Comeback or Not????

The tweet, “Bozella wins and has inspired me to make a comeback!!!!” came from Oscar De La Hoya last night during the once and a lifetime story of Dewey Bozella. Let’s not forget the tweet from September 27 “It's so sad mayweather has to bash people and flaunt money he's not going to when he retires.give Ortiz a rematch.try beat him fair... And then maybe just maybe i will give you a mother chance at me.” Oscar corrected mother with another but we all knew what he meant. Ever since De La Hoya retired most thought he would eventually get back in the ring as a fighter although he has sworn he wouldn’t. When confronted with his challenge of Mayweather, Oscar backed down saying no chance at a comeback. However with the rate that comeback, or hints of a comeback, is coming from Oscar personally, one has to wonder. It’s not like a boxer has said he was retired and came back before, right?

As I wrote close to a year ago, Why Golden Boy Needs the Golden Boy Back in the Ring, Golden Boy has no huge PPV attractions. Bernard Hopkins was never a true PPV star and Mosley and Marquez have both moved on chasing Pacquiao. Mayweather is not a Golden Boy fighter; he just uses their services to help him out. Golden Boy has not developed any PPV stars at this time and they desperately need one. Although Golden Boy has some great fighters in their roster, they need PPV stars to generate more revenue. So what would be bigger for Golden Boy than a return of the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya? De la Hoya is proven PPV star and after his recent admissions of faults people would rush to see him fight again. The admirers as well as the haters will both tune in to see what De La Hoya has left which will generate lots of revenue. Also with the high rate of PPVs, it can generate plenty of exposure for other up and coming stars on the Golden Boy roster.

Close to three years since his last fight and over three years since his last victory what could we expect from the 38 probably 39 year old De La Hoya by the time he fights if he fights again? Has his injuries been healed and his body rested? What effects has the years of cocaine done to his body since he retired? Even with all of the questions that surround De La Hoya’s possible return, one thing for certain is people will watch. So should we say the Oscar De La Hoya Sweepstakes is back on? Who will Oscar fight? What weight will he fight at? Who will be Oscar’s trainer? Let the questions begin and as time comes and goes all of these answers will be revealed. But no matter what the answers are, when Oscar De La Hoya walks in the ring, millions will be watching.

10 Random Questions

1. Who cares if David Haye retires?
2. Is there a trend or just a coincidence that two fighters left Emanuel Steward within weeks apart?
3. Should random blood and urine be required for all major fights?
4. Did anyone notice the base price of PPV fights has moved to $54.95?
5. Why do fighters still sign with Don King?
6. Will the Super Six World Boxing Classic ever end?
7. Who held Richard Schaefer hostage when Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz had that conference call?
8. Will Victor Ortiz ever tell the truth about his family background?
9. How many more lives does Kermit Cintron have?
10. Does anyone take Kimbo Slice seriously?

10 Random Questions

1. Does anyone care to see a rematch of Hopkins-Dawson?
2. Will Evander Holyfield ever retire?
3. Will Oscar De La Hoya ever stop contradicting himself?
4. Did anyone see or care about those pictures of John Ruiz in drag?
5. Will Ken Hershman moving to HBO be better for HBO?
6. Can Kelly Pavlik regain his fans and championship form?
7. How did Hasim Rahman become #1 in the WBA?
8. Will Luis Collazo be relevant again?
9. Is Joshua Clottey still living like a king in Ghana?
10. Where can I get a refund for Hopkins-Dawson and Hopkins-Jones Jr.?

Pacquiao-Mosley: Business First And Fans Somewhere Down The Line

Many fans all over the world are upset because Manny Pacquiao will face Shane Mosley May 7, 2011. Pacquiao, considered to be the best boxer in the world, is coming off a dominating win over Antonio Margarito in November to claim the vacant WBC Junior Middleweight title. After a failed attempt to land a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao and his promoter Top Rank were forced to find another opponent. The options for opponents were, Andre Berto, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Shane Mosley. Andre Berto, the WBC welterweight champion, has yet to face any serious competition and is unknown to everyone except die hard boxing fans. The lack of public recognition makes the fight with Berto a tough sale even for the extremely popular Manny Pacquiao. Fight fans seem to clamor for a third fight between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez because of the closeness of their first two fights which ended in a draw in 2004 and a split decision win for Pacquiao in 2008. However outside of boxing fans Marquez is not widely known which does not translate into a huge profit. The only option left for Pacquiao, Sugar Shane Mosley, had a rough 2010 after getting thoroughly dominated by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May and fighting to a boring and disappointing draw with Sergio Mora in September. But so what, who cares?

Remember how many people were upset about Pacquiao fighting Antonio Margarito, the guy many believe purposely loaded his gloves to cheat? There were all kinds of talks on Facebook and Twitter among many other websites and social media outlets from fans about boycotting the fight. One fan emailed me saying Pacquiao-Margarito was a horrible fight and would kill the sport of boxing. With all of the negative talk about that fight you would’ve thought only a hundred people would attend the fight and even less would watch it on television. After it was all said and done Pacquiao-Margarito had over 40,000 people in attendance at Cowboy Stadium and sold over one million PPVs which is pretty good for a fight no one wanted to see.

Pacquiao-Mosley was not a highly demanded fight by the fans, but it is the most profitable fight at this time for each fighter and Top Rank. Mosley, a future hall of famer and a three division champ, has fought and beaten many of the great fighters of his era. He has fast hands, a strong chin, great knockout power, and has never been knocked out. He comes to fight no matter who the opponent is and always goes for the knockout. Mosley brings a recognizable name, a great resume, and more money and star power than any other fighter available not named Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many argue that Mosley does not deserve a fight with Pacquiao based on his last two fights, but again who cares?

Star power is the only reason George Foreman got his chance to knockout Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever. Foreman had been inactive for over a year and was dominated in his previous fight. Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and Muhammad Ali are also great examples of fighters with star power who got chances not demanded, but the public always tuned in to see fight. Top Rank is in the business of making money by promoting fights not pleasing every fan by promoting fights. What we have to remember is boxing, like all companies, is business first then fans somewhere down the line. Just like I heard in a rap song, “if it don’t make dollars it don’t make sense,” well the same goes for boxing. Pacquiao-Mosley is going to make dollars, so despite what fans say it still makes sense.