The moment that Floyd Mayweather officially announced that he was to be fighting Florida’s Andre Berto for what is ostensibly the 49th and ‘final’ fight of his illustrious career, the reception from the boxing world – media and fans alike – was lukewarm, to put it mildly.
As not only the current #1 P4P star, but a rare breed of fighter who transcends the sport – his picking Berto – a man who has lost 3 of his last 6 – and then charging punters $75 for the privilege of watching it on PPV – left many feeling that Floyd is, for want of a better phrase , taking the pi**
Despite a quality undercard fight in WBC 168 lb champion Badou Jack defending his strap against British challenger George Groves, this pi**take’ is being reflected in the ticket sales for the fight, that are in stark, stark contrast to Floyd’s last fight against Manny Pacquiao in May, at the same MGM Grand venue, which, while breaking box-office records, failed to live up to it’s lofty ‘Fight of the Century’ billing in terms of mass expectation/action.
2,100 tickets are still available to the general public 4 days out from Saturday’s fight in Las Vegas, and that’s not factoring in those made available to the promoters, that include Mayweather himself, of course – and on ticket selling site, StubHub, only 25, priced at $1000 or above had been sold.
Prices are considerably lower than usual Floyd fare too, although early rumours that the fight might be a Premier Boxing Champions freebie on Showtime affiliate CBS, were dented when the $75 PPV tag was added – and that has left a very bad taste in the mouths of a large number of fans, who are simply refusing to pay for the PPV, not just in the wake of the Pacquiao fight, but the fact they think he will indeed fight on, and it will indeed be extremely interesting to see how this fight with Berto performs overall in terms of the buys and the overall revenue.
Not that Floyd gives a sh**, of course. He is wealthy enough! And will be paid regardless, as he does just enough to see out his “contractual obligations”…
Though the figures will be interesting.
He could ‘retire’ and then return in a year or so, in that PBC ‘freebie’ fight, now that his Showtime contract is done, against more lower tier opposition, simply to break the 49-0 undefeated record set by Marciano.
He’s arrogant enough to say he’s “TBE” already, so what would that matter if he fought someone less respected than Berto for the numbers? The lure of that 50-0 will be irresistible, surely?
That way he says the ultimate thanks to Uncle Al for breaking him free from Arum and becoming who he is, and he helps to take the currently oft-maligned PBC into the future.
Oh, and don’t forget, at the same time, he makes himself a piece of history……
It’s more than possible…
Twitter @Undilutedpoison