Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Superfight Won't Be Enough to Save Boxing from Itself

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight may be closer than ever to happening, but don't think for a second that the superfight will save the struggling sport.

Professional boxing, once the main draw and top dog of the fighting world, has been overtaken in recent years by the new breed, MMA.

Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports did an interview a while back with Joe Hand, a Pay-Per-View distributor, who used to be heavy into boxing promotion. 

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Over the course of a year, we might do three big boxing matches, tops. Hand said. UFC is running every month. And a year in advance, I know the date and site of those shows.

If you own a sports bar and you can buy a UFC event for $1,000, and you know you're going to pack the place, why would you buy the Floyd Mayweather fight (Sept. 19 head-to-head v. UFC 103) for $2,200 and not do as well?

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Why, indeed.

While there are still enough boxing fans out there who will be willing to shell out the big cash for a one-time superfight like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, there aren't hardly enough of them to keep the sport going long-term.

Unless professional boxing abandons the current model, the sport is doomed to sink into financial obscurity. 

Dana White of the UFC has created an admirable business model, bringing in hundreds of the top fighters in the world under the same umbrella. He has shown them the benefit of a steady paycheck and stable organization, and the sport is growing beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

This incredible stable of talent has allowed White to do what the boxing promoters can't do: provide an entertaining card.

MMA fans know that some of the best fights tend to be some of the undercard matches. 

Boxing fans, on the other hand, tend to stroll in fashionably late due to the fact that there are hardly ever any decent matches on the undercard.

Boxing is on its last breath, and this fight won't do anything to change that fact.

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