Maybe it’s just me….is it? I keep hearing about how the undercard for “Star Power” featuring Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz is so great. From Golden Boy you get the party line “greatest undercard ever!” Really? I think the greatest undercard ever will have names even the casual fan would get excited about. It would pull people from all walks of life together to have parties and bet on rounds, you know, the stuff we did when Tyson fought.
Let’s break this down a bit and see what it looks like. First, we get Jessie Vargas against Josesito Lopez. Lopez has lost 3 but can be a fun guy to watch and Vargas is undefeated and has looked good but has not faced an opponent like Lopez. Ok fight right, nothing I would call a part of the greatest card ever though. I could see this fight on any network as a co or main event including ESPN 2. What about Eric Morales right? How can you go wrong? Well, he faces a tough, hard hitting Lucas Matthysse and the latter has lost some very close decisions lately. This may be the best fight of the night but again, great fight? Not so sure.
Next up a fight that really confuses me and it’s a split site? When I first heard split site I thought wow, they must be putting a HUGE fight to make that worth it. Alvarez vs. Gomez? This fight is a sham. No way Gomez wins on points in Golden Boy’s backyard and considering he is 23-4 with only 12 KO’s do you think he has a chance to stop Canelo? No. So this means this is a showcase for Canelo who is Golden Boy’s future and he is meant to be on a monster stage and look good. Check. Best undercard ever? No way, maybe Alvarez against Chavez Jr. or Angulo but not Gomez. No disrespect to Gomez but this does not constitute a worthy spend of $60 for a PPV. I say stop the hyperbole and tell it like it is.
This is a solid undercard and much better than the garbage we have had in recent years but this will not permeate the mainstream and it will not bring casual boxing fans back to hardcore status. My dream is one day there is an undercard that is so big and so loaded with meaningful fights that not only the die hard show up but new fans jump back from the MMA or disinterest.
I doubt this is the card to do that, what do you think?
Good article. their trying to hype this fight up to cash in on the fact that mayweather is fighting, but im still not impressed with the under cards. I think this is the first time they charge 60$, if thats what their charging but im still not buying it.
I think this is a really good undercard but surely not the greatest, I could care less about mainstream and casual fans jumping on it I only care if it sounds good to me to drop $60 on and it accomplished that. Not so much for Canelo being put in with another soft touch that fight I could do without. But the rest of the fights have me intrigued enough to feel I can drop money on it and not regret it. I can’t say that much for Top Rank’s recent ppvs. However like Action Heroes I think this card is another success put together by GB.
By the headline at first I thought this would be a little harsh. But you said it best:”This is a solid undercard and much better than the garbage we have had in recent years but this will not permeate the mainstream and it will not bring casual boxing fans back to hardcore status.” I miss the old Don King cards with several title fights (back when titles actually meant something). Like that one card that had all rematches headlined by Chavez vs Randall 2 and featured Julian Jackson vs Gerald McClellan and other big fights and at least 2 or 3 world titles.
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