I earlier wrote that the first De La Hoya-Mayweather bout was bad for boxing. Now that it appears there is a rematch in place for later this year, I’ll simply reiterate my earlier claim. Before I trash this potential matchup, I have to acknowledge that for both men, the fight is a no-brainer, financially at least. Even if the rematch does not match the record-setting PPV and tickets sales that the first installment generated, it likely will be 2008’s biggest fight. However, I compare this fight to someone (hypothetically) producing The Da Vinci Code II – a pointless follow-up to an over-hyped and uninspiring, yet commercially successful original.
You wanna hate me, then hate me; what can I do?…but keep gettin’ money, funny I was just like you.
Hate Me Now by Nas
Who do I think wins the fight? Well, technically, they both win. They will again be earning millions, with minimal risk in the ring. Expect a repeat of the first fight, unless Floyd gets crazy and runs into something silly (which is as likely to happen as this fight being exciting).
So who loses? For starters, Miguel Cotto has to sit back and hope the winner fights him. He appeared to be the logical opponent for Mayweather in the wake of his destruction of Ricky Hatton. The other loser is a familiar one. You guessed it – it’s you and I, the fans. Despite this fact, like many of you, I will complain about the matchup during the pre-fight buildup, reluctantly buy the PPV, and then complain about the fight afterwards. It’s an all-too-familiar scenario that many fans have unfortunately gotten used to in recent years.
Floyd now calls himself Money Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya’s boxing namesake is the Golden Boy. So it should come as no surprise that this fight has a "cash register" ring to it. I can’t knock both men’s business savvy, as they are proving to be forces to be reckoned with outside of the ring. But at what cost are these efforts costing them their "boxing souls?" History will ultimately tell the story, but I have always preferred the fighting part of the phrase prize fighting. For better (their own net worth) or for worse (fight fans’ enjoyment), Mayweather and De La Hoya recently seem to have their eyes solely set on the prize part.
very good article man…very true……likely to be another boring fight that will like make alot of money and the only losers will be the people who waste their money purchasing the pay per view.
I hate to say I agree with you, but it’s looking like that may be the case. I see NOTHING that would make me assume that the Mayweather-De La Hoya rematch will be must-see TV.
mayweather needs to fight cotto. this upcoming fight is a waiste, cotto is the only one that can bang with mayweather we need fights that boxing fans demand
this is a shame
Louie, I TOTALLY agree with you, but what can I say…cash rules everything around us…I hope SOMETHING, ANYTHING, stops this Mayweather-De La Hoya fight from happening.
This is why boxing is highly criticized!
I’m interested in how you feel this can be remedied?
Who knows, everything is now about what is commercially successful and is achieved at any cost.
Oscar will try to make this fight exciting, he’s not happy with the way it felt like a dull fight (that’s not him). Yes, both men are in it for the money (be stupid not to) But, in this wonderful sport you just never know what’s going to show up in the ring. Could be man just for money, or the same man with something to prove, maybe he’s just pissed off and wants to hit someone cuz wife pissed him off. it’ a wonderful sport and as a fan we don’t want to miss the slim chance that this may be the one that turns into a war. Thats why i will pay for this fight if it happens.
Kalel, I am going to pay for it, simply, because like you, I am diseased, sick or have an uncontrollable love for our beloved sport of boxing. That aside, I must say that I am cautiously pessimistic that a REAL fight will break out. But I guess if we set the bar low, anything they provide in terms of fireworks will seem “atomic” in nature. So here’s to low fight expectations for Mayweather-De La Hoya II!