Skip to main content

Mayweather Empty Challenge Hurts Legacy and Sport


It felt like a huge step forward to the fight we all have been anticipating for years, yet, it's still feels like the same song and dance - talk, talk, talk, jabber, jabber, point finger of blame, and well, repeat until it all fades away with no fight.

So sure, Floyd Mayweather called out Manny Pacquiao - again - for a potential fight on May 2nd. It's more than Mayweather has given since an initial fight fell apart over drug testing protocol and possible purse money for each. He even gave an official date in his issued challenge. Big talk!

The truth is, as we all know, this fight is well past the height of maximizing it's potential. Of course, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao would still do the highest grossing business in the history of the sport because we're all still very much intrigued by the possibility and the idea of what we never have received. 


My biggest cynical feelings behind this are the first and obvious - boxing continues to hurt itself with this fight, and other fights that never occur. The sport is so corrupt and has become the wild, wild, west, with titles not meaning anything because there are about 345,568 of them (yes, I'm exaggerating), and various television partners and external camps controlling much of the business of the sport. I've said it in the past, I would love to see a gutsy promoter start a governing body and sign boxers under such an institute ala Dana White and the UFC.

One of the reasons for the growth of MMA is that the sport gives fans the next big fight immediately. There isn't any waiting, delaying, arbitrating, or semi-decision making that we get from boxing. The sport is floundering from this as boxing still pulls very healthy numbers. However, the days of boxing being mainstream are over, and let's be honest, regardless of how HBO and Showtime want to spin it, pay-per-view numbers are falling drastically in today's subscription-demand-based market. 

The other feeling that arises from this situation is the very legacy of Mayweather. Regardless of how you feel about the guy personally (I admit. He's super arrogant), he is a pretty damn good boxer. When you watch him in the ring, it's quite comical how fast he is, and how much he frustrates opponents with his elusiveness.

Not until you fight Pacquiao, sir!

Yet, regardless of an undefeated record passing and the obvious eye test in being the greatest ever during this generation, with each passing fight, the cloud that is the Pacquiao fight continues to move in to hover over his entire career accomplishments. Mayweather's the best? Come on, he dodged Manny Pacquiao for years! Sentiments heard and have been growing for too long now. Mayweather now has no where to turn with falling demand for his fights and no one left on the board to dance with for a big pay day, which is a shame. A man of Mayweather's talents, ability, and overall legacy, shouldn't have to resort to such options.

So yes, the challenge has been thrown out there for May 2nd. Ehh, big whoop. Until this deal is signed, all it is, is more empty rhetroic from everyone involved. More blown smoke from boxing. And more disappointment for fans of the sport. 

Recent Favorites

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The After (2023)

What is it about? In a short film, a grieving man confronts his past when he comes face-to-face with a passenger.  Who is in it? David Oyelowo - Dayo Jessica Plummer - Amanda Amelie Dokubo - Laura  Favorite Scene: It's an extremely short film, so...the final few moments.  Favorite Quote:  None. (not much dialogue) Review: This eighteen-minute masterpiece is amazing. You're absolutely taken on this ride of emotions that ultimately leaves you with a great realization of questioning what we value in life.  The lead character, in eighteen minutes, is powerful. His grief is carried through the film, exploding at the end. It very much leaves the viewer with so many questions - what was his life before the tragedy? What was his life after that moment? Did he ever reconnect with that family? Did he rediscover happiness?  Again, a very, VERY, powerful eighteen minutes that will jolt the heart, mind, and soul about life, what is important, and what we overvalue in its place.  Grade: 4/5

2024 NBA All-Star Weekend Thoughts

There's something wrong with the All-Star Game.  Yeah, we've definitely had this conversation before. Expect to pick up this very discussion (again) in July when Major League Baseball has their version in the "Mid-Summer Classic" when it is the ONLY current topic to bounce around in the stratosphere of sports discourse.  What's wrong with the All-Star Game?!  I'm not dismissing the obvious - yes, the NBA All-Star Game is very much at an alarming point of necessary refinement and change - evaluation is needed. What we saw on Sunday night was not disappointing, but outright embarrassing. Also yes, gone are the days when the game flooded your television screen at a respectable 6:30pm on NBC, and you were wowed by the athleticism and star power of the first half of the game, and treated to what felt like the world's best players playing pickup basketball on the grandest stage.  Now? Not so much. So yeah, we got the message. The outrage - and shock TV and hot t

Quick Ponder: Daily Armor

Imagine, if we can see the dents and scratches, the smashes and chaos,  on the daily armor, each of us put on. Just imagine.