Two years ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was involved in a boxing match against Oscar De La Hoya that was labeled by some in the mainstream media as “The Fight to Save Boxing.”
Most journalists who covered boxing on a regular basis laughed because it seemed like a preposterous notion. How could one match save an entire sport?
The fight turned out to be the highest-grossing boxing match in history. Mayweather used it as a launching pad to celebrity, starring on HBO’s boxing documentary series “24/7,” participating on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” and wrestling on “Wrestlemania.”
Mayweather fought just once more — another megabout, against Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8, 2007 — and then retired from boxing in June 2008, leaving behind the sport and his newfound celebrity. Mayweather said it was difficult for him to find the desire and joy it took to continue boxing.
Apparently, Mayweather has found his joy and desire again. Word is that Mayweather is preparing to return to boxing this summer. His return will be a welcome sight for a sport that needs a shot of adrenaline and star power.
“His return may restore some order to the game,” said Lou DiBella, a New York-based promoter and former programming executive with HBO Sports.
But just as his match against De La Hoya wasn’t the salvation it was billed to be, neither will Mayweather’s return save boxing. It would, however, be a vital lifeline for the sport, particularly during a time of deep economic distress when sports and entertainment can be a welcome escape. And for Mayweather, a comeback represents an opportunity to complete his boxing legacy, which will remain hollow without opponents like Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto on his dance card.
“If he does come back, it will be no different than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady coming back to their teams after being out for a year,” said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. “Picture LeBron or Kobe taking off a couple of years and then coming back. Floyd may mean more to his sport than they do because we don’t have the depth of star power in boxing as they do in those sports.”
Greenburg wouldn’t comment on any specifics regarding HBO’s position in negotiations for a possible return by Mayweather this summer. He prefaced every statement about Mayweather with “If he comes back ?”
Mayweather’s absence from the sport has meant that the best fighter in the game — to argue that he isn’t would be ludicrous — has been sitting on the shelf for more than a year. During that time, there have been some monumental shifts within the sport.
With the importance of the heavyweight division already shifted to Europe, America has lost more ground at the top of the sport with the absence of boxing’s pound-for-pound No. 1. And consider that the most anticipated fight of the year so far involves a Filipino (Pacquiao) fighting a Brit (Hatton) in Las Vegas on May 2. Mayweather was on his way to supplanting De La Hoya as the most bankable star in the sport. With his convincing victory over De La Hoya in December, Pacquiao seems to have shifted into that role. He also has supplanted an inactive Mayweather as No. 1 on the pound-for-pound best list.
Another shift seems to have been made, in the effort to make matches between major names in the sport. It put into play the matching up of fighters outside their weight classes.
Pacquiao-De La Hoya was just such a match. Pacquiao, who had fought at 130 pounds at the beginning of 2008, jumped up three weight classes to meet De La Hoya at welterweight. And De La Hoya, who once held a middleweight title, came back down to 147 pounds — a weight he hadn’t fought at in seven years — to meet Pacquiao. De La Hoya looked old and quit on his stool after eight rounds.
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik moved up to light heavyweight to fight Bernard Hopkins and got schooled by the bigger man. The shift might make for some exciting matchups, but it has tainted the value of matches within the various divisions.
DiBella thinks that if Mayweather returns to the sport, there will be a reduction in the forced matches outside of weight classes. Because Mayweather will return as the standard-bearer of the sport and it’s most accomplished practitioner, the theory goes, most of the high-profile matches will gravitate toward him and the welterweight division.
The question becomes: Can Mayweather rekindle the spark he generated before he walked away from the sport last year? While he had begun to build himself into a legitimate crossover star, Mayweather walked away from boxing before he could complete the mission.
He built a strong fan base with his appearance on HBO’s “24/7,” and the subsequent shows that didn’t involve him or his dysfunctional family were dull by comparison. He reached different audiences by appearing on “Dancing With The Stars” and participating in “Wrestlemania.” But he didn’t really buttress that celebrity by being fully engaged in the realm of boxing, where he had established the kind of dominance and brilliance that made him attractive to the producers of those shows in the first place.
It should take only one good performance for Mayweather to reignite his career and his celebrity, without much sweat.
“He’s such a joy to watch, whether it’s in the ring or in a show like ’24/7,’ that he won’t have any problem reconnecting with people,” Greenburg said.
Will he still have the goods in the ring?
“If he comes back, you’ll know right away whether he still has it,” Greenburg said. “You’ll know it when you see it. You’ll see it on ’24/7.’ You’ll see it in the gym. You’ll see it in the ring.”
It would help if Mayweather’s comeback fight were on HBO and not on pay-per-view. In the current economy, it would translate to more eyeballs catching the fight. And it would be smart for Mayweather to take a tuneup bout rather than jump right in against one of the current welterweight champions. Even though he has been in the gym working out for weeks, he hasn’t been in the ring for 15 months. The last time he took an extended leave from boxing (seven months in 2000), Mayweather returned to score a ninth-round victory against Emanuel Augustus but got off to a slow start.
Mayweather won’t do himself or boxing any good by trying to come back against a killer, only to appear to be a faded has-been. He needs to work his way back; it should take only one fight to regain his dominant form. Then he can step up to a megafight more in his wheelhouse, which likely would come against Pacquiao (provided he beats Hatton) — the man who took over his spot as pound-for-pound king.
Now, that would be reason enough to welcome Mayweather back to boxing with open arms.
Tim Smith is the boxing columnist for the New York Daily News.
