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Floyd Mayweather, Jr.: Boxing’s greatest businessman 27 May 2015

The hysteria over the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao boxing unification fight is far from over. The world of boxing has continued to dig for more insights into what was hyped as the “Fight of the Century” but which turned out to be the biggest letdown of the decade and essentially a non-fight. It was certainly the “richest fight in history,” given the constellation of Hollywood superstars, Silicon Valley moguls, Wall Street executives and sporting legends in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the night of May 2. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao made more money in one night than either boxer had previously imagined.

For the main architect behind this match, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr., his mission was accomplished – which was precisely to become filthy richer. It is, therefore, important for many of those who are disgruntled about the absence of an entertainment value in the match -- and the commercialization of boxing by Mayweather -- to have a better understanding of the man and what he truly is, namely, the greatest businessman in boxing’s history. Mayweather trained to become the best pound-for-pound fighter of his generation; he perfected the art of defensive boxing and carefully racked up an impressive unbeaten record of 48–0. In 2007 he rebranded himself from being called “Pretty Boy Floyd” to “Money Mayweather” and cultivated a celebrity cult following.      

The best ever?
 
This new brand of Money Mayweather cannot be sustained without self-indulgent ego-tripping. So Mayweather began to brag about being the best ever – even going as far as saying he is a better boxer than Mohammad Ali. Phew! To be clear, Mayweather must remind us that Ali too was a pretty annoying braggart in his prime. But he should be informed that Ali was a pugilist in the pure sense of the word – in and outside of the ring. Outside of the ring, Ali used words to torment his would-be opponents. In explaining his strategy, Ali once said: "I like to get a man mad, because when a man's mad, he wants ya so bad, he can't think.” And when he got into the ring, Ali damned well proved his mettle.  

We have also seen the exhibition of Mayweather’s hubris when he expressed his desire to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49–0 unbeaten record. (By the way, Marciano is the only boxer to hold a heavyweight title without being defeated in his entire career.) What I find a bit curious is why Mayweather keeps making comparisons to boxers in the heavyweight division; it is like comparing apples and oranges. Besides, Marciano was a real fighter, not a dancer. He had an 87.75 knockout percentage, which is the highest in heavyweight history.

As the May 2 match wore on, this fight between two of the supposedly best fighters became painfully boring to watch, especially for some of us who kept vigil till 5:00am (local time in Nigeria) when the match eventually started. Mayweather’s low blows and occasional right-hand jabs had zero devastating knock-out effect on Manny Pacquiao, who although is famed to be the aggressive, quick-footed boxer, appeared to be measured in his approach.

This fight was not living up to the hype of becoming boxing’s biggest fight of the century. So I started to wonder what boxing historians and fans of the sweet science, as boxing is fondly called, would say about the outcome of this faux fight in comparison with the real Fight of the Century between Mohammad Ali and Joe Frazier (which took place on March 18, 1971) or the entire trilogy between the duo, which culminated in the October 1, 1975 Thrilla in Manila. There were no satellite TV and social media at the time. But these epic fights lived up to their hypes. Nevertheless, whether you like him or not, you got to respect Mayweather for his ability to leverage his boxing skills to build this larger-than-life image and become the world’s highest-paid athlete. I imagine buccaneers and hall of famers Don King and Bob Arum pining with envy.         

King of Pay-per-view

American billionaire investor and owner of Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, told Forbes magazine in 2010: “I don’t think people realize just how focused [Mayweather] is on being more successful outside the ring than he is inside.” With his own company, Mayweather Promotions, the 38-year-old head of “The Money Team” is his own fight promoter. This means he collects incomes from all tickets to his fights, as well as Pay-per-view (PPV) and sponsorship revenues. But here is the kicker; Mayweather also pays his opponents’ salaries. Everything has to be done according to his terms, including carefully choosing his opponents. Much of the five-year dithering over fighting Pacquiao was all part of Mayweather’s business plan to maximize revenue.    

When all is said and done, the fight revenue for the May 2 match would reach $700 million. Live gate sales at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was $72.2 million; foreign TV rights: $35 million; sponsorships: $13.2 million; ticket sales for closed-circuit viewing centres: $6.9 million. Mayweather’s personal earning would be $240 million from just one-night’s work. Meanwhile, Pacquiao would have made $160 million. As of May 16, Mayweather reportedly said the latest numbers for PPV buyers was 5.2 million. This far exceeds the initial 4.4 million PPV figure that was reported, with estimated revenue of over $400 million. This is income generated from viewers that paid $100 each to watch the fight in the privacy of their homes.

Over the last 10 years alone, the “Money Mayweather” brand has in fact generated a combined $943 million in PPV revenue for the networks and the fighter. For such a lucrative brand, it could not have been difficult to offer him the deal he has with Showtime Networks. But more importantly, staying undefeated is central to Mayweather’s marketability.

Legacy

The youngster who turned pro in 1996 has risen to the pinnacle of boxing and has contributed his quota to the economy of the sport. For that, he should be given considerable credit. Passing moral judgments on account of his flamboyant lifestyle is immaterial. However, the vacuousness of his latest fight throws up the question of Mayweather’s legacy to the sport of boxing, especially when his 48–0 unbeaten record is no longer mythical, but rather seen to be largely contrived.