The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of September 22
With the boxing world still in recovery mode from last weekend’s “Mayhem” pay-per-view card in Las Vegas, it’s understandable to have a bit of a hangover effect.
But you’ll need to wait at least another week for that.
Floyd Mayweather is back in the news again—what else is new—reportedly close to some drastic changes in his team.
We’ll examine what changes could be in the offing for the boxing superstar and take a look at how his recent fight fared at the box office.
Moving away from the Mayweather show, we take a look at George Groves' successful return to the ring, Nonito Donaire’s next fight and the possible return of Timothy Bradley later this year.
These are your hottest boxing storylines for the week ahead.
Are Troubled Waters Ahead for Floyd Mayweather?
1 of 5
Just about everything seemed off for Mayweather last Saturday night.
Sure, he did enough to beat Marcos Maidana in their welterweight rematch, but he was criticized for running and holding more than we’ve seen in the recent past, and he appeared subdued during post-fight festivities.
Mayweather wasn’t his loud, boisterous self, leading some to conclude that his show had gotten stale.
Recent developments might provide a bit of a window into the less-than-energetic approach taken by the pound-for-pound king in the wake of his 47th career victory.
Steve Carp reported earlier in the week that Mayweather was highly upset with upper-level members of his team, citing a report from Ben Thompson of FightHype.com that the undefeated champion was considering parting ways with Leonard Ellerbe and reshuffling his team.
Ellerbe, a longtime confidant and friend, is the CEO of Mayweather Promotions and one of the few men that Floyd has allowed to speak for him over the years. A split between the two would be a shocking development, but it’s one that seems to be in the cards.
Mayweather indicated that he’s unhappy with how Ellerbe handled certain aspects of his rematch with Maidana, including ticket arrangements for family members at the fight and the decision to defend his titles in two weight classes in the same night.
The pound-for-pound king indicated he never approved the multi-weight defense, and that he and Ellerbe just didn’t seem to be on the same page anymore.
Already gone from Mayweather’s team is longtime cutman Rafael Garcia.
The 85-year-old was reportedly unhappy with a reduced role on fight night—he was shuttled off to Mickey Bey’s corner and didn’t tape Floyd’s hands, as is customary—and he’s decided to call it a career, indicating he has zero ill will toward Mayweather.
While Garcia is out and Ellerbe could be on the way, the newest member of The Money Team is strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.
Ariza, who cut his teeth as a part of Manny Pacquiao’s team when the Filipino was buzzsawing through the sport, signed a two-year deal with Mayweather.
It’s an interesting development—Ariza was an unofficial member of Mayweather’s team leading up to the Maidana fight—and one that will lead to some questions and controversy in the coming days.
For a fighter who has built his empire through keen decisions and stability, this appears to be the rockiest patch we’ve seen Mayweather traverse in some time. How he comes through it should be very interesting to watch.
Is Floyd Still a Box-Office Draw?
2 of 5
In boxing, there’s the Mayweather standard and the everyone-else standard.
When Mayweather faced Maidana in May, the hype surrounding the bout was noticeably subdued from his previous bout, a record-setting affair against Canelo Alvarez last September.
The pay-per-view numbers, destined for a dropoff, fell precipitously from an estimated 2.2 million against Canelo to less-than one million against Maidana.
With stagnant public interest and a woeful undercard, many pundits expected that Mayweather vs. Maidana 2 would be a hard sell at the box office.
Turns out that wasn’t quite the case.
There were quite a few noticeable empty seats inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena on fight night, but the early PPV numbers look solid when viewed in context.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reports that the welterweight rematch generated an estimated 925,000 buys at the lofty sticker price of $77.99 in high definition. That’s pretty solid stuff for a fight that had limited public appeal and gave the fans absolutely nothing to shoot for but the main event.
You’d have to expect that Mayweather and his benefactors at Showtime will be happy with these numbers, and it’s hard to view them as anything but a slight overperformance.
Was it the million they were hoping for?
No, but again, context is key.
