29.12.06 – By Jeffrey Cabauatan: If 2006 taught us anything, it would be that boxing is alive and well. Nothing had changed much in the heavyweight division. The unification tournament failed to materialize and we still do not have an undisputed champion. Guys south of the heavyweight division carried the sport with fights like Tarver vs. Hopkins, Pacquiao vs. Morales, Wright vs. Taylor, Mosley vs. Vargas, and Judah vs. Mayweather..
After much talk of UFC taking over boxing, boxing pay per view numbers were quite solid. Topping off the list is Oscar De la Hoya’s PPV against Ricardo Mayorga with over 900,000 ppv buys. The rematch and final chapter of Pacquiao vs. Morales sold over 700,000 ppv buys and so did Mosley vs. Vargas I and II. It was so important for those matches to deliver and they did. De la Hoya showed us that he hasn’t lost a step even after two yrs hiatus from the ring. Pacquiao and Morales thrilled us for an exciting thirteen rounds of non stop actions. Vargas and Mosley demonstrated that two guys past their prime could still make an entertaining match.
You may look at those pay per view numbers and wonder to yourself that with the exception of DLH vs. Mayorga, they are pretty low compared to the ppv buys UFC gets. But let’s put things in perspective. UFC shows one ppv or two at best a month and that’s it. Of course, there’s the UFC reality series but when it comes to real UFC fights that’s about it the only coverage you’ll get. They have no television coverage and only exist here in the U.S. by ppv. Showtime and HBO at least show one boxing broadcast coverage a month. ESPN, VS, and Fox Sport also cover the sport.
It’s an accessible sport for the fans. Despite all that coverage, boxing still manages to pull in big numbers in ppv. If you combine the two or three ppv buys in one month for boxing, it would equal the ppv buys of UFC in that particular month. Pacquiao’s and Mayweather ppv buys in November drew an estimated 680,000 buys. The rival ppv between Hopkins’ last stands and up comer start Miguel Cotto did an estimated 500,000 buys combine. Those ppv buys in that same month would equal or surpassed the sole ppv of UFC in one month. That does not include television ratings. The contender series alone and its finale drew record numbers. Holyfied’s attempt for a comeback was a success for Fox Sport Network where it became the second highest boxing show for the network.
Boxing do not exist only in the U.S unlike UFC. It is a world wide sport where each country has a chance to produce their own boxing hero. Koki Kameda had half of Japan glued in their television when he fights. Joe Calzaghe fills up the arena back in his native land. Ricky Hatton had his own cult following in England. Oleg Makaev came back as a national hero in Russia and successfully defended his belt in front of a ruckus crowd. And then there is Manny Pacquiao who is a combination of Elvis, Bruce Lee and Ali in the Philippines. That tells me that boxing is a growing sport. The U.S. is still the Mecca of Megabucks fight, but there are other places in the world where you can come nowadays and make the big bucks. They are growing even larger outside the states. That is something UFC could not claim in and forgot to mention in their talks of a big take over.
Boxing made a return in the big screen. Rocky Balboa made a successful comeback in the box office and finished the series the right way as if that horrible Rocky V never existed. The boxing scenes in the movie do not seem so far-fetched after the slugfest 2006 gave us. The fight between Rocky Balboa and Mason Dixon is reminisced of Lamon Brewter vs. Sergui Lyakhovich with the mixture of Morales vs. Pacquiao II.
The veterans of boxing still carry the sport but new star emerge. Erik Morales passed on the torch to the Filipino sensation, Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao helped sold more than 17,000 seats in the Thomas and Mack center. He exemplifies everything good about the sport. Pacquiao is a humble guy who comes into the ring to deliver excitement regardless on who is in front of him. If you come into his fight or order his ppv, I doubt that you’ll be asking for a refund. Then there are others like Edwin Valero, Edison Miranda, Jermain Taylor and other young bloods that will keep the future of the sport bright.
You may contact the author at jeffcabauatan@yahoo.com