other glove so you can't do damage, and if he gets hit he'll weather a storm and find another way to beat you.
floyd would just outclass peope with his boxing, and it was pleasing on the eyes. a casual fan could see the big swing and misses that floyd would elicit from his opponents, or the picture perfect counters. ward does things on the inside and with turning and holding that make him a top shelf operator, but it's not nearly the eye pleasing style that floyd had.
people elect big fighters. you've got to have "it" to sell to casual fans. and casual fans decide what "it" is!
floyd was a villain. people hated him and they couldnt' do a damn thing about it. he made people jealous. manny was an underdog. here's this tiny little asian guy with a knockout punch beating up welterweights. people were drawn to the novelty. oscar was just bloody good looking and had a left hook for the history book. ali divided an entire country, and was a paragon of the racial and SES clash of the civil rights era and the decade or so that followed it. mike tyson acted like the guy in a back alley that you wish you never saw! and you had his style, and his fall from grace, to bolster that idea.
true, crossover, bonafide stars are elected. they are not produced. ward's not going to crossover and become a star unless he can do something in the ring to make him a more palatable commodity to the casual fan.
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