Mailbag: Boxing isn't going anywhere

If you search the Internet for the phrase "boxing is dead," it will turn up tens of millions of responses. Mixed martial arts fans mockingly say it. Boxing promoters often moan about it. And the media eats it all up.

But how dead is a sport which, in less than a two-month span, will have two $100 million nights? On Saturday, Floyd "Money" Mayweather will get a lot richer, win or lose, after he fights Victor Ortiz for the World Boxing Council welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a bout distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View.

In his last four fights, Mayweather has sold 1.4 million pay-per-views against Shane Mosley, 1.1 against Juan Manuel Marquez, 920,000 against Ricky Hatton and 2.45 million against Oscar De La Hoya.

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said he expects Saturday's bout to sell between 1.5 million and two million. Promoters like Don King and Bob Arum frequently inflate their estimates, but Schaefer has never been that way.

So, when he says he thinks two million is possible, believe it: two million is possible.

"I'm not going to go out and say we're going to break the record [of 2.45 million set by Mayweather-De La Hoya], but if all goes well, I really think we could break two million," Schaefer said.

At 1.5 million sales, the bout would generate around $90 million in revenue. That's not counting the live gate, which will top $10 million, as well as income from foreign rights, closed circuit sales and merchandising.

On Nov. 12, Manny Pacquiao will fight Marquez in the same arena. The two recently completed a 25,000-mile press tour in which they drew a reported 70,000 fans in Manila and 30,000 more in Mexico City. That bout will unquestionably exceed one million pay-per-view sales and could reach 1.5 million.

It will set the stage for a second $100 million night.

Boxing is hardly dead. It's a lesson the media, as well as many promoters, need to know.

Oh, there are a lot of decisions made that aren't in the sport's best interests and which make it seem like a second-rate sport.

But when two of the best guys in the world fight in a major event, it has the ability to captivate the world. That hasn't changed and, no matter what anyone may tell you, it's not going to change any time soon.

• It's time to get over the bashing and give Vitali Klitschko credit: The guy is one of the 10 best heavyweights ever. His performance in a 10th-round stoppage of Tomasz Adamek on Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland, was stunning.

•Yuriorkis Gamboa was not so impressive in Atlantic City, N.J., in his eight-round technical decision victory over Daniel Ponce de Leon. He fought just hard enough to win and was less than sensational.

• Dumping Emanuel Steward in the middle of training camp is just more evidence that Chad Dawson doesn't get it. Dawson is the proverbial guy with the million-dollar body and ten-cent head.

• John "Ice" Scully, whom Dawson hired to replace Steward, is an underrated trainer. But no trainer will make much of a difference if the student isn't committed.

• Is there a bigger joke in boxing than the WBA naming Hasim Rahman its top-ranked heavyweight contender? Since getting stopped in the seventh by Wladimir Klitschko in what was a pathetic effort, Rahman has beaten tomato cans Clinton Boldridge, Shannon Miller, Damon Reed, Marcus McGee and Galen Brown to "earn" that top spot. Rahman doesn't deserved to be ranked in the top 20, let alone first.

• An excellent heavyweight fight I'd like to see would be David Haye against Adamek. Haye didn't distinguish himself with his effort against Wladimir Klitschko, but he's a talented guy and a match with Adamek would be fascinating.

• The first episode of HBO Sports' "24/7: Mayweather-Ortiz" was the best in the four-year history of the series. The quality, though, has declined considerably the last two weeks.

Who's next for Klitschko?

What's next for Vitali Klitschko? Would an in-shape Chris Arreola provide a challenge?

Steve Aguirre
Macclesfield, England

I was extremely impressed with Vitali, Steve. He has all the punches, sets them up well and has terrific footwork for a guy his size. I don't think there is another heavyweight even close to him at this point. And I do think he's better than his younger brother, Wladimir. He would destroy Arreola if they fought, but it's a moot point because Arreola isn't committed enough to being great to get into the kind of shape he'd need to be in to make a fight of it with Klitschko. If I had to guess, I'd bet Vitali will meet David Haye next.

Oscar's rant was off-base

Great article on Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya's attempt at revisionist history. I am so sick of hearing who Mayweather hasn't fought. It's pure jealousy and I'm glad you see through it. Oscar should be ashamed of himself. I remember clearly after the Juan Manuel Marquez fight and how much he praised Mayweather. Now, all of a sudden Floyd hasn't fought a quality opponent since 2001?

Donovin Matthews
Los Angeles

Mayweather doesn't have to apologize for his opponents at 130 and 135. He fought many elite guys there. At 140, he didn't stay around long enough to really do much. At welterweight, I would like to see him fight Pacquiao and wish he had at least fought Miguel Cotto. Now, he claims to have asked for a fight with Cotto in 2004 and Top Rank said no. He also challenged Mosley numerous times when Mosley was a lightweight and Mayweather was a super featherweight. Mosley looked elsewhere. Had he fought those two – and I know he fought Mosley, but that was at the end of Mosley's career – people would look at his record very differently. Regardless, he's still one of the sport's elite fighters.

'Money May' should face 'Maravilla'

Kevin, how come you didn't include Sergio Martinez as one of the fighters that Mayweather must defeat in order to be put in the conversation with Sugar Ray Robinson. Martinez, without question, defeats Mayweather, Pacquiao, and anyone else who is put in front of him. You need to make note of this.

Alex Martinez
Philadelphia

Alex, I wasn't typing an exhaustive list by any means and, besides, what would be the point? As I wrote in the column, there aren't enough good fighters alive that Mayweather could beat that would put him past Sugar Ray Robinson on the all-time pound-for-pound list. But I agree that a Mayweather-Martinez would be fascinating and Mayweather would significantly boost his status by defeating the middleweight champion.

"I will tell you what Floyd Mayweather is: The best showman in sports and a marketing genius. He knows how to make people hate him enough to want him to lose, and he knows how to make people admire him enough to want him to win. When he is not in public, he is a great guy and he’s very normal. It is like he can flick a switch and turn on the showman." – Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

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