By John-Paul Wolfe
As sports fans around the world wait with growing anticipation for the Mayweather-Alvarez showdown on September 14, let us give thanks to the man who unknowingly set the stage for what will be the biggest money fight of all time, Robert Guerrero.
In the lead up to last May’s bout against Mayweather, Guerrero did next to nothing to excite boxing fans about the matchup, and nothing to intrigue casual sports fans. The most notable buzz generated by Guerrero during the promotion of the fight was his arrest at a New York airport for attempting to carry a firearm onto an airplane. In addition to placing his largest ever payday in doubt, this boneheaded mistake by Guerrero also made him a less attractive opponent.
Before his arrest Guerrero had cultivated an image as the God fearing, straight edge, good guy to Mayweather’s flashy bad boy persona. Although most observers felt, rightfully so, that Guerrero had little chance at dethroning the undefeated champion, at least there was a decent story line of the good guy versus the villain. After his arrest, this potential selling point went by the wayside.
As the Pay-Per-View numbers began to pour in, it became clear that although Mayweather-Guerrero was not a total bust, it performed significantly worse than what has become the norm whenever Mayweather steps into the ring. Calculations suggest that Mayweather-Guerrero did around 1 million PPV buys. Compare this to Mayweather’s previous outing against Cotto which sold 1.5 million PPV’s, and you see how noteworthy this drop was.
Mayweather is a boxer and a business man; he understands the need to sell a fight and has become master at doing so. Being that the Guerrero fight was his first time working under his new deal with Showtime, pressure to perform well, both in the ring and financially, must have been heightened for all involved with the Money Team.
Wanting to avoid another dip in generated revenue, Mayweather decided to take the most difficult, and fan friendly, fight available for his next Showtime date. A fight where he will be legitimately tested inside the ring, and also have a partner who will sell the fight and bring in fans, which his last challenger did not. Enter Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, an undefeated Mexican fighter with size, power, speed and a large and loyal fan base.
Mayweather-Alvarez has already entered the history books by becoming the highest grossing live gate in boxing history. Many suspect that Mayweather-Alvarez will also break his own PPV record set back in 2007 in his win against Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayweather is not only the pound-for-pound champion in the ring, but far and away the leading earner in boxing. As his nickname ‘Money’ suggests, Mayweather knows and values his title as the top PPV man in the sport. What was lacking in his last fight, a formidable opponent inside the ring, and a partner in promotion outside the ring, will not be an issue with Alvarez. Fans will be witness to a historic night in sports history, regardless of the outcome, and Mayweather will put another earnings record in the history books.
Without the lackluster earnings due to Guerrero’s inability to sell his matchup against Mayweather, there is a good chance that the Mayweather-Alvarez fight would have been delayed. Thank you Guerrero for adding the needed pressure to make what will likely be the richest boxing event of all time.