It was still the best-selling PPV of the year, topping their first contest, Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 and Cotto vs. Martinez.
Even at 37 years old, the pound-for-pound king remains a top draw at the box office, even when competing in a fight that very few people actually wanted to see.
Can George Groves Become a World Champion?
3 of 5
Groves, best known for his two-fight series with Carl Froch, rebounded from those devastating defeats with a unanimous decision over Christopher Rebrasse on Saturday night in London.
The win netted Groves the EBU Super Middleweight Championship, but more importantly it put him back on the path toward a world-title opportunity.
Groves seemed to be on the path to British boxing superstardom after a hotly controversial stoppage loss to Froch last November.
Ahead in the fight, referee Howard Foster inexplicably pulled the Hammersmith native out in Round 9, a stoppage decried by most as premature, leading to an immediate rematch this past May.
Froch was more decisive this time around, blasting Groves with a missile right hand in front of a packed Wembley Stadium and putting a decisive stamp on the rivalry.
But that’s the past, and with the win, Groves now finds himself as the mandatory challenger for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship, recently won by undefeated American Anthony Dirrell.
That fight could take place early next year—Dirrell recently took the title with an ugly decision over Sakio Bika—and would be an interesting match of two fighters with guts and great pop on their punches.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Has Nonito Donaire Bitten off More Than He Can Chew?
4 of 5
Donaire was flying up the pound-for-pound ranks and drawing comparisons to his compatriot Pacquiao when he ran into Guillermo Rigondeaux last year.
It’s possibly unfair to say that fight ruined him, but it clearly took a few miles off his fastball.
Donaire was virtually shut out—irrespective of the criminally close scorecards—and he just hasn’t been the same fighter since.
The Filipino struggled mightily in his return to the ring, taking out Vic Darchinyan with a come-from-behind knockout in Round 9 of a rematch last November. Donaire had absolutely pasted the awkward Armenian in their first bout, and he looked reluctant when on the attack.
Donaire’s next performance, a technical-decision win over Simpiwe Vetyeka which netted him a featherweight title, was spurious at best. Everything about the fight stunk, and it just didn’t feel like it was on the up and up.
Up next for the Filipino Flash is a title fight against undefeated featherweight slugger Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters on the Gennady Golovkin vs. Marco Antonio Rubio undercard in November.
Walters, who like Donaire holds a WBA world title at 126 pounds, carries some significant dynamite in his fists. The Jamaican fighter has stopped 20 of his 24 foes inside the distance, and he’s coming off a spectacular knockout of Darchinyan.
He seems to be a fighter on the upswing, while Donaire seems to have put his best days behind him.
Obviously that could all change on fight night, but it’s possible that the once-promising Filipino has bitten off a bit more punch than he can chew at this point.
Will Timothy Bradley Return to Pound-for-Pound Form?
5 of 5
Bradley talked a big game coming into his rematch with Pacquiao, promising to knock out the Filipino icon and prove his first win was no fluke. And he sure did try, even rocking his foe early before fading late and losing a clear decision.
You’ve got to feel a bit for Bradley. He received so much flak for receiving a decision that consensus said he didn’t deserve, but none of it was his fault.
Desert Storm is a helluva fighter, easily a top-five pound-for-pound entrant, and he showed he can beat a fellow elite fighter by taking a clear decision from Juan Manuel Marquez last year.
Bradley will get back on the horse following his first loss in the winter, reportedly close to a deal for a fight with Diego Chaves on December 13 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Chaves, a rugged Argentine who gave Keith Thurman a tough fight and lost by disqualification against Brandon Rios in August, is an exciting action fighter.
He could give Bradley a chance to rebuild his stock outside his comfort zone, much like Ruslan Provodnikov did in the Fight of the Year last March.
Bradley is a better boxer, but he likes to engage and proved he can be exciting when pressed. Expect Chaves to force him to fight.
This is an important fight for Bradley—he gets little respect and no favors from many in the boxing community—and he’ll need to be focused and determined to show he can still get it done at the top level.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
