There seems to be a growing idea that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao’s May 2nd showdown will begin boxing’s inevitable decline. The theory is based on the principle that this mega fight is boxing’s peak, and the only logical next step would be a steady drop off in entertainment value and popularity.
It wouldn’t be the first time that people suggested boxing’s final death, but I can say that the sport’s key players are mostly to blame for the detractors’ beliefs.
Of course, this all hinges on the idea that one man is always responsible for boxing’s last breath. The assumption is that once Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are gone the sport will have no mainstream superstars to follow as their successors.
Richard Schaefer gave an interview, and he spoke about his belief that the sport will continue to thrive once the current cash cows have moved on. He even used his former Golden Boy Promotions colleague, Oscar De La Hoya, as an example of previous naysayers and their suggestion that the sport would die after his retirement from the ring.
“I remember when Oscar retired, a lot of people said there’s never going to be a PPV star like Oscar. They said it’ll take [the next] generation )(for someone to replace Oscar). But look how Floyd’s stepped up and captured the PPV market, and frankly, took it to never seen levels before,” Schaefer told Fighthype in a video published on their YouTube channel.
Schaefer is beyond optimistic and his words seem like a foreshadowing of his eventual return to the sport once his contractual ban from the sport has been reached, the one mandated in his deal with Golden Boy Promotions, who claim Schaefer was under contract until 2018.
Not only does Schaefer believe in an eventual successor to Floyd, he feels like boxing will grow enough to give another fighter the chance to surpass even Mayweather’s achievements.
“And today, it’s easy to say that these records Floyd has been breaking, first with the De La Hoya fight and then with the Canelo fight, that these records will never be broken and then you’re probably going to see them being broken on May 2nd and then people are going to say, ‘well, that’s as big as boxing can get.’ I don’t believe that. I really believe that boxing is just starting.”
Schaefer is a staunch businessman with incredible insight into the world of investments. If he believes in the future of boxing, then that is a good sign.
“I am a firm believer that if boxing would be a stock, an equity, it’s a screaming buy. I think the future of boxing is as bright as ever.”
