Cinco
de Mayweather
M.DeTyrone
Lately
in boxing circles, boxing sites and social media pages much been expressed
about the boxing days centering on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day
which is celebrated on Sept 16. The
reality of the matter is that Cinco de Mayo has become more of a boxing event
due to Floyd Mayweather jr. strategic and masterful promoting of the day since
2007. Recently the comments from Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya and
nationalistic fan base are claiming that Cinco de Mayo was to be return back to
for Mexican boxers as an exclusive date. They truly dismiss and underestimate
all other demographics that support boxing. It seems that it’s all about
marketing nationalism and you have a boxer that hasn’t accomplished much in
boxing that feels it’s an ethnic right to claim a boxing date on a calendar.
There is no personally identity or any great
individual accomplishments in Canelo’s career so the only appeal they have is a
nationalistic self-esteem thus also appealing to the lowest denominator of
boxing fans that use boxing to identify with a culture by demeaning another.
Notice the constant talk of Canelo vs. Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya promoting on
twitter let’s revive the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry. Does he realize that
he’s talking about a rivalry of a nation of millions vs. a small island in the
Caribbean? I would be ashamed to be from
such a big nation with a countless population of those of Mexicans ancestry
living in the USA and my main rivalry is a small island in the Caribbean with
less than 4 million citizens.
Mind
you! When Oscar De La Hoya faced Puerto Rico’s best at the time Felix Trinidad
to define the best welterweight in the world on Mexican Independence weekend on
the west coast. Oscar according to his own standards ran for his dear life.
Let’s remember he and Canelo called it running when Lara boxed. I guess it
depends what your ethnicity is.
I
can understand the argument, if you’re only going to build a ppv star on one
specific demographic. The problem with that strategy is that all
Latinos/Hispanics celebrate Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day on Sept
16 neither does the international boxing fan. If you have a competitive event
with a strong undercard then the boxing fans will purchase the fight regardless
of the dates. The boxers that have built the September date to a marketable
importance within the boxing business have been Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Oscar
De La Hoya, and currently Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Hall
of Famer Oscar De La Hoya fought 5 times during the Cinco de Mayo Weekend;
however, his biggest fight on that date was vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5,
2007. Oscar’s biggest fights during his
career were on the Mexican Independence Day Weekend.
1.
Oscar
De La Hoya Vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.:
September 18, 1998
2.
Oscar
De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad: September 18, 1999
3.
Oscar
De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas: September 14, 2002
4.
Oscar
De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley: September 13, 2003
5.
Oscar
De La Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins: September 18, 2004
Chávez
Sr. fought opponents like David Kamau, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, and
Hector Camacho on the Mexican Independence Day weekend, nevertheless; many of
Julio Cesar Chávez Sr. big fights were on dates outside those two dates. One of
Julio Cesar Chávez Sr. memorable fight held in Estadio Azteca, in México vs.
Greg Haugen on February 20 1993.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. after defeating Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007 must have
realized the importance commercially of those two dates and capitalized on the
opportunity. Since 2007, Floyd
Mayweather Jr. has fought on the Cinco de Mayo Weekend:
1.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. vs. Oscar De La Hoya: May 5, 2007
2.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Shane Mosley: May 1,
2010
3.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto: May 5, 2012
4.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Robert Guerrero: May
4, 2013
5.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos R. Maidana: May 3, 2014
6.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. vs. TBA: May 2015
On
the Weekend of the Mexican Independence Day Floyd Mayweather Jr. has fought:
1.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez:
September 19 2009
2.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Victor Ortiz:
September 17 2011
3.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Saul Alvarez:
September 14 2013
4.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Vs. Marcos R. Maidana:
September 15 2014
5.
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. vs. TBA: September 2015
Neither
Chavez Sr. nor DeLaHoya have accomplished PPV records like Floyd Jr. on those
dates.
All
the sudden Saul “Canelo” Alvarez thinks that, he’ll just take over a boxing
date without accomplishing anything. I
wish them luck, with all the marketing of nationalism and creating an
atmosphere of US vs. Them. The big problem will be that no date will improve
Canelo’s talent or skills within the Jr. Middleweight division or Middleweight
division where Mexican boxers historically have never accomplished anything
great. English, USA, Argentine and Puerto Rican boxers have historically
dominated the Jr. Middleweight Division.
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