There was a time when Floyd Mayweather couldn’t draw flies to a picnic if he bathed himself in honey and covered himself with tuna sandwiches.
When his 2007 showdown with Oscar De La Hoya sold a record 2.1 million pay-per-view buys, the general consensus was that it was De La Hoya’s legendary drawing power that launched the event into the stratosphere.
De La Hoya was the biggest name in boxing at the time, and when Manny Pacquiao pounded the Golden Boy into retirement 17 months ago, the sport was apparently left with one central figure capable of packing arenas and filling up cash registers.
And it wasn’t Money Mayweather.
Only after Saturday’s utter domination of “Sugar” Shane Mosley did Mayweather drive the point home. He doesn’t need to fight a De La Hoya to put up numbers at the box office. Boxing fans will pay huge coin to watch him fight from now on. Because he’s the best.
Here are three reasons why Mayweather has ascended to the top of the boxing world, joining Pacquiao in a duel for the pole position in the hurt business:
Mayweather backed up his boasts. He said he would outclass Mosley in a one-sided fight, and he did just that. Even at age 38, Mosley is a world-class fighter, but he looked 10 years older Saturday night. On my card, Mayweather won 11 of the 12 rounds.
Mayweather overcame adversity. Mosley nearly put Mayweather to sleep in the second round, but Mayweather shook off the cobwebs and won easily. He claimed to have been hit harder in other fights, but he didn’t appear as shaken in those fights as he was after Mosley’s massive right hand. He showed tremendous resolve that I didn’t know he had.
Mayweather filled the house. More than 15,000 fans packed the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Mayweather delivered the most complete performance against a quality fighter as we’ve seen from him. With all due respect to Pacquiao ? a truth machine who has destroyed every fighter in his wake of late ? Mayweather has answered every challenge lately, even if De La Hoya and Mosley were a few sparring sessions south of their respective primes.
Any champion worth his salt will put up numbers in the ring and in the stands, and Mayweather accomplished both on a night when Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and Paris Hilton sat ringside in seats that were going for upwards of $4,000 in the hours before the fight, according to a scalper who did not want to be identified.
Mosley has never been a box office draw. Good guy that he is, he pocketed $7 million ? about $15.5 million less than Mayweather, who will get another nice chunk of change once the pay-per-view numbers are tabulated.
No less of a marketing authority than De La Hoya, in the postfight interview session, introduced Mayweather as “the new king of pay-per-view.” Oscar also gave Mayweather huge negotiating power in a megafight with Pacquiao ? that is, if the Pac Man submits to Olympic-style drug testing.
It’s the fight we all want to see and only two men can make it happen. Pacquiao would be nuts to say no to the $20 million-plus he is sure to earn in a fight that big. Figure out a common ground, take the blood test, give us the fight of the century, and make crazy money in the process.
“I just want everyone to be on the same playing field,” Mayweather said. “If every athlete is clean in the sport of boxing, then take the test. If (Pacquiao) takes the blood and urine test, then we can fight. If he doesn’t, we won’t make the fight.”
Mayweather, 33, has positioned himself as this generation’s De La Hoya, with much less fan adulation.
“He’s on a different level,” said De La Hoya, who picks Mayweather to beat Pacquiao if the fight happens. “He will dissect you outside the ring and then finish you off inside the ring. Fans realize we’re seeing something special with him.”
Mayweather isn’t the most embraceable champion, but he is the most intriguing personality in the game. The guy is just like the heel in professional wrestling: thousands show up hoping to see someone knock his block off, only to leave the arena muttering in frustration.
That’s the funny thing about Mayweather. He hasn’t suffered the same downfalls suffered by his contemporaries. He’s 41-0 and stands one big win over Pacquiao away from becoming the unquestioned top fighter of his generation.
Even if Mayweather doesn’t always get the cheers, he has earned boxing’s undivided attention.
He’s so Money. And he knows it.
