Boxing has been trying to reinvent itself over the last couple of years in hopes of increasing its fan base and pay-per-view sales. There was a time when a matchup was announced and then bought by one of the television networks. Tickets were sold and the bout was held without much promotion other than video and a few interviews of the two boxers going through their workouts.
In today’s world of 24/7 access, boxing is trying to figure out how best to capture the attention and dollars of the mass market. It’s why Floyd Mayweather signed a deal with Showtime and its parent company the CBS Corporation that could be worth a reported $200 million.
The first of a six-fight deal takes place Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas where Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) defends his WBC welterweight title against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) of Gilroy, Calif. Mayweather, 36, is a heavy favorite despite not having fought in a year and spending two months of that hiatus in jail on a domestic violence conviction.
Nevertheless, his status as the pound-and-pound king of boxing and the controversy that shadows him was enough for Showtime to invest a fortune in Mayweather’s star appeal. Tomorrow’s fight has been heavily promoted with two full-scale documentaries on Mayweather and four episodes of All-Access: Mayweather vs. Guerrero. That doesn’t include the countless interviews on the various other Showtime/CBS digital and electronic platforms.
“He’s incredibly hard-working in and out of the ring,” Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s boxing boss, said of Mayweather. “He’s a total team player and he’s very supportive of everything Showtime is doing.”
The question remains whether Mayweather, who nicknamed himself “Money,” is worth the money. He will earn at least $30 million for tomorrow’s night bout and plans to fight a total of six times within 30 months. That’s an ambitious schedule for someone who has averaged just one fight over the last six years.
In addition to questioning whether Mayweather will want to fight a minimum of twice a year for the next three years, skeptics wonder about the level of competition available. Guerrero is a six-time four-division world champion, but is largely unknown outside boxing circles. If Mayweather gets past Guerrero future opponents could include Saul Canelo Alvarez of Mexico, an unbeaten unified champion at 154 pounds, who is wildly popular with Latin fans, or Danny Garcia an unbeaten 140-pound champion from Philadelphia who won a tough 12-round bout with Zab Judah last week at the Barclays Center. The long-talked-about fight with Manny Pacquiao seems doomed for good after Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez last December.
Regardless of the opponent, “Money” is still a proven money maker. Mayweather has averaged more than 1 million pay-per-view buys since fighting Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. But sustaining that could become problematic if the level of competition isn’t intriguing. There’s also the remote possibility Mayweather could lose, ruining his appeal as the unbeaten pound-for-pound king.
Mayweather had fought exclusively on HBO before Espinoza said Showtime made the boxer “an offer they couldn’t refuse.” Expect to see plenty of Mayweather and fighters under Mayweather Promotions on Showtime for the next 30 months. The network will keep its fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong.
Showtime’s mega-deal with Mayweather is similar to the risk the network took when it signed Mike Tyson after the former heavyweight champion was released after spending three years in prison on a rape conviction. It wasn’t long after the signing that Tyson bit off a part of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 rematch, causing Tyson to lose his boxing license. “In spite of all his problems, Tyson was a hotly contested piece of talent,” Showtime CEO Matt Blank once said. “It was a big deal for us to get that talent.”
It’s a big deal for Showtime to get Mayweather. Now it’s up to Mayweather to make the deal worthwhile. We may not know whether Money was worth money for another 30 months.