It is unfathomable that a big fight that will purportedly showcase the talent and skill of undefeated Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, against Marcos Maidana, one of the most determined and biggest punchers in the division, is having a hard time selling tickets. Unless a miracle happens, ‘The Moment’ is bound for a disastrous showing at the box office.
It is unthinkable because Showtime Networks and MGM Grand, together with their friends in the boxing media, are not remiss in advertising, pushing and promoting this fight at every nook and cranny of the boxing world (which even sparked the ire of Top Rank impresario Bob Arum because of the way MGM Grand handled their promotional end on the recent Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch last April 12). Yet the responses from the fans are anemic at best, and most show derision and contempt for what many perceive as a ‘sham-down’ between two opposing fighters who should have no business facing each other and should have been squaring off against different opponents this coming Saturday night.
On various social media outlets and boxing forums, the sentiments of the majority of boxing fans are very palpable and glaring. Yes, while they have nothing but respect for Marcos Maidana’s achievements in the ring, they are unanimous in proclaiming that Maidana has no chance whatsoever against Mayweather. Thus, they regard the Mayweather-Maidana bout as just not worth their time and money.
That is why, no matter how hard the promoters are pushing Mayweather-Maidana’s ‘The Moment’ down the boxing world’s throat, they are having a hard time convincing the majority of boxing fans (except for the die-hard supporters of the contending fighters) to buy the $70 pay-per-view price tag.
Here are some of the comments one can encounter on social media regarding ‘The Moment’:
“Mayweather 11 rounds to 1. I will not pay $70 for this bull****.”
“Set up fight... Slow Maidana got no chance.”
“Who cares?”
“We all know Money May is going to tear his a** up!!!”
“One-sided fight. We deserved a better fight than this one.”
“Boring fight. A waste of money as Floyd will just dance the night away.”
Judging from the comments above and the ones that will inevitably pop up on social media in the wake of this fight, it is a far-gone conclusion who in their minds will emerge victorious on Saturday night. To many of them, ‘The Moment’ is just a formality or a validation of what they expect as another easy win for Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
It is really interesting how the fans’ overt outrage affects the pay-per-view sales of the Mayweather-Maidana tiff off -- or how the vitriol towards the ‘The Moment’ will affect Floyd Mayweather, Jr.‘s future fights with Showtime to fulfill his rich contract.
Note: any comments, reactions and suggestions are welcome. Hit me up at detexam@yahoo.com or join us at the Detroit Boxing Examiner Facebook Page
*This article was first published on Detroit Boxing Examiner
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