Calling The Shots
In boxing, skills alone don’t always pay the bills. In the fight game, marketability and promotion rule the day. What separates the elite/megastars who receive accolades and astronomical paydays, from the non-elite, is the backing of a well-known promotion company. Simply put, a fighter who can get people interested in their career (whether they pay to see him win, or pay to see him lose) is a proverbial cash cow. Mayweather’s brilliance is not just confined to the ring, he succeeds out side of the ring because of his marketing genius…
Mayweather is a technical wizard in the ring. He is almost impossible to hit and doesn’t take chances that would get him hurt or knocked out. Ultimately Mayweather is a defensive fighter. Defensive fighters usually make their opponents miss, wear them down, and usually win on points. Those who don’t know or care about the intricacies or nuances of boxing could interpret the skill set of a defensive fighter as boring. Boxing is one part show business, and two parts blood sport…People pay to see punches thrown with reckless abandon resulting in blood and carnage. Not too far removed from the days of the ancient Roman coliseum, people generally lust for engaging blood splattering, gruesome knockdown, and drag out fights. On the contrary, defensive fighters are the embodiment of physical chess players whose strategy is calculated and methodical.
Some of the greatest defensive fighters of the past and present generations are: Ronald “Winky” Wright, Pernel “Sweet Pea” Wittiker, Bernard Hopkins, Guillermo Rigondeaux, and Floyd Mayweather Junior. With the exception of Floyd Mayweather Junior, and to some degree Bernard Hopkins (much later in his astounding career) the other fighters are not household names to the casual boxing fan. The ramifications of being an exceptional defensive fighter are low-interest, and low-popularity, which equals to low marketability. Lack of public interest equates to lack of intrigue and drawing power. Unfortunately, most times the aforementioned fighters were often avoided in their prime because their elite skill level prevented both prospects and champions from looking good against them. (Too much risk, and too little reward).
Incredibly, Mayweather has found a way to be one of the most recognized, if not the most recognized fighters in boxing despite being a defensive fighter, and without having to be a pawn in the sport of boxing or some shady promoter/promotion company. Instead, Mayweather had the foresight to buy himself out of his previous promotional contract for $750,000 and establish his own promotion team, Mayweather Promotions. In the past Mayweather partnered with other promotion companies in order to stage fights at his leisure.
Mayhem Press Conference in NY
The significance of an athlete having this kind of power is revolutionary, and unparalleled in sports. Basically, Mayweather promotes his own events, which means he dictates the venue, terms, and opponents who make the most business sense to him. In addition, Mayweather doesn’t have to give a promoter a cut of his prize money and receives the lion’s share of his earnings (which is the way it should be). After all, Mayweather is the one in the ring with an opponent who is literally trying to knock his block off. Mayweather being a boxer/promoter, in a sense, means he is a pugilistic “hit man for hire”. He can put out a “contract” on a potential opponent and execute that contract and receive payment in full after his opponent has been knocked off the list.
Imagine a multimillion-dollar athlete who is not bound by ownership, a front office, coaching staff, sponsorship, or a multi-year contract. Instead, that athlete is more of an independent contractor who can play for the team of his choice, and leave the team by choice without penalty. This would completely change the outlook on sports giving the athlete the majority of leverage, and bargaining power. This is exactly what Mayweather is doing before our eyes and is quietly changing the landscape of boxing/sports. Recently, Mayweather signed a 5 to 6 fight deal with Showtime due to the leverage and bargaining power that he created for himself. Although Mayweather spent many years fighting on HBO, he was not bound to HBO therefore, was able to take his talents to HBO’s rival Showtime, for a more lucrative deal without penalty.
Mayweather often times plays the “heel” or the bad guy to gain a psychological advantage over his opponents, and to garner interest for his fights. This tactic was also used to perfection by the likes of Muhammad Ali. Throwing out ridiculous barbs, or sound bytes to incite fan frenzy or to manipulate the media is Mayweather’s specialty. Mayweather is a master at promoting himself and manipulating emotion that turn intrigue into dollar signs. Whether people pay to see him win, or pay to see him lose, Mayweather gets people to pay, all the while making his opponents pay in the process.
the introspective 