On Monday afternoon at the
Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, Top Rank held a press conference to
formally announce the next go-round between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel
Marquez. The two rivals have battled for 36 rounds with not much separating
them (with the “Pac-Man” holding a disputed 2-0-1 advantage in the series) but
the fourth chapter of his series has resulted in a collective groan from many
on social media platforms.
So the question is, is there
consumer fatigue regarding the Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry, revisited on December
8th at the MGM Grand?
“I don't think so; I don't
think so at all,” said the president of Top Rank, Todd duBoef, to Maxboxing. “We've
seen the outpouring of response, ticket sales; the consumers have loved 36
great rounds. I don't know how you could be fatigued about this.”
Perhaps it's too much of a
good thing. The reality is that while this has been a historic rivalry, the
action hasn't been quite as heated as when it reached its fever pitch when they
first met in 2004. And there seems to be a lot of backlash over what was
perceived to be a dubious decision awarded to Pacquiao when they last faced
each other in November of 2011.
Hey, even “The Godfather”
only had three editions (although, admittedly Sofia Coppola probably had a lot
to do with that). Sometimes, even good things must come to an end.
But duBoef insists, “It's
about the fans and what the consumers want.” He added that long-standing
rivalries are an important fabric of the sport’s history. “Before I came to the
press conference, I wanted my guys to pull some of the great four-plus fight
[series] that have occurred, the rivalries. You have [Gene] Tunney and [Harry] Greb,
Beau Jack and Bob Montgomery, [Sugar Ray] Robinson and [Jake] LaMotta, [Sandy] Saddler
and [Willie] Pep, [Jersey Joe] Walcott and [Ezzard] Charles - these guys are
some of the biggest names in the history of the sport that had four-plus fight
[series] and were archrivals in great matches.
“So how can you say there is
enough?”
Point taken but those
rivalries took place in an era when boxers were much more active in general.
Yes, there was obviously some repetition in terms of certain match-ups but
because fighters performed much more often on a yearly basis there was also much
more variation in opposition. You get the sense that the hardcore fan (who is
really voicing his displeasure) wouldn't mind seeing the latest installment of
Pacquiao vs. Marquez if perhaps Pacquiao were coming off fights against the
likes of Robert Guerrero and Lucas Matthysse (I know; I know. There's that
little “Cold War” issue but I'm dealing in hypotheticals here) and if Marquez
had just faced Lamont Peterson and then either Brandon Rios or Mike Alvarado.
Instead, there seems to be
almost a “Groundhog Day” feel to this fight. Part of the allure of the previous
rematches was that they were spaced apart by several years and properly
marinated. This here feels like it's been microwaved.
Make no doubt about it; this
promotion will do well. The reality is that for all the complaining you may see
on Twitter, Facebook or any boxing forum, the casual fan (who really only
watches boxing when it involves Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather) will be tuning
in. This is the base that Top Rank and HBO Pay-Per-View will be banking on come
the night of December 8th. And there is also the sizable Mexican and
Filipino constituencies that will be relied on.
“You want to watch the
Cowboys and Giants again?” duBoef asked rhetorically, perhaps comparing
apples-to-oranges. After all, the NFL is a league with a set schedule. “You've
seen it, so you don't want to see the next one? That is rhetoric; people want
to see entertainment and great matches. You saw that on Saturday how people are
buzzing after the 12th round of [Julio Cesar] Chavez-[Sergio]
Martinez. They want to see great matches and great rivalries.”
As for the need for new
fights, duBoef states, “I would say we had a fresh new match-up in Pacquiao-[Tim]
Bradley, which was a new face, a young guy, well-accomplished, incredible
pedigree and it did very well but it didn't do what we thought it would
possibly do. We could've been hurt by the NBA game [Game Seven of the Eastern
Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat]; I don't know. But
you can do it; you do them and you try to bring out those guys and those guys
kinda come to the top and rise out of a path from then on.”
The bottom line here is, well...the
bottom line. Unlike a fight that is funded by the largesse of a premium cable
network, pay-per-view is where the promoter operates without a safety net,
financially, and it's about moving units. And the reality is having a certain
pay-per-view history as a prizefighter helps the promotion. The casual fan is
all about the brand-name entity and at this level of pay-per-view, it's not
always about the best fight; it's really about the business deal that works
best.
For this particular
equation, for better or worse, it was Marquez.
“There were three possible
opponents and at a certain point, [Pacquiao] wanted to see if [Miguel] Cotto
really wanted the fight. [Cotto] obviously didn't and he went a different route
and then when it came down to the two (Bradley or Marquez), [Pacquiao] deciding
if he wanted to take on the archrivals: his nemesis in the most difficult fight
or if he wanted to go along with the record book - on a fight most people
thought he won and the judges gave Bradley the decision - so that was a
decision he had to make. But he was always set on fighting his toughest
opponent.”
SHOWTIME
The ratings are in for
Showtime's quadruple-header that took place last weekend at the MGM Grand
featuring Saul Alvarez's butchering of Josesito Lopez. And despite the presence
of the card down the street at the Thomas and Mack Center with Sergio Martinez vs.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (a pay-per-view telecast), they procured a sizable
audience (by their usual standards). Here's part of a Golden Boy/Showtime press
release:
RATING
STATISTICS:
· Saturday's main event bout between Canelo and
Lopez attracted over one million viewers (1.04 million) for the live telecast,
surpassing the 2010 Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins event as the highest
viewership for a bout on SHOWTIME since the network began tracking bout viewership.
· Canelo
vs. Lopez drew the largest Hispanic audience for an individual bout on SHOWTIME
since 2009, outperforming Brandon Rios vs. Miguel Acosta from 2011.
· Saturday's
average viewership ranked as the highest SHOWTIME boxing telecast of the year,
and the second-highest average viewership on the network since 2007.
TIX
And
for those hoping to catch Pacquiao-Marquez live, here's the ticket release:
Promoted
by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez
Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4
will go on sale Friday,
September 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Tickets are priced at $1,200, $900,
$600, $400, and $200. Ticket
sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket
sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit
card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets
also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
