Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Is it too late to care?

Since the Maywether-Pacquiao conversation is heating up and no one really knows what is going on, I thought I would weight in on the matter. Personally, I've been waiting for this fight for about 7 years, when they both were closer to their prime. In 2015, we're still waiting. What is the state of boxing, when we have to wait on fighters to get in the ring and entertain the fans? Are boxing fans a second thought in the minds of promoters? Are Al Haymon or Bob Arum to blame? These are are questions that may never get answered and I'm sick and tired of watching the deterioration of boxing. So often, we are fooled by a over the top marketing campaigns, that convince the novice boxing fan that they're going to see an epic fight. That's not always the case. I remember when Bernard Hopkins fought Winky Wright, back in 2007. It was bill as a match between two defensive master. If you think about it, who wants to see a fight where the combatants are focused on defense. I was fooled too. The fight was a huge "hug-fest" that should have been broadcast on the "Lifetime Network". The marketing geniuses have been hired by boxing promoters and their sole purpose is to sell a fantasy. Are we being duped again by the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight? 

Let's start this discussion with Floyd "Money" Mayweather. I truly feel that Mayweather will go down in boxing history as one of the best fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves. His accomplishments as an amateur and as a professional is what legends are made of. He fought and dominated in the 1996 Olympic games at the age of 17. He also won his first world title at 19 years old, making him a fighter ahead of his time and a rare commodity. He was fast and he had power. The majority of his knockouts came in the 1st half of his career. In the last 10 years he's recorded only 5 knockout. He's not the power puncher he used to be. His hands may be in the worst condition of his career. He's had only 8 fights in 6 years, which may be due to his hand problems. Mayweather is at a point in his career where he can carefully choose his fights. As champion, it's not uncommon to choose their opponents, but where is the competitiveness in that? I would compare this to the New England Patriots choosing their opponents after the start on the season. Choosing your opponent does apply to sports in general, it weakens the integrity of competition.

I don't question the validity of Mayweather or Pacquiao as boxing icons and two of the greatest fighters of their generation. I'm questioning the effect that this fight has on the future of boxing. Will this become the standard for future boxing icons, to dominate the attention and basically blackout the rest of the boxing world. The Mayweather vs Pacquiao conversation has been going on for too long and its damaging the sport, where the fan refuses to pay attention to boxing until this fight happens. This is sad, but true. Boxing is often compared to UFC in many ways. For example, if their match makers hints of a great fight the UFC makes it happen. I know that they are, pretty much, the only game in town, and who else could their fighters go to, but it works out extremely well for the fans. Let me repeat that, the fans. Until boxing can create a business model similar to the UFC's, I don't know how boxing is going to get out of this hole. They have to let the match up happen at will. I would definitely like to see Adrian Bronner fight Brandon Rios, or Danny Garcia fight Ruslan Provodnikov. If you don't know any of these fighters, Google them. I'll see you at the second round of the 2015 Buffalo Golden Gloves on February 28, 2015 at the Tralf Music hall.
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