By Leo Reyes
There may come a time when promoters like Bob Arum and Oscar de la Hoya will one day refuse to promote a boxing fight if the public will not buy pay-per-view subscriptions or tickets for a boxing show.
This grim scenario will become a reality sooner than everyone can think about. And when that happens, boxing will die with it, resulting in massive unemployment to people who are dependent on the sport for their livelihood.
Paying fans, especially those who buy pay-per-view tickets for private viewing, are now pushing the alarm button, telling boxers and promoters they may no longer buy tickets if they are given inferior, botched and boring fights.
An indication the fans are fed up is the feedback media is getting from the audience during the Nonito Donaire vs Omar Narvaez fight at the Madison Square Garden. A lot of bull sh…ts and more harsher words for fighters and promoters have been heard from the live audience and we all know Bob Arum and the fighters heard them loud and clear.
Of course the audience as well as the home viewers expect a good fight to entertain them. And the best way to do that is to showcase their skill in the ring. Fans are willing to pay $300 for a good fight at Madison or MGM Grand if the fighters live up to the hype or prior fight promotions.
In the third quarter of this year, paying fans were bombarded with botched and boring fights. What is surprising is these fights featured topnotch boxers who were known crowd drawers.
Last September 17, paying fans were enticed to watched live and on pay-per-view television, the fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and the then WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz. Instead of watching a quality fight from no less than Floyd Mayweather, Jr., paying fans were treated to a lowest form of sportsmanship witnessed by millions around the world.
As we all recall, Mayweather won a knockout decision over Ortiz as he punched the WBC welterweight champion when his defenses were down.
The audience complained when the bout ended in the fourth round with some demanding a refund of their tickets in protest of the unsportsmanlike attitude of Mayweather along with the poor officiating by the referee.
On October 15, Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson figured in a light-heavyweight showdown at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the WBC light heavyweight championship.
The Hopkins vs. Dawson fight ended in a second round TKO in favor of Dawson after he “manhandled” Hopkins and threw him into the rope and onto the canvas where Hopkins was unable to rise to beat the bell and claiming a fractured joint as a result of intentional foul by Dawson.
The bout ended in the second round without much action to appease the angry crowd. Again the audience complained with some demanding refund of their tickets.
The latest of these failed fights was the Donaire vs. Narvaez fight held Saturday at the Madison Square Garden.
The crowd as well as television audience were expecting a quality fight as Donaire has always been an entertaining fighter.
However, Narvaez opted not to fight and was contented with just defending himself throughout the 12 rounds despite the protests from the audience for his fighting stance. Donaire did his part but Narvaez opted to just concentrate on his defense and collect his paycheck. Overall, it was a boring fight and again the audience were so angry with some demanding refunds of their tickets.
If these kind of fights continue, pretty soon we will find our boxing venues empty and our boxers and promoters losing the survival game.
On November 12, eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao will try to revive the sagging popularity of the sport.
With Mexican counter-puncher Juan Manuel Marquez on the opposite corner, we may once more see a glitter in the now dull boxing ring and hopefully it will give our audience and pay-per-view TV subscribers a thing to look forward to.
For now, let’s hope Pacquiao and Marquez will give us an entertaining and truly enjoyable fight come November 12.
16 Comments
Comment by PACFAN — October 23, 2011 @
9:16 pm
FRAUD is a real Fraud.
Sylvester Stallone
Fact Finding and Truths: (SPECIAL) This Day, Give us our Daily bread and Let us Celebrate The Legend of Emmanuel Dapidran (Manny) Pacquiao (OCT. 23, 2011)
Comment by Delpilar — October 24, 2011 @
5:57 am
Manny needs to close the Juan Manuel Marquez Chapter in his book. And give it a good ending, that’s all folks.
Comment by Mr J. — October 24, 2011 @
2:37 pm
You forgot to mention Ortiz illegally HEADBUTTED Mayweather….so that is okay for fans to see?? And you said” Mayweather KO Ortiz while his defenses were down” isnt that LEGAL in boxing? OMG, people like you are killing the sport; as long as YOUR favorite fighter wins its okay, but anything else is wrong…SMH
Comment by Ramih2085 — October 24, 2011 @
5:41 pm
Beeing objective gives you credibility. You lost some of your credibility with some of what you said. Blaming one fighter is amateurish and you should tell a story from both sides and not only the one that pleases you. This is one of the reasons i hate internet journalism, people like you communicate the side of the story that pleases them.
Comment by ira — October 24, 2011 @
7:34 pm
Hello Leo !
