Anticipation Is Beautiful For Boxing: The Guerrero No-Go Aftermath

Anticipation Is Beautiful For Boxing: The Guerrero No-Go Aftermath – Some of the most successful television shows create cliffhangers to keep viewers interested. Add the running drama of “Will Floyd Mayweather fight Manny Pacquiao?” into the mix. Last week’s rerun of Mayweather and Pacquiao bickering reeducated fight fans on something we already know: All is talk in boxing until the gloves are laced.

The potential fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao is not about the talk. It is about what is real, trying to discover who is the best fighter in boxing. Right now there is nothing real between Mayweather and Pacquiao besides gossip. Whether Mayweather calls Pacquiao to “step up” or promoter Bob Arum wants to build a temporary arena to host the fight or prevent it from happening on May 5^th, or Robert Guerrero challenges Mayweather, it is still gossip. More surface than substance.

If boxing is a soap opera and anticipation of one episode only leads to the thrilling excitement of the next then the boxing fan is a sucker. If public opinion carried necessary weight with the pound for pound debate then Floyd and Manny would have fought years ago and we would be discussing their third fight, not their first. Over the years, promoters got away with Pacquiao and Mayweather fighting others because anticipation is beautiful for boxing. Fans are eager to watch great fighters and promoters are thirsty to present. So we get teased. Well, the tease of Robert Guerrero did not work very well last week. Or did it? Guerrero benefitted. He is more popular now for being mentioned with Mayweather than he was for anything else.

Ready or not, lightweight champion Robert Guerrero wants to fight Floyd Mayweather. Last Monday I broke word that Mayweather and Guerrero’s camps were close to an agreement to fight on May 5. The story was generally received with negativity from many in boxing who want to see Mayweather fight Pacquiao.

The following day Mayweather used Twitter to call out Pacquiao in an attempt to either save dignity or show his real motive. What followed was news that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao do not want to fight anyone besides each other.

Today, besides many insults between the camps of Floyd and Manny, not much has changed.

But who is numb to the excuses created by all parties involved in the potential Mayweather and Pacquiao fight? Is it them or us?

Follow Ray on Twitter @RayMarkarian

Anticipation Is Beautiful For Boxing: The Guerrero No-Go Aftermath / Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.