MANILA, Philippines – Fans paid a lot of money ? make that a lot of good money ? to witness the Fight of the Century between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao on pay-per-view at home or closed-circuit TV or live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last May 2. But many felt short-changed because the bout failed to live up to expectations. It was uneventful and unexciting because Mayweather held and danced all the way to the bank.
Pacquiao was the more aggressive fighter, chasing down Mayweather, but couldn?t pin down the elusive, unbeaten WBC and WBA champion who wouldn?t risk engaging at close quarters.
The betting estimate in Nevada alone was about $70 million, including $30 million from the MGM Resorts station. Wagering was hot and heavy particularly on the day of the fight as long queues formed at the MGM stills to place bets with odds nearly changed for a month. The betting line opened with Mayweather a 2 1/2 to 1 favorite and later tapered to 2 to 1. The final line was a $100 bet on Pacquiao would earn $170 while a $200 wager on Mayweather would gain $100.
Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review Journal said ?the biggest bet at MGM Resorts was for $500,000 on Pacquiao (and) there also was a bet for $110,000 on Pacquiao to win in Round 7 at 12-1 odds.? Wynn Las Vegas sports book director John Avello was quoted by Youmans as confirming the biggest bet for Mayweather in his station was for $500,000. ?The big $100,000 to $500,000 wagers are mostly on Mayweather,? said Avello. It was reported that over 5,000 bets were made on a draw which opened with a betting line of 22-to-1.
Live attendance was announced at 16,507 and gate receipts amounted to $72 Million, easily surpassing the $20 million record for Mayweather?s fight against Canelo Alvarez in 2013. While no figures are certain at the moment, pay-per-view buys should go over five million, meaning a gross revenue of $500 Million. The record for pay-per-view hits is 2.4 million for Mayweather?s bout against Oscar de la Hoya in 2007 and the record for pay-per-view gross revenue is $153 Million for the Mayweather-Alvarez so both marks will be overtaken with plenty to spare.
?This was a good fight but in no way came close to reaching the ridiculously elevated hype that preceded it,? wrote Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review Journal. ?If the world really did wait for this with bated breath, it never had to be concerned with losing consciousness. It was nothing spectacular, nothing overly exciting, nothing that would make those who paid nearly $100 to watch feel such an investment was a wise choice. It wasn?t boring. It just wasn?t incredibly special, at all.? Dean’s Corner ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Fans were at the edge of their seats for 12 rounds waiting for something explosive to happen. No such luck. Mayweather steered clear of any kind of a close encounter and as Graney said, ?the most hyped fight in history was, for the most part, a nice sparring session between a bigger, stronger, longer Mayweather and a fellow champion in Manny Pacquiao who just couldn?t crash the proverbial castle doors enough.?
Martin Rogers of USA Today called it a disappointment. ?Mayweather?s words in the buildup to his fights are rehearsed enough to suggest excitement where there has been so little of it in the past,? he said. ?This time, he would stay in the pocket, he said, engage with Pacquiao, run less, fight more, give those who coughed up $99.95 a pop something approaching their money?s worth. Except that he didn?t and wasn?t much bothered about it. Whether the public had a right to expect a toe-to-toe battle and action aplenty, that?s what they did expect, at least given the response on social media. Mayweather doesn?t care. He has your money and first thing, he?ll be taking it to the bank.?
The fight was supposed to preserve the integrity of the sport. It did little to do that. The Battle For Greatness will go down in history as one of the biggest duds ever, rivaling the Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks blowout in 1988 and the Evander Holyfield-Buster Douglas fight in 1990. The Tyson-Spinks match grossed $70 million and brought in a pay-per-view audience of 700,000 paying $50 a hit. Tyson was guaranteed $20 million and Spinks, $13.5 million. They were both undefeated and it was a showdown to determine the undisputed world heavyweight champion at Atlantic City. It was then the richest fight ever and lasted only one round with Tyson destroying Spinks.
In 1990, Douglas was guaranteed $24.1 million and Holyfield $8 million for their duel in Nevada. Douglas was coming off a spectacular knockout win over Tyson but entered the ring to face Holyfield looking overfed and content. His purse was the largest ever for a fighter so it didn?t look like Douglas was motivated to endure a grueling grind. Holyfield scored an easy third round knockout.
Although the Tyson-Spinks and Holyfield-Douglas fights were disappointments because they were mismatches, the consolation is the wins were decisive. Mayweather?s win over Pacquiao wasn?t quite as convincing even if the judges scorecards showed a wide disparity in points and the Compubox stats reflected a lopsided fight.
Graney said the Fight of the Century wasn?t even the Fight of the Year and that?s why fans want their money back. But whom should they run after? Some fans have filed a class-action suit accusing everyone within shooting distance of deception or unfair trade practice or trickery. Some lawyers said the case won?t prosper. It?s difficult to prove deception and fans weren?t coerced to patronize the fight in the first place. What makes not a few fans cringe is the notion that Mayweather laughed all the way to the bank with their money and didn?t even care to treat them to an exciting display of boxing.
Pacquiao?s conditioning coach Justin Fortune dismissed the notion of a Las Vegas conspiracy theory involving the judges, Compubox and referee Kenny Bayless to deliberately create a winning situation for Mayweather. The fight appeared to be closer than what the judges scores indicated but with the wide margin of points, it would seem ludicrous for anyone to even imagine Pacquiao deserved to win. In rigging election results, the conditioning of people?s minds is critical so that margins of difference are made to be far and wide. Still, former world champions Sugar Shane Mosley and Holyfield said Pacquiao should?ve won the decision because he was the more aggressive fighter despite an injured right shoulder. Pacquiao told HBO?s Max Kellerman he thought he won.
If ever there?s a rematch, it?s not certain if the fans will support a return fight like they did in the first meeting. They were burned once and the thought of another skewering will certainly not be enticing.
