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TysonJones · 11-28-2008, 12:49 PM

By Dave Sholler

Boxing is much like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. When cooked right, its ingredients blend to make the most appetizing sport on the planet. However, when prepared wrong, boxing usually tastes bland, dry, or overdone.

As we look forward to slicing the holiday boxing bird this year, it is clear that one vital ingredient is missing. In a sport that has plenty of side dishes and stuffing, it is glaringly evident that boxing is missing its gravy. While we have been fortunate enough to have some decent bouts in recent weeks, one must peel back the skin to reveal that boxing’s meat is in need of some serious spices.

Look no further than recent pay-per-view numbers and the struggling economy as proof. Fewer than 200,000 people tuned in to watch Kelly Pavlik serve up a duck against Bernard Hopkins. Only a few thousand more watched Joe Calzaghe carve up Roy Jones. While promoters can forever blame a poor consumer market, the argument can be made that boxing fans just aren’t up to trimming their wallets for meatless, yet pricey pay-per-view cards.

Fans want something or someone they can cling to.

They want drama. Hopkins’ age vs. Pavlik’s youth wasn’t enough of a storyline to garner interest.

Fans want action. Calzaghe’s one-sided assault on Jones surely didn’t create pay-per-view envy.

Consumers yearn for competition. Watching Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight journeyman doesn’t exactly ring the dinner bell.

When it comes to pay-per-views, boxing audiences want a heaping serving of turkey smothered in gravy. They already have plenty of creamed spinach and cranberries that they can eat for relatively cheap. These come by way of decent cards on HBO, Showtime, and Versus that they can watch with their standard cable subscriptions. You see, when it comes to treating themselves a few times a year, fans want the best. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Enter Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather Jr. is the Butterball of boxing. A well-rounded treat, Mayweather Jr. is unlike other boxers. The Grand Rapids, MI native knows when to show his feathers to promote a fight. If he needs to gobble to generate interest, he gobbles. If that means getting in Ricky Hatton’s face at a press conference or questioning Oscar De La Hoya’s credentials on a television appearance, Floyd is prepared to do what it takes to market a pay-per-view fight.

What’s more, when Floyd speaks, people listen. His combination of charm, arrogance, and good-looks only draws more attention to his often candid commentary, something that speaks to casual fans in a way the likes of Hopkins and Antonio Margarito can never duplicate. Take a peek at De La Hoya-Pacquiao 24-7 on HBO for further examples. It just doesn’t seem like the same show without Mayweather involved, does it? Almost makes you want skip buying the pay-per-view. That thought never crept in when considering purchasing Mayweather-De La Hoya.

If his salesmanship isn’t enough to generate buys, Mayweather just so happens to be the most talented fighter in the yard. Quick, elusive, and opportunistic, Mayweather knows how to deliver fights that belong sitting on the center of the dining room table. These fights are masterpieces, a stark contrast from the slices of lunch meat normally offered. Even in his fight against Ricky Hatton last December, a fight in which he boxed the pants off of his British rival, Mayweather gave a performance that warranted the 50-dollar PPV price tag. He boxed. He trash talked. He delivered a knockout.

Considering the current boxing landscape, the timing is right for Mayweather to end his 12-month long retirement. Sure, there are a few interesting bouts on the horizon. Margarito-Mosley will be nice. So too will De La Hoya-Pacquiao and Margarito’s eventual rematch with Miguel Cotto. But the sport just seems to be lacking something. And that something is Floyd.

A return makes a ton of sense. With nearly 365 days to rest, “Money” Mayweather is undoubtedly itching for competition. A competitor since birth, Floyd does not know how to sit idly while another man claims his throne as pound-for-pound king. At least, not while he is still living, breathing, and gambling.

With that said, a bout with the winner of De La Hoya-Pacquiao has to get Mayweather’s juices flowing. On top of earning what could be in the neighborhood of $30 million in such a bout, Mayweather gets the chance to prove that not even a year-long break could end his reign. He gets a chance to prove that De La Hoya is still not on his level, that Pacquiao was just keeping his seat warm.

Even Floyd’s daddy thinks his son will return. Speaking to a newspaper reporter earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather Sr. said that he believes his son is poised for a comeback. Having trained his ultra-competitive, money-hungry son in year’s past, the elder Mayweather knows what we all know: that Floyd Jr. still has plenty of steam left in his engine.

Now obviously, there are plenty of people that will argue that boxing is doing just fine without Floyd. And you know what? You’re right. Still, the sport could be doing a lot better. After all, did the weak economy severely affect UFC 91 buy rates? Has it affected the amount of money dumped into online betting and fantasy sports? The answer is a resounding no. Fans are still spending, just not on boxing.

Therefore, boxing needs a fighter to hang its hat on, a fighter that is the proverbial feather in the cap. Can Margarito be that person? No, his language barriers are too tall. How about Pavlik? Nope, too much of an East Coast guy. And what about a youngster like Andre Berto? Maybe one day, but not right now.

Some will also argue that De La Hoya can do enough to carry the sport. That may be true, but fighting former featherweights doesn’t exactly get anyone’s butter churning. He may have the model looks, brilliant smile, and billionaire bank account, but De La Hoya needs a dance partner. He needs someone to share the bill.

And guess who just so happened to be “The Golden Boy’s” tango partner in May 2007 when De La Hoya competed in the richest boxing event ever? Yup, it was Floyd.

In the end, all signs point to the time being right for Floyd to return. Well-rested and certainly able, Floyd is primed and ready for a boxing homecoming. There’s money on the table and fights to be made. It’s time for Floyd to come back and reclaim his piece of the pie. The turkey is ready to come out of the oven. Fans are ready to eat.

Boxingscene.com