Mayweather vs. Berto: Examining State of Boxing After Money's Retirement
Observers have been declaring the death of boxing for, quite literally, centuries—since the mid-1700s, when the sport waned in popularity following the defeat of the heroic and refined Jack Broughton at the hands of the younger, rough-hewn Jack Slack.
Invariably, though, the sport has always come back to experience a new golden age.
In the wake of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s retirement announcement following Saturday night's unanimous-decision win over Andre Berto, expect to hear a new wave of bell tolling for the sweet science. But these pronouncements about boxing's imminent demise will be as short-sighted as all that have come before.
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It's not that Mayweather won't leave a big void in the sport. Love him or hate him—it's a fact that he made himself into a marketing juggernaut. And it took him nearly two decades to become that towering figure, so it's unrealistic to expect the next young lion to immediately move in and assume his spot.
But it also appears as if boxing is set to flourish in the post-Mayweather era—and sooner rather than later.
Defensive brilliance like Mayweather's has a tendency to suck the air out of a fight. Mayweather's fights developed a characteristic pattern in which he would potshot his opponents with jolting accuracy while almost completely avoiding getting hit.
This trend reached a pinnacle Saturday night against Berto, when Mayweather outlanded his outclassed opponent by an eye-popping rate (57 percent to 17 percent). Even for a boxing purist, it was hard to feel emotionally engaged in such a one-sided sparring session.
But in fairness, Berto's performance against Mayweather was not significantly worse than Manny Pacquiao's in May, which came during the most lucrative prizefight of all time. Fans had waited a half-decade hoping to see Pacquiao push Mayweather.
The result was one more one-sided unanimous decision. Mayweather's greatness as a fighter can't be denied. But it reached the point where it became hard to get excited for his fights.
And ultimately, the pay-per-view king's last bout will not have been the biggest event of the fall. The next two months will feature fights that will be far more interesting to the hardcore fans than Mayweather's clash with Berto was—and more likely to engage casual fans as well.
On October 17, undefeated WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will face the hard-punching IBF champion David Lemieux. In an amazing development, GGG has managed to turn himself into a pay-per-view attraction while simultaneously serving as the most-avoided fighter in the sport.
On November 21, lineal and WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto will take on Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. Featuring two of the sport's most popular fighters, this fight has the classic mythical overtones of the aging legend against the young gun.
Both fights promise the type of action and excitement that was lacking in Mayweather's farewell fight, a point that Oscar De La Hoya made after the bout:
A roster full of exciting welterweight talent waits in the wings as well. Britain's Kell Brook has the potential to rally the rabid English fans, which hasn't been done since the days of Ricky Hatton's prime.
Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia both hold undefeated records and have the promotional connections to get major fights. Rising star Errol Spence Jr. has been a one-man wrecking crew in 2015 and is ready for the next step.
Two-division world champion Terence Crawford and featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko also have the boxing skills and exciting styles to become pound-for-pound stars and big-time attractions. At light heavyweight, Sergey Kovalev heads a division stacked with the potential for classic fights.
The serious boxing fans will always stick with the sport through its ups and downs in popularity. But the conditions are set to attract a larger audience in the years ahead.
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