Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao Is the Last Chance for Boxing

March 13.

It was supposed to be the day the sport of boxing would never forget.

The day undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and current WBO World Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao were supposed to make boxing history.

The potential bout was already billed as one of—if not—the most anticipated fights in boxing history.

After months of trying to come to an agreement over the manner of which drug testing would be performed, promoters called the mega-fight off.

A super-fight between Mayweather, 41-0-0 with 25 KO’s, and Ring Magazine's No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer Pacquiao, 51-3-2, with 38 KO’s could bring much needed prestige and popularity to a sport that is currently being dominated by both the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment.

While WWE, scripted but nevertheless entertainment, and UFC both showcase pay-per-views on a near monthly basis, boxing has big fights that draw a large audiences both in live attendance and pay-per-views, only two or three times a year.

WWE runs approximately 12 pay-per-views per year, with Wrestle Mania being their biggest event draw. Wrestle Mania 26, which was held in March of this year, generated only 885,000 buys—one of the lowest Wrestle Mania buy rates in recent memory.

However, the WWE makes up for this globally as they have a much larger international audience than boxing or the UFC, making up for some for its PPV shortcomings.

The UFC, since its mainstream emergence in 2005, has been very aggressive in its pay-per-views, promoting nearly one a month.

In terms of buys, UFC accounted for six of the top 10 pay-per-view events. The UFC has marketable, marquee names, capable of producing high-profile fights, who can generate a solid audience for every pay-per-view.

With boxing not having much of a heavyweight division for the past several years, save for the Klitschko brothers, other high-profile fights are needed to help fill the void from boxing’s previously showcased division.

According to ESPN.com, the Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey fight on March 13 generated 700,000 domestic pay-per-view buys, while the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley fight on May 1 amassed 1,400,000 buys.

This shows that both fighters are highly marketable and are more than capable of generating a large audience for a potential fight.

Boxing still has the capability to outproduce UFC or WWE with the right fight being made.

Negotiations for a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight are already underway, with a possible November 13 date scheduled.

Boxing needs this fight as it would generate interest from a wide audience—as well as casual fans—and could bring the sport back into a golden age.

It's almost inconsequential who would win this match between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

In the end, the sport of boxing and—most importantly—the fans would be the true winners.