Top Rank maestro Bob Arum closed a deal with Showtime to put the May 7 bout on Showtime pay-per-view, essentially breaking the stranglehold rival network HBO holds over the PPV industry.
The deal includes promotion on terrestrial network CBS (which owns Showtime), including a four-part installment of Fight Camp 360°. Fight Camp is Showtime’s equivalent of HBO’s popular 24/7 series.
The business brokering has brought mostly positive attention to Pacquiao-Mosley, but it can’t hide the fact that most people see this fight as a mismatch in Pacquiao’s favor.
According to Sportsbook.com, Pacquiao is -625 against +425 for Mosley, and the general consensus among experts is that Mosley is shot. Some have compared this match to Muhammad Ali’s ill-fated 1980 challenge of heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.
And without a wafer-thin line to encourage early betting, the switch to Showtime/CBS has done little to boost interest at the windows.
“I don’t see any significant increase in action or brilliance by Showtime selling the fight outside of the short-lived drama of Manny and Mosley leaving HBO,” says renowned boxing oddsmaker Joey Oddessa. “After Sergio Mora's losing performance last week on (ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights), the task of selling this bout as competitive may become more difficult.”
Mora held Mosley to a draw last September, while journeyman spoiler Brian Vera took a split decision from Mora this past Friday. Mora’s latest hiccup aside, there is a lack of confidence in Mosley’s ability to even make things competitive. He did make things interesting with Floyd Mayweather Jr. this past May for about two rounds before huffing to the finish line.
By the time he fights Pacquiao, Mosley will be four months shy of his 40th birthday and nearly two-and-a-half years removed from his last win.
Despite Pacquiao’s stratospheric rise over a 13-bout winning streak, the masses aren’t exactly bombarding the books to plunk down money on the Filipino superstar, at least not yet.
“I haven’t noticed any significant action on the fight so far,” Las Vegas Hilton sportsbook director Jay Kornegay said in an e-mail message.
That doesn’t mean the fight won’t be a PPV and box office bonanza. Anything involving Pacquiao is sure to back up the money trucks. And the betting action is sure to perk up once the high rollers hit Las Vegas for fight week.
At least for now, the headlines have done little to spark interest at the windows.
Hop to it
It looks the old man is getting another shot.
Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal will fight on May 21 for Pascal’s light heavyweight title in a rematch of their Dec. 18 draw. Hopkins thought he won the fight, which was contested on Pascal’s Quebec home turf.
But Hopkins, knocked down twice in the first and third rounds only to dominate the later rounds, says he is amenable to hitting the road again.
"I have no problem going to Canada even though I said the only time I would be back in Canada was at Niagara Falls,” Hopkins told USA Today. “But it's not the fans I should punish, I'd even go back to Quebec City. My situation, as far as Golden Boy and myself, is that the judging was improper and the WBC agreed with it."
Fix before the Six
Arthur Abraham returns Saturday night against Stjepan Bozic (+800) in a bout not affiliated with the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Abraham (-1800) went 1-2 in his three Super Six Group Stage bouts, including consecutive losses to Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch. Abraham has a semifinal tournament bout scheduled with Andre Ward in May, but the Bozic fight should get him back on track.
Weekend picks
John Watson (-140) over Anthony Crolla
Steve Herelius (+300) against Yoan Pablo Hernandez
Source: covers.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.