Exhibitions, Side Shows, New Angles or Something Else? Part 3 of a 3-Part Series

In the mad scramble to get a piece of the boxing money pie, the following categorizing seems appropriate:

Pure Exhibitions

Chavez Sr. vs. Jorge Arce (with minimal hype) started it; Jones and Tyson (with massive hype) turbo-charged it. Moralas vs. Barrera, should they meet, might keep it going—assuming fans will be willing to pay. Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis loom, but anything involving Buster Douglas or Riddick Bowe moves the “pure” out of things.

“Special Exhibition” aka Pure Money Grabs

Undefeated, 12-time, five division boxing superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is a profound farce that does nothing for Money’s legacy other than inflating his bankroll.

This is a freak show.

Comebacks

Those that are not ill-advised are far and few between. Oscar de la Hoya is not Henry Maske or Carlos Palomino. He’s not even Felix Sturm. Calling out Gennady Golovkin is a bad idea. Oscar needs to rethink this.

New Angle  – Bridgerweight Division

“When everyone becomes a champion, no one will, and the sanctioning bodies will laugh all the way to the bank.” — source unknown

The new level (200-224) is the brainchild of the World Boxing Council. The division will sit just beneath the heavyweight class, and above cruiserweight.

When “Franchise” champions were inexplicably added on top of “regular” champions in different weight classes by the WBC, the reception was overwhelmingly negative. Rather than following a traditional linear system (“the man who beat the man),” franchise” champions theoretically could be anyone the WBC decides to proclaim the titleholder. Now comes a new division and the reception has not been a positive one. That said, however, if Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk or some other high-profile fighter decides to participate in this new ‘Bridger’ division, all bets could be off as the other organizations-IBF, WBA, WBO– will quickly want in on the action—and money.

Nevertheless, it’s a very questionable concept until proven otherwise.

“We have decided to create a new division called Bridger, as it is the bridge necessary to serve the large number of boxers who are between 200 and 224-pounds. This name is inspired by that hero of humanity, that six-year-old boy who heroically saved his four-year-old sister from an attack by a wild dog during the pandemic; yes, this new division is inspired by Bridger Walker.”—WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman

Crossover fights

The floodgates have stayed closed on this one but the potential remains, the key variable being money. Mayweather vs McGregor II is a possibility, and Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s name has been mentioned as a potential opponent of Manny Pacquaio.

Something Else

When boxing superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather traveled to London to witness the Joshua-Pulev fight and to declare that he “was proud of Joshua,” and to further proclaim his love for UK boxing and UK boxing fans, one has to wonder what that portends. Whatever the case, it’s important to keep in perspective that everything Mayweather does revolves around money.

Bottom Line

In fact, everything in boxing – whether serious or otherwise – turns on making money. Perhaps the pandemic has fueled the new non-traditional endeavors. If so, once the vaccines begin to have a noticeably positive impact, the end of the pandemic will finally be in sight unless some mutant virus makes an unlikely appearance. At that point, exhibitions, side shows and the Jake and Logan Paul’s of the boxing world may disappear.

Stay tuned.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com

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