With the pending mega fight between Filipino congressman Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38KOs) and the “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27KOs) looming over the Texan horizon for this Saturday night, I have been catching up with each respective training camp in the same manner every other respectable boxing fan has, through HBO’s “24/7” series. So far as of this post, HBO has broadcast three half-hour episodes of the series in which camera crews follow both camps in their daily training regimen plus other activities such as Margarito’s day out with friends at the beach and Pacquiao’s trip to Las Vegas to stump for a Nevada politician. Since its inception in ’07 for the Mayweather vs. De La Hoya super fight, the series has helped promote blockbuster fights and increase the PPV buys for each of the contests it has been associated with. Besides “Money” vs. DLH, HBO has featured Mayweather-Hatton, Calzaghe-Jones Jr., Pacquiao-DLH, Pacquiao-Hatton, Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquaio-Cotto and Mayweather-Mosley with the program. It has become an important tool in bringing boxing to the mainstream media and to casual fans that subscribe to HBO or catch it on the internet.
Through out the ninety minutes that have been broadcast in the Pacquiao and Margarito camps, a prominent story line is the fact that Pacquiao’s camp has not gone the way chief trainer Freddy Roach would have liked it to go. From Pacquiao being pulled in every direction while he began the camp in his native Philippines to coming to Los Angeles and still having to deal with political responsibilities, Roach and company have stated repeatedly that this has been the worst camp he has gone through with the “Pacman” in the nearly ten years of their association. While Pacquiao trains at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, CA, fifty miles north in Oxnard, Margarito puts himself through the wringer in his training alongside former champ Robert “Grandpa” Garcia in hopes of beating Pacquiao and earning redemption for his controversial hand wraps incident early last year.
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As much as I like the series even if some of the scenes are a bit contrived, the fact that the cost for “24/7” is picked up by the promoter of the PPV event disturbs me. In this case Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions is footing the bill for the series which tends to run a bit over a million dollars. If anybody knows how to promote an event it’s Top Rank’s Bob Arum. If we just take the bouts that Pacquiao has been in which were featured with a “24/7”, it is no secret that Pacquiao has dealt with those foes formidable, De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto, stopping all of them before the final bell. In his last two fights, Margarito was knocked out by Shane Mosley in January of ’09 and after serving a year suspension from the ring, he looked lackluster against Robert “Amenaza” Garcia in his first bout with his new trainer. Pacquiao is a quick, strong and relentless southpaw puncher who is considered the best fighter in the world, capturing seven world titles in multiple divisions while Margarito is seen by many as a slow, plodding typical Mexican fighter who might be past his prime. The result should be inevitable.
So how do you make it into a PPV worthy event and an expected 70,000 attendee gate at Dallas’ Cowboy Stadium?
Tell everybody that would listen that Pacquiao is not training, that the Filipino phenom that has been terrorizing multiple weight classes since his coming out party in 2003 when he stopped Marco Antonio Barrera might not make an appearance under the state-of-the-art jumbo screen in the Lone Star State. Since Arum is footing the bill, it would not be hard to believe that he has written the script for the series in whatever way it would benefit his PPV sales. Essentially, the “24/7” series is nothing more than an infomercial just like a super detergent, unbelievably durable knives or an awesome nut chopper.
I have no problem if the series wants to follow that storyline and especially if Arum is issuing the checks but shouldn’t a disclaimer be shown prior to each show stating that it is a paid advertisement? After all, HBO is known for its hard hitting sports journalism with their “Real Sports” franchise and other sport documentaries. Many casual fans who might not know that the promoter of the boxing event is billed for the series might get caught by Roach’s and Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Alex Araiza’s sound bites hook, line and sinker and believe that Pacquiao is not training as hard as he has done in the past. On the other hand, that is exactly what Arum wants.
Since Pacquiao’s jump into the boxing consciousness, he has always contended with a full plate, whether it be his acting career, singing or billiards and not to mention the largest entourage since MC Hammer. Despite Pacquiao being a freshly elected congressman, this is not his first foray into politics as he campaigned for a seat once before but was unsuccessful. I find it hard to believe that his duties as a congressman would ask more of his time than anything in the past. As he told Gabriel Montoya of MaxBoxing.com recently,” time management and focus” is how he deals with the different hats he props on his head.
I would not doubt that this scheme, if it truly is a ruse, is all the work of that sly fox, Bob Arum. The man known for the best quote in boxing, “yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth,” is one that knows how to stretch the truth especially if it’s lining his pockets. Regardless, the Pacquiao-Margarito is definitely the most expected match up this year and has the potential to be fight of the year.
I, for one, can’t wait and that the God’s honest truth.[/emember_protected]