Mayweather-Maidana Fight Week is upon us and all the good media lemmings will take a break from posting Pacquiao-Algieri photo-ops as front page news stories in order to run photo-ops of Mayweather with sports cars and Maidana looking tough.
But even to the most click-conscious editor and SEO-juicing blogger, it has to be getting harder and harder to drum up interest for events that just aren?t all that interesting. And to call the Mayweather-Maidana 2 card ?not all that interesting? would be a really, really kind assessment.
Advisor/Manager/Faux-promoter/Bogeyman, Al Haymon takes a lot of hits in the media, some deserved and some just because he?s not one of the ?old boys? who divvy up the loot, screw the fighters whenever possible, and (pretty much literally) own the boxing media. However, what appears to be true about the man is that he absolutely can not put together a boxing show.
The last couple of months has shown us what a boxing under Haymon world may look like? and it hasn?t been a pretty sight.
By all accounts, Haymon has been getting his way in terms of matchmaking, while Golden Boy owner, Oscar De la Hoya, under whose promotional banner these fights are currently being staged, has detached himself emotionally from these shows in favor of bouts with fighters actually signed to Golden Boy contracts. And with go-between, Richard Schaefer no longer around to inject some measure of common sense into the Team Haymon matchmaking, recent cards have become full of showcase squashes and preludes to nothing.
And that brings us to this upcoming Mayhem suck hole of a card, which, following the recent news of a lawsuit filed against Mayweather by his ex-fianc? could be retitled: The Fight to Pay Ms. Jackson.
At this point, it?s a clich? to complain about crappy undercards and the high price tag of main events that don?t warrant the PPV treatment, but this one is an especially cynical grab at your wallet.
On the undercard, two legitimately compelling fighters? Leo Santa Cruz and Alfredo Angulo? are featured in squashes against fattened-up no-hopers. Miguel Vazquez, the light-hitting IBF lightweight titlist, will defend his title against The Money Team?s Mickey Bey, who somehow parlayed a PED bust and KO loss to John Molina into a world title fight. The only truly interesting bout on the entire undercard is Bey conqueror, Molina vs. Humberto Soto, which will be shown on Showtime?s ?free? Countdown Live pre-card show? and even that one has the potential to be a blowout in favor of the younger, bigger, stronger Molina.
The main event of Mayhem is something we?re getting used to when it comes to ?cash cows? Mayweather and Pacquiao? a styles mismatch that counts on publicity, twisted logic, and a fan?s natural optimism in order to give the impression of competitiveness.
