By Vivek Wallace – It has been reported by several sources, to include ESPN’s Dan Rafael that Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum has been given the green light from Team Mayweather to make official the now tentative date of March 13th, for the proposed showdown between himself and Filipino Manny Pacquiao. Despite head trainer Freddie Roach previously stating the he would “need more time than March to prepare Manny Pacquiao for Floyd Mayweather jr.”, few would expect Pacquiao to back out of the most lucrative showdown in the history of the sport. With a few t’s to cross and a few i’s to dot, word around camp is that the more technical issues have been resolved. That being said, this evening’s preliminary showdowns with Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins squaring off on separate cards have even greater implications, for the simple fact that the tentative date slated for them to resolve their unfinished business is……well…..March 13th! I know that most fight fans have been yelling about weak undercards for the longest, but for those of us who thought that movie theater idea hit paydirt, if Goldenboy Promotions is up to what I hope they are, it’s time we vote these guys to the Presidential office.
So, wait a minute….let’s put a few pieces together here….We have Goldenboy Promotions….(check)…..Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather jr both fall within those ranks….(check)…..Both men in mega-fights slated for the same night……(check)….OK, we’re on to something, guys! Now, just a few weeks ago, Richard Schaefer of GBP stated that there’s no question Mayweather/Pacquiao would do well above 3M PPV buys, and in so many words made it clear that the public would have multiple reasons to want to tune in. Now, not once did he tip his hat to a potential card pairing 4 of the most intriguing figures to grace the sport in recent years, but with so much at stake and so many question marks, you don’t have to be a businessman to know that would have been a fools move, regardless, considering the prematurity of it all. So, now that the speculative position has been tossed out into the open air, lets take things a step further and actually assemble this puzzle. If indeed this speculative masterplan is thee masterplan, fight fans around the globe would be on the brink of a night for the ages. On the undercard, you’d have the ‘Executioner’ squaring off against a man most view has his official jury. The term ‘jury’ would be quite fitting for Jones, (as as it relates to Hopkins), because no other man in the sport has ever sentenced him to the backburner like Jones in a very decisive loss. This would not only serve as a potential legacy re-defining showdown, but also a swan-song for the two men, as they move beyond the ring and into the shadows, clearing the way for the main event, which would feature the two greatest pound-for-pound men of this particular era.
In that particular face-off you’d have the ‘undefeated’ versus the ‘undisputed’ in a showdown pairing two men, on one night, leaving no excuses! The speculative magnitude of this fight in and of itself could nearly drive more fans back to the sport than the emergence of a young Mike Tyson. Some view that statement as a stretch, but let the records reflect that it would not only give us one of the co-owners of the largest PPV date in the history of the sport, but also the largest global phenom the sport has seen since (Mike Tyson). Some may question how could four huge egos possible exist on one fight card when you look at the money? My response to them would be to consider the fact that neither Jones or Hopkins has ever commanded a purse in excess of 8M-10M for one fight, so splitting a purse 50/50 tells me that even a blind man would see 20/20 when all is said and done here. Suddenly, that idea of a near 100,000 seat Cowboys Stadium doesn’t look so odd, as even at an abysmal $50 per seat (which we know won’t happen), there’d be far more than enough to go around. When you add those figures up, there’s no subtracting from the fact that millions in multiples leave little room for division….just science, from pure chemistry!
At the end of the day, this is all sheer speculation, but when we put certain pieces together and parallel those thoughts with stranger happenings of the past, there’s no question, it all makes sense. Generally, March is all about collegiate hoops, but when you have four legendary professionals of this caliber stepping up to a world stage, neither the pennant race in October, the NBA Finals in June, or the Superbowl in February could ever compare. You may not agree, but let me remind you that as amazing as those other sports are, when there’s no big man to toss the ball to in the paint, or no left guard to pick up the blindside avalanche, it all comes back down to the essence. Simplified, that essence is two men, mano y mano, with no third-party to rely on. Only themselves…..From one bell to the next, or one blow to the deck! That’s what makes boxing so special, and when you look at these four warriors, that’s what would make this event so grand. Despite me pleading the case that boxing on this level is better than any other sport, the best way to cement my conviction in the minds of the readers out there is by stealing a line from the NBA. Perhaps that isn’t the best way to make a point, but for a lack of more appropriate words available right now, damn, “I LOVE THIS GAME”!
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, YouTube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747) Facebook, and Myspace).