Miguel Cotto gave Floyd Mayweather all he could handle on Saturday night, but...
..."Money" still emerged victorious and can now say that 43 have stepped up, and 43 have been sent down.
Anyone who follows the fight game knows that Floyd Mayweather’s business model and pay-per-view allure is to remain unbeaten so he can pimp that 0 in his loss column. It’s a brilliant strategy by an equally brilliant fighter. Mayweather (43-0 26 KO’s & picked up his 8th world title belt in 5 weight classes) made a boxing record of $32 million for his 12 round unanimous decision (which is how the fight was predicted in this space by the way) victory over the game Miguel Cotto (37-3 30 KO’s) Saturday night in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. Even though ‘Money” is headed to jail for an 87 day sentence on June 1, his marketing strategy will remain the same once he’s released.
Mayweather doesn’t only control the fights in the ring, he controls virtually every revenue stream outside of the actual fight. He controls foreign sales as well as closed circuit and site revenue. Floyd’s goal is simple…Stay undefeated and make as much money as possible before hanging up his gloves for good.
Floyd has become a mainstream superstar because of his dominance in the ring, as well as his appeal to urban kids everywhere. As much as many adults want to see him get his ass kicked by anyone, young kids are dreaming of growing up to live the high life that he can’t wait to show you. If you don’t think he has a crazy fan base, know that nearly 900,000 homes tuned into see TNT’s showing of the first Mayweather-Cotto 24/7 episode.
Floyd certainly has his detractors/haters, but he couldn’t care less. No matter how knowledgable you are about boxing, you probably have a strong feeling about him one way or another. He is the ultimate love/hate guy, and that’s exactly how he wants it. His haters tune into his fights, as much as his die hard “Money Team” fans do. To use a wrestling term, he has perfected the heel role better than any boxer of my lifetime. As nauseating as he can be, he is sadistically smart and savvy.
But Floyd needs that 0 in the loss column to appeal to fans because once that goes away, so does the need to see him fight. If he would have lost to dangerous Cotto (who pressed Floyd against the ropes and did damage that no other opponent has been able to) on Saturday, the excitement of a Pacquiao fight would have lost some sizzle. Floyd knows this, and it’s why the fight that can save the sport will likely never happen.
Floyd is more than content to pick and choose his next few opponents, make an insane amount of cash, stay undefeated & pimp off into the Vegas night. If Pacquiao agrees to a 60/40 split in Mayweather’s favor a year or two from now, Floyd will sign on only because he’ll know Pac-Man has slowed down. The drug testing issue has nothing to do with this, it’s all about preserving Floyd’s record and marketing strategy.
Floyd kept his edge on Saturday despite being challenged like never before from Miguel Cotto. And even though there is nobody else left for him to fight, the possibility of Mayweather-Pacquiao is dwindling by the second. He’ll never admit it, but Floyd couldn’t care less about how you view him for not fighting Manny. As long as that 0 is in his loss column, that’s all that matters to him.
@Louie_Ruffolo8
