The Fight To Save Boxing....Were Still Waiting

Is there any point to think about a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather match up at this time?  After the atrocity of the Bradley-Pacquiao judging, boxing is literally in the gutter.  The UFC is blowing by them in strides.  The general public has no interest if it doesn't involve Pacquioa or Mayweather.  Maybe it is good if they never fight.  Maybe it gives people a chance to get noticed.  Who is Timothy Bradley fighting next?  How about Victor Ortiz?  Let me ask you, who did Shane Mosley fight after he fought Pacquiao or Mayweather?  We as fans care about Mayweather and Pacquiao, that's it.

There are many theories as to why this fight has not happened.  Manny Pacquiao is represented by Top Rank and they want him to fight other Top Rank opponents.  The two fighters cannot agree on a payout for each fighter.  Mayweather is using drug testing to prolong the fight.  The list goes on and on.  The only similarity between them all is we have no idea which one is true and which one isn't. 

I understand that the huge boxing events still draw bigger than the UFC events, but what does that mean for the future of the sport?  Going back 50 years you always knew who the next great was going to be.  We always either had someone excel in the Olympics or in amateurs and you knew he would one day be champion.  Where are they now?  In the last two Olympics, USA has one medal (bronze in Beijing) and I bet you couldn't even remember who it was (it was Deontay Wilder).  Where have our standards gone?  Where are the days where Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were lighting up arenas.  I am not even going to mention the days where Joe Louis was fighting Ali and George Foreman was waiting in the wings.  The sport is still beating UFC in the big events, but that is it. 

UFC is showing much lower numbers than the boom it experienced a couple of years ago.  This would be the perfect time for boxing to regain control of the demographic.  If the WBC put on a mega event the was main evented by Mayweather Pacquiao, they would regain their place atop combat sports once again.  Boxing has a serious chance right now and they are not taking advantage of it.  If this opportunity slips through their hands, boxing may never surface to the top again.  They have no great up and coming talent.  They have nobody who is must watch, besides Mayweather and Pacquiao.  They have a pair of Russian brothers who never lose but refuse to fight each other.  (On a side note I would be first in line to buy a Klitschko brother's heavyweight title fight.  That just sounds like an old school barn burner.)  The sports has nothing to look forward to and everything to lose. 

Will we ever see a Mayweather vs Pacquiao?  I believe we will.  Unfortunately, I think they are going to wait until it is too late.  They will bill it as the fight we all have been waiting for, but is more like the fight we are over waiting for and you lost my interest.  Pacquiao is looking to fight Juan Manuel Marquez next.  this will be their fourth fight.  What more can they show us?  What can boxing gain from this?  Mayweather will most likely face Cotto again. Again, where are we going with these rematches in which the star was clearly the winner?   Have we not learned anything about the Timothy Bradley match up?  The only thing you can do is lose interest in these fighters.  If Pacquiao loses another fight in not so controversial fashion he would lose the luster that he has and probably go back to politics full time.  If Mayweather loses to Cotto then he loses his undefeated record and the swagger he portrays is for null. 

I understand that there is a lot to be worked out, but for the sake of the sport you guys have to fight.  It may not save boxing as a whole, but it sure as hell is a start.  It will break PPV records, it will draw world wide interest, and it will make people more aware of what we have been missing.  We miss boxing, and we want it back.  Put your differences aside and make this happen.