Conspiracy theorists betting on surest route to mega-lucrative re-match.
Conspiracy theorists betting on surest route to mega-lucrative re-match.
With just two and a half hours to go before a diminutive African-American and even more diminutive Philippino climb in to the ring at Las Vegas‘ MGM Grand Garden Arena for the hugest fight of the century, a compelling new conspiracy theory.
Moments ago, live on ESPN‘s 7pm EST Sportscenter show, reporter Darren Rovell, one of many from the network in Las Vegas for the fight, talked of the odds on the draw coming down considerably among some bookmakers.
A draw would of course be the most direct way of ensuring a re-match. Vegas isn’t England where we’d like to think the art of making money involves slightly subtler, more elegant stratagems. Vegas is the home of the moneygrab. Win or lose, Mayweather is guaranteed some $180 million for his evening at the office, Pacquaio $120 million. What could be a simpler way of tapping in to the oft-celebrated gullibility of the public than ‘arranging’ a do-over for, say, September?
Yes, this event is under more scrutiny than just about any event imaginable short of a general election.
But what makes it at the very least thinkable that ‘underworldly forces’ might have room for maneuver is that, unlike nationally federated bodies like the NFL, NBA or MLB, boxing has managed to remain beyond the policing of any kind of effective national or global body.
Countless associations, councils, organizations, federations, broadcasters, promoters, managers, dozens of state commissions, all have a potential say-so over just about any imaginable boxing match. Common sense dictates that no fragmented activity can effectively capture the imagination of the masses, because if there’s one thing the masses like most it’s clarity – a winner, a loser, a good guy, a bad guy, a champion (not several per weight class as is the case today).
But, so powerful is the self-destructive combination of zero common sense plus massive short term greed in the fight game, that you could argue never has less of the sport been under one tent.
In such an atmosphere, the most remarkable thing about tonight’s mega-fight is that it ever came to be. The sheer unlikelihood of the stars – ie. all the various different interests of all camps – aligning was atomically minute.
This more than anything suggests that, rather than auguring a new dawn for the sweet science, #Maypac is a spectacular, one-off supernova the like of which will not visit our earth for decades to come.
Hence, as the one globally resonant marquee event boxing has left for the foreseeable future ends, what happier outcome could there be for all ‘interested parties’ than a draw?
