The number one pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, Floyd Mayweather Jr., made a massive deal with HBO’s rival—ShowTime in a six-fight, 30-month contract.
If we talk about how much Floyd will earn from this contract, there is no doubt that this is the biggest so far. But let me see how it appears to a fans perspective. What boxing fan will benefit from this deal? Can we watch these fights for free? I believe not.
“The guy's already known as "Money" because he's the world's highest paid athlete, according to Forbes. But after signing Showtime's massive deal, Mayweather may want to consider upgrading his name to "Mega-Money."” Kevin Iole wrote on Yahoo! Sports.
Most, if not all, Mayweather’s mega fight happened only on HBO in a per fight contract. In this set-up, Mayweather has no contractual obligation as to how many fights he should make in a year. After his short retirement (or vacation) in 2008 that lasted 18 months, Floyd just fought once every year from 2008 to 2012. He had only four bouts in the last four years; Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009, Shane Mosley in May 2010, Victor Ortiz in September 2011 and Miguel Cotto in May last year.
For the fans, watching Floyd, which is regarded as the best boxer in this era would not be enough. Sure we crave for more Floyd bouts, whether you want him lose or not. At 35 years old his days as a prizefighter might end soon, but not very soon I guess. For Mayweather haters maybe they will not see Floyd lost that highly protected “0” in his record if he chooses to retire anytime soon.
However, in his deal with Showtime, we are assured to watch the best boxer perform and showcase his talent more frequently—six times, than in the last four years, in a 30-month period. That means at least two fights every ten months.
If fans were to benefit from this contract, I think, that’s it. The rest for sure is Floyd Mayweather’s bank account.
Nevertheless, the next question fans would be asking is that who are these six opponents will be? One of them, I'm quiet sure will be Robert Guerrero, on May 4, 2013. Will Floyd still considers Manny Pacquiao to be one of them?
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