Floyd Mayweather dominated Robert Guerrero in his most recent fight, but that is not necessarily enough to please fans nowadays.
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, the early projections for the pay-per-view numbers were not very good:
This is coming off a year-long absence for Mayweather, who had not fought since defeating Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012. If he was unable to get great fan support for this bout, it is not a good sign for the future.
It is tough to argue against the fact that the match against Guerrero was boring. Money thoroughly destroyed his opponent and won by unanimous decision in a bout that was never really in question.
During the match, the champion danced around the ring while avoiding contact from the hard hitter at an incredible rate. According to Compubox, Guerrero only landed 19 percent of his punches.
As the bout continued, it was clear the Mayweather had no interest in going for a knockout because he was confident in coming away with the victory on points.
After winning all of his 44 career fights, it is clear the experienced boxer knows what it takes to get the victory. However, at 36 years old, he is no longer pleasing fans with his style.
People do not want to pay around $70 to watch something they have seen plenty of times before. They want to see action and possible upsets, and Mayweather does not provide that. We are confident that he will win, and we are confident that he will not do anything that will amaze us.
The biggest thing that gets fans to watch these big events is the feeling that they will miss something that everyone will be talking about. The only thing that anyone is discussing after the most recent fight was how uninteresting it was.
At this stage, the next PPV will only generate excitement if the opponent is interesting.
Rafael reports that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is already in discussions for a bout matching Mayweather with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Obviously, he would be the best option out of all the fighters available.
However, even if this fight comes to fruition, you still have to wonder what comes next. Mayweather has five more bouts left on his contract with Showtime, and the network wants all of them to be entertaining.
Money can no longer carry a fight by himself to the degree that is expected. Unless he changes his style and goes for the knockout, the PPV numbers will remain low. This seems like it is the way it will be for the near future.
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