Boxing Goes Back To Roots In Staging Pacquiao-Clottey In Texas

Jones (c) Hopes To Prove Boxing's Biggest Fights Do Not Have To Happen In Las Vegas

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones in hosting Saturday's Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium "wants to prove that what happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily have to happen in Vegas," according to Gil LeBreton of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. There is a "grassroots charm to staging a big-time title fight in a Texas football stadium." Boxing promoter Lester Bedford said, "HBO recognizes that it has to help boxing get back to its roots. If boxing doesn't get back to places like Dallas-Fort Worth, New York and LA, it's going to lose its fan base." LeBreton notes with Cowboys Stadium and its "mega-TV screen, an expected 45,000 patrons will be able to share in the noise and high-def sweat of a big-time boxing match." Jones has said that he "would like to schedule more" bouts at the stadium. LeBreton: "Is big-time boxing dead? Snoring maybe, but miles from dead. The stadium gate and HBO numbers on Saturday should prove that" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/12). Top Rank Chair Bob Arum publicist Bill Caplan said "much of the buzz" around Pacquiao-Clottey is "because it's at Cowboys Stadium." Caplan: "Of course, it's Manny Pacquiao, but it's also Cowboys Stadium." HBO Senior VP/Sports Operations & PPV Mark Taffet: "From a business perspective, as you know, Pacquiao-Clottey is called 'The Event,' so there was very specific recognition about the importance of Cowboys Stadium and what we believed that this stadium was bringing to the table" (ESPN.com, 3/11). Taffet added that the stadium is "playing a major role in attracting customers." Taffet: "The venue is really the third fighter in this situation. It's a big part of the story and people want to see a fight from this place they've heard about so much" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/11).

COUNTED OUT: ESPN.com's Dan Rafael noted Arum had talked with both MLB Giants and Dodgers officials "about hosting a fight, and it went nowhere." Arum said the teams' officials "wanted to do it on my dime and wanted me to pay the cost of doing one of these fights, which made it economically not feasible." Arum added Jones is "paying me to come here and he will get his costs back," and the Yankees in hosting the June 5 Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight are "giving me a guarantee and then they get their costs back, so it is economically feasible to do it in both places" (ESPN.com, 3/11).

PERFECT PROMOTER: The AP's Tim Dahlberg wrote Jones is "already better at selling fights than he is at picking wide receivers." Arum: "The thing that's blown me away is what an unbelievable promoter this guy is. He never gets tired. We took a two-day trip to Mexico and he was able to drink everybody under the table and kept going. He gave dozens and dozens of interviews to Mexican media outlets. It's really something to see." Dahlberg noted Jones' "plan to invite Cowboys of old and present, toss in a few cheerleaders and show it all on the huge overhead screens that will reveal every drop of sweat, should be more than enough to make it a memorable evening, if not a great show," and it "should also be enough to get respectable pay-per-view numbers" (AP, 3/11). In N.Y., George Willis writes judging by "how chummy Arum and Jones have become it won't be the last fight the two put together." Business relationships "can sour in an instant in boxing, but Arum might have found a golden goose to give him leverage when negotiating major bouts" (N.Y. POST, 3/12). FANHOUSE.com's Jay Mariotti wrote Jones is attempting to "pull off the unthinkable. The man is trying to save boxing." Jones wisely has "wrapped his promotional skills around the charisma of Manny Pacquiao." Meanwhile, Jones also is "creating a mystique at his cathedral that heightens the magnitude of prestigious events and athletes" (FANHOUSE.com, 3/11).

CEASEFIRE: In London, Gareth Davies noted the Pacquiao-Clottey bout has "created a truce in the war of words between" Arum and UFC President Dana White. White "was thanked by Arum for urging his 1 million plus followers on Twitter ... to buy the fight" on PPV. White and UFC Chair & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta will be ringside at the bout, and Arum thanked them for "crossing sports to help promote this fight" (TELEGRAPH.co.uk, 3/11).