If it is true that Mayweather’s camp is requiring media people to apply for credentials in order to attend the scheduled press conference on March 11, it may send a wrong signal to uninvited sports writers that they are being treated unfairly. It has been reported earlier that Mayweather Promotions, the lead promoter of the upcoming Mayweather-Pacquiao fight had required media members to apply for credentials before they can get a pass to the press conference reportedly the only one to be held leading up to the fight on May 2. It appears that it is the only press conference of a boxing event that required reporters or members of media to apply for credential in order to cover the event. Lee Samuels, who takes care of PR for Top Rank Promotions said that requiring media members to apply for accreditation has never been done by his company. ?I am not sure about Mayweather Promotions but we haven?t done this at Top Rank,? added Samuels, who is visiting the MGM Grand for ocular inspection of the fight venue. In recent major boxing events involving Mayweather and Pacquiao, members of media need only to show an identification card showing their receptive media entities or their websites. If they cannot be accommodated in certain press conference venues, they are given an opportunity to engage the fighters in what promoters call the “media day” in between training sessions leading up to the day of the fight. “As opposed to a massive press tour as these fighters usually do, the press conference on Wednesday is the only event lined up to kick off the promotion. Press needed to be credentialed to attend, and the event was not open to the public. Strictly business here,” ESPN writes. Hopefully the promoters will allow sports writers and reporters to engage Mayweather and Pacquiao in another date and venue to give their respective viewers the opportunity know the latest news about the biggest and richest fight in boxing history. If it isn’t feasible to have them together in one venue, they can hold their press conference individually to accommodate all members of media without going through the application process which tends to favor mainstream media as they are given preference over reporters or writers representing boxing websites and blogs. Fighters and promoters should understand that fans are the ones making the fights possible and they are the same people who are behind the success of the fighters because they buy tickets that enable the promoters to pay the fighters purses. Members of media has the responsibility to report on the progress of the fight and they should be doing their jobs freely without being discriminated or harassed by promoters. Seemingly, the decision of Mayweather Pomotions to require media members to be credentialed before they can report on the scheduled press conference is nothing more than a ploy to limit attendance to members of mainstream media.
