And all I could think about from the time I got back from the media sessions was how this fight had turned into a massive reality TV show, and maybe that’s a bad thing. Or maybe it’s the kind of thing that can re-instate the sport to the prominence it once had.

Let’s review. Media surrounding this fight included all of the following: HBO produced Mayweather-Hatton 24/7, which is a series of thirty-minute reality episodes that show the fighters physically, emotionally and mentally preparing for the fight. Mayweather, as I’ve talked and talked about, actually did a reality dancing show during the prep time leading up to this fight. And then there were yesterday’s media-open workouts: Carefully choreographed, everybody hit just the right practice shots and said just the right sound bites. Mayweather was subtly ginger on the same ankle he referenced was bothering him during his sound bite on Dancing With the Stars, building just enough question about said ankle to leave some drama without making it a huge issue. The whole experience was about as “real” as the inevitable moment in each season of The Real World where one of the girls gets drunk and cries on the couch that she’s never felt pretty and loved and then gets naked in a hot tub to show you just how low here self esteem really is.

Boxing isn’t unlike any other sport in that it’s always had an element of being more entertainment than sport. And maybe part of the sport’s decline in public appeal is because at some point it started to take itself too seriously, sequin shorts aside. The idea of making boxing more media-saturated isn’t a bad thing. The UFC came to prominence based almost solely on a reality TV show on cable. The Contender series wasn’t as successful as hoped, but I guarantee you that if you asked the average American who their favorite boxer was, they’d answer Mike Tyson followed by, “And who was that sweet, family-oriented boy on that TV show with Sylvester Stallone?” The smartest move Mayweather’s ever made was his Dancing With the Stars move. Zillions of American housewives now think fondly of him as the tough guy dancer with the heart of gold who didn’t want to let his partner down. I even have a little crush on him from that.

But if you’re going to turn your sport into a media dance, you need to follow through. Mayweather had an opportunity to draw thousands of new fans into watching this fight, but either he should fire his publicist or he just hasn’t done enough mainstream media to know how to leverage his new fans. All Mayweather needed to do at any one point on any of his Dancing With the Stars appearances was turn to the camera and say, “Ladies, try something new. I wasn’t the best dancer in the world, but please watch my fight on December 8th and see me doing what I do best.” Thousands and thousands of women would have watched that fight, been introduced to the sport. If it was a good fight, they’d want to see more Hatton and Mayweather fights. And as they watched more Hatton and Mayweather fights, they would have been exposed to other boxers who they then would have become fans and/or haters of. And they would have started to follow the sport.

NASCAR is not the single largest television rating generating sport in America because millions of people love watching cars drive in circles for five hours. It’s the single largest television rating generating sport because people feel like they have such a relationship with the drivers. Mayweather had an opportunity to start to build that for boxing, and he dropped the ball.

Which brings me to my real point. I’m okay if boxing wants to turn itself into a reality tv show if ultimately that means reviving some of the public excitement of the sport. But if you’re going to do that, do it all the way. Go for the knockout (bad pun, I know.). Because here’s the problem: I love open workouts and media sessions, but this one just felt plastic. And it’s because it didn’t feel like it was about the fight. It felt like it was about “the show.” And I’m down with it being a “show” if there’s a point to that.

I would normally charge thousands of dollars for this consulting, but here’s the breakdown, from me to you, for free!:

- 24/7 should have been an HBO series and a podcast and YouTube stream AND been marketed with online video clips all over the internet so that teenagers would become fascinated with Mayweather and Hatton, who both have really engaging personalities.

- Mayweather should have been given specific instructions on inviting the viewers of his numerous reality show appearances to watch the fight, and those messages should have been targeted to appeal to women.

- Mayweather should have sponsored a contest where one of his Dancing With the Stars fans got to come to Vegas on open workout weekend and attend the event. Nothing would make better, more engaging TV to open people’s minds to boxing than a morning TV segment with some housewife going to a gym in Vegas and talking about how she’s been won over to the sport.

Everybody in this industry employs marketers and PR folks who probably make way more money than I do. I shouldn’t have to be telling you this stuff. It’s not brain science.

The fight’s going to be what the fight is. Two of the unquestionably best fighters in the game, probably in a close one. And I think that given their styles it will also be an exciting one. We all know that Mayweather has the edge on paper. We all know that Hatton has the edge in tenacity and “fire” right now. But I sit here being disappointed right now because it feels like a bigger fight was already lost. There were great opportunities to expand the audience for the sport, and everybody has agreed for years that it’s important to do that. And there it was. And it just didn’t get pushed to the finish line.

11-29-2007