One million buys, 1.2 million buys and before the slugfest between the pound for pound best fighter in the world and the soon to be discovered pretender, it?s all academic. They will battle it out on computers until they can step between the ropes. With legal problems dogging Floyd and his uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather, making a date would be dangerous financially should the date be defaulted. Continuous questioning of the anatomy of Floyds lower body has only helped boost the eventual gate. Seeming never to care about criticism, he has used negative press and fan approval to build his own confidence. Most times acting like a CEO more than a fighter. His 24/7 comment about belts collecting dust was an interesting insight into the thought process and lack of need to fearlessly press for titles. Now is the time for businessmen to take a stand for everyone not just the fighters. On the one side we have Manny Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum and in the other corner we have Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Richard Schaefer CEO of Golden Boy Promotions the Oscar DeLaHoya business enterprise. Recently in the mix, Don King was seen in the company of Mayweather at some events. Worthy opponents in the final determination of whom and how much are they going to benefit from what will probably be the biggest event in pay per view history. Bob Arum the crafty promoter has had his ups and downs in the boxing game. Going back to the legendary battles with Don King he has managed to stay vibrant in the lower weight classes. Behind the scenes wheeling and dealing to put matches together while being accused of hurting promotions by skimping on undercard selections. As promoter of both Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito he was in an enviable financial position after their recent mega fight. Richard Schaefer the Swiss banking executive who passed up a lucrative career in the banking industry to manage fighters and eventually become a promoter for Oscar DeLaHoya with Golden Boy Promotions. That partnership which started out as a near fatal accident on a golf course has now blossomed into many other lines of business. Pay per view has been the gold standard going back to the heavyweight battles of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali when the fights were telecast in movie theatres and you cringed every time the lights dropped that there would be a transmission failure. With the cable industry picking up the technological issues and pretty much guaranteeing that in the comfort of your home you can watch a fight the game has stepped into modern times. Perhaps the fighters that rely on promoters to wage their financial battles should invest more in keeping up with the new modern times as their promoters. A lot can get lost in the millions of views when each is racking up big numbers. So before the fight can be made that everyone wants to see, these two men and their teams of boxing gurus will wage a cold war of words, disclaimers, boasting and counting pay per view potential dollars. Jail time, court trials and all other activities will eventually find a way to be resolved. In the meantime Manny Pacquiao will continue to rack up dollars fighting the best financial contenders available. It may be a year from now or months from now but if they can make it to the ring and the records remain positive they will fight. Even if it is in rocking chairs and the public will buy it because the pay per view numbers say so.