PPV fights ending early , or in controversy . What’s new about that ? You put your money down , and hope for q great fight night , but there are no guarantees .
Do you want a fighter to carry another , just to make it look good ? When Oriz bent his legs , and launched his skull @ Floyd , did you expect Floyd to let that slide as just another foul ? Ortiz propelled his head – much harder than an eight ounce glove , Should Floyd have carried him to make the PPV and live crowd appeased ? HELL NO ! Ortiz planned it , and he got what he deserved .
I see you’re still up to your old Bleacher Reporter tricks : This time , it’s Manny as eight time champion ; next time , we’ll hear about the Fighting Congressman , and don’t forget to tell us about his home province , and his aspirations for the Presidency .
Tell me : Do you want your boy , Pacquiao to carry Marquez to ” give the fans a good fight ” , or should he drop him the first chance he gets ?
Comment by Juan — October 24, 2011 @
9:41 pm
@Mr J. Agreed. I was with for the most part but he failed to mention that it was Ortiz who started it with the ILLEGAL headbutt and also that Mayweather hit him after the ref said time. He’s clearly biased and a Pac-Man fan. Nothing wrong with being a Pac-Man fan, just be objective. This article would be perfect if he covered the facts.
Pingback by BOXING NEEDS MANNY PACQUIAO TO REVIVE DECLINING PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE SPORT « Boxing News Daily — October 24, 2011 @
11:48 pm
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Comment by alex — October 25, 2011 @
5:32 am
MANNY WILL KO MARQUEZ AND EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY, DESPITE THE FACT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST FEW BOXING FIGHTS , BOXING IS STILL GREAT FOR THOSE WHO LOVE BOXING, IT NEVER DIES . AND I HOPE LINARES IS HEALING FAST COZ IS A GREAT FIGHTER AND SOON HE WILL BE A GREAT CHAMPION , DON’T GIVE UP LINARES , CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM BACK IN THE RING. I ONLY SAW HIS LAST FIGHT AND I THINK HE’S GREAT AND BOXING NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE HIM, HE IS A WARRIOR!
Comment by Delpilar — October 25, 2011 @
5:42 am
GBP, HBO, and the NBC did not do a proper job in selecting referees to both Floyd vs Ortiz & Hopkins vs Dawson.
Aside from the referees, one or both protagonists could be part of the unwarranted acts.
Ortiz had a happy smile just after being counted out. Hopkins has a history of acting hurt whenever he is a receiver of a possible foul.
Remember Cortez was just too slow in putting himself between Floyd & Ortiz, & inept in properly putting the two fighters in their corners before signalling a clear resumption of the bout. Ortiz showed there was something very fishy in his being counted out because of the Mona Lisa smile he gave.
We all know the referee was totally wrong when Hopkins was given back his belt after being TKOed in the ring.
Comment by Manny — October 25, 2011 @
7:59 am
Real boxing fans would not mind watching a real clean fight between Ortiz and Mayweather 2. That fight had the making of a top 5 fight of the year. Regardless of what people say, as a boxing fan that fight was close. Pacman has his hands full in his next fight and remember styles make fights. Marquez has a good chance of winning Pacman, more than people are giving him credit for. In a way it is good that people are starting to tell it like it is because we need to see great fighters fight each other.
Comment by Weezy — October 25, 2011 @
4:42 pm
funny how the writer fails to mention the disaster that was Pacquiao-Mosley. Talk about people wanting their money back. If you’re gonna speak on whack ppv’s than how could leave out pac and mosley. I know why because it’s Pac. And you don’t wanna make him look bad.
Comment by ira — October 25, 2011 @
6:51 pm
@ Weezy : Right !!! If these two guys touched gloves one more time ( Manny and Shane ) , MGM should have given them a room .
Let’s not forget all the hopping and skipping that Manny did in the ring that night ,
Fans paid to see him box , not dance !
This fight went the distance . Is this what Many means when he says he wants to make his fans happy ?
Manny , when you finally do fight Floyd , PLEASE wear your yellow gloves !
p.s. Let’s not hear about cramping – this guy’s got Ariza in his camp .
Comment by Mark — October 27, 2011 @
6:18 am
How is it that whoever made this article failed to mention Pacquiao vs Mosely which was boring as hell? Shane Mosely was back pedaling and manny pacquaio was so unskilled he couldn’t stop him? That was the first boring big fight of the year. WIth Mayweather and Ortiz it was entertaining until Ortiz ruined the show.
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