The scariest thing about the news that Manny Pacquiao is going to fight Jessie Vargas on Nov. 5 in Las Vegas is not that promoters are actually going to put that on pay-per-view.
That?s a foolhardy exercise, of course, because it?s a match that elicits little more than yawns, and is further evidence of Pacquiao sidestepping the best opposition he can find.
But the truly sad news here is that Pacquiao, who made more than $100 million to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015, is fighting because he needs the money.
He?s got multi-million dollar homes in the U.S. and in the Philippines and drives cars that cost more than the average person makes in four years, but here he is about 15 months from that staggering payday admitting he needs the dough.
He?s always been generous with his money, and has given much to charities in the Philippines. He?s built schools and churches and given many of his down-on-their-luck countrymen a handout in an effort to do the right thing.
But still ? he?s fighting because he needs the money? Even with taxes and expenses and his trainer?s share and his manager?s share cut out, Pacquiao made in excess of $100 million to fight Mayweather last year. He made another sizeable chunk in April when he fought Timothy Bradley.
And yet, here he is, admitting he can?t survive on a politician?s salary.
?Boxing is my main source of income,? he told reporters in the Philippines. ?I can?t rely on my salary as public official. I?m helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help, and I just couldn?t ignore them.?
Remember, this is a guy who has made more than $250 million in his career, perhaps as much as $400 million, and yet he?s got to fight to pay the bills and do the things he wants.
Whatever you think of the match with Vargas, that?s incredibly sad.
Pacquiao is a member of the Filipino senate now, and is going to train and promote the fight in his free time.
This seems like a brilliant plan if you?re trying to bankrupt your promoter: Fight an opponent no one is asking to see, do it when you are largely unavailable to publicize the fight and ask people to pay their hard-earned money to watch. View photos
Manny Pacquiao has made more than $250 million in his career. (Getty Images) More
This isn?t going to be good.
There is no shtick to sell this fight, and without a shtick, someone is going to take a bath.
Professional boxing at the highest level has always been far more about the sizzle than the steak.
It?s never really been about the best fighting the best, as boxing purists and media have naively believed over this last quarter of a century, though.
It?s all about marketing a product and creating a narrative that will sell. Come up with an angle, true or even partly true, and market that to the hilt.
If it turns out a fight is a competitive one that fans want to see, that?s all the better. The cold, hard truth, however, is that professional boxing is about creating and managing a brand and not so much what goes on in the ring.
There already has been, and will be, outrage that Pacquiao chose Vargas for the WBO welterweight title over Terence Crawford, the super lightweight champion who is far more highly regarded.
If this were a sport like the NFL or the NBA, Pacquiao would be fighting Crawford, who is one of the top-five pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Top Rank did a brilliant job making Pacquiao into a brand, and he became such a big star at one point that it almost didn?t matter who he fought. It was going to sell in big numbers.
But his story is tired and old. It?s more than a decade since he first ran for office. That he?s a senator now is a minor twist, but not one that commands much attention.
His ?singing career? appears to be over. Like Oscar De La Hoya before him, Pacquiao seems one and done with the albums.
