It could be argued that the combined buzz of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is greater than that of all United States-based fighters, combined.
Sure, fighters like Miguel Cotto and Tomasz Adamek have shown an ability to translate ethnic/nationalistic pride into full houses and better than average TV ratings, but Cotto is a weathered shadow of his former self and Adamek was just destroyed by Vitali Klitschko. Plus, neither fighter has really proven himself as a draw at the mainstream level.
Young Mexican fighters like Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. have also proven to be box office hits among Mexican and Mexican-American fans in the U.S., but both 20-something belt holders have yet to hit their stride as real, seasoned pros and, in Chavez’s case specifically, seem to be more novelty than reality.
Outside the United States, things are just peachy. Canada routinely posts sold-out arena shows with the likes of Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute. The Klitschko brothers routinely sell out soccer stadiums in Eastern Europe. In the UK, there are at least a half dozen stars capable of filling arenas and attracting big TV audiences.
But back in America, there’s Pacquiao, Mayweather and the frustrating sound of chirping crickets.
Bernard Hopkins makes history and defies critics, but can’t actually put rear ends in seats. Fighters like Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley, and Chad Dawson are among the elite of the sport, but have yet to prove an ability to consistently capture headlines or fan emotion.
Critics routinely attack premium cable networks like HBO for showing favoritism to well-connected fighters like Andre Berto and Paul Williams who have yet to build any real fan base, but the fact of the matter is that HBO Boxing has to show somebody and there just aren’t any American fighters (not named Mayweather) who can attract more than the bare minimum of U.S. fight fan attention.
While it’s true that most of the current crop of promoters are lazy, old, and likely incapable of even being a successful night club promoter, the fault for the dearth of American drawing power is not all their fault. Even the top promotional firms with plenty of juice and headline-grabbing influence, like Top Rank and Golden Boy, haven’t produced a top American draw in years.
