Filipino phenomenon Manny Pacquiao, it seems, is part of the fighting world’s stream of consciousness at present. And high in the mind of those in Las Vegas, now his home from home from home – after General Santos City and Los Angeles. In the past ten days, all of which I spent in Vegas, the major sport on the horizon was the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was celebrating its centenary event, and some spectacle it was.
Mixed Martial Arts and boxing are having their own warring dance at present, at least the principal movers and shakers are, punch and counter punch attempting body blows in a rivalry which is fatuous and not fitting. Boxing and mixed martial arts have no bearing, suffice to say that boxing is suffering a financial slump where MMA is clearly, commercially on the rise. Cagefighting is big bucks at present, nowhere more so than Las Vegas.
UFC 100 is expected to draw in 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, was broadcast to 75 countries, and the ticket sales drew 5.1 million US dollars. Oh, and the tickets sold out in three hours. That said, behind the press ranks, I did see a smattering of a couple of dozen seats empty. Always inexplicable, that.
Yet the major commercial growth in the UFC is staggering, given that we are in a global recession. Zuffa, the company, which owns the UFC, grossed over 270 million US dollars in 2008. This year, that growth is estimated to increase to 300 million US dollars.
Boxing could take a leaf out of the way of the UFC’s book, and study some of their smart moves. Significant, then, that during the UFC 100 build-up, Pacquiao was a name on people’s lips on several occasions. One, I imagine because Pacman has a strong foothold on the Las Vegas billboard landscape, but also because he is admired by fighting men the world over.
Michael Bisping, the British mixed martial artist, devastatingly knocked out by Dan Henderson - in a style reminiscent of Ricky Hatton at the hands of Pacquiao in early May – told me he would like to see more of Pacquiao.
And, in the main news conference in the UFC 100 build up, when asked if MMA was now bigger than boxing, UFC CEO Dana White was generous in his answer. “Look, man, we are looking at different things here. The UFC is bringing in 400 million US dollars a year into Las Vegas. Does that make us bigger than boxing ? Who knows ? I keep hearing people saying that boxing is dying. I’m a fan of boxing. There are great fights out there. Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and there are some great fights to be made with him…”
There were plenty of nodding heads in the press ranks. Because everyone knows that Pacquiao comes to fight. And against Miguel Cotto on November 14, he will have one hell of a scrap. I’m backing him from this juncture to beat Cotto, regardless of what weight they are to meet at. My theory is that they should have met at 147lbs. I think Pacquiao will make Cotto, a great warrior, look slow.
source: Gareth A Davies at telegraph.co.uk
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