Don't Be Surprised That GGG-Wade Brought In Decent Ratings

The fact of the matter is that people tuned in

Let's face it, 2016 has been a pretty rough year for boxing. The winter was a pure dead zone, with Spanish Language television essentially acting as the only steady outlet for fight fans. As for the rest of the year, well, let's just hope for the best knowing that Canelo isn't really interested in Golovkin and mid-level fights like Crawford-Postol look like they're actually going to cost fans money to see.

In short, there's been good reason why people have been down on boxing lately. There can't be a down if there isn't an up, however, and HBOs ratings for last weekend's GGG-Wade middleweight title fight were very good indeed - the highest of the year so far, in fact. Even though the million plus sets of eyeballs that were glued to Saturday's brief fight are nice to read about, they shouldn't be surprising.

Why?

Because HBO gave the fans what they wanted last weekend. Canelo or no Canelo, fans clearly wanted to see Golovkin ply his trade, much like they did Mike Tyson back in the day...and HBO was rewarded for putting the man on the air last weekend. Again, no one should be surprised. People want to see GGG, so his fights do well.

Likewise, Thurman-Porter might do very good ratings early this coming summer because it's giving fans what they want. Indeed, the ratings for Fury-Klitschko II will do solid ratings, even though that fight will most likely air smack in the middle of an American Saturday. Why? Because it's actually an interesting matchup, believe it or not.

The point here is obvious. All you have to do in order to have a healthy sport is to air healthy programming. That's if you actually want a healthy sport and not just a healthy bank account for the short term.

What If Pacquiao Wins Big?

Things to ponder...

Let's face it - the Mayweather-Pacquiao era is over. But that doesn't mean we've seen the last of Manny. Even though it's a pretty safe bet many would simply  like the sport to move one, Pacquiao is still fighting Tim Bradley next month. Frankly, I have a feeling Bradley may pull it off this time. But what if he doesn't? What if PacMan looks not only good, but really good? What will people say, then?

Well, it will be hard to argue that Manny isn't the best welterweight in the sport, even if he did lose to Mayweather last year. Timothy Bradley is no joke, after all. Indeed, some people forget just how strong Bradley's resume is. I myself feel he's already earned the right to be a Hall of Famer. The fact that, should Pacquiao win in April, most people would feel he beat Bradley three straight times is saying a lot.

Ask yourself this - can anyone in the division right now beat a quality Pacquiao? Thurman? Porter? Garcia? Brook? Would any of those men be favored against a Manny whose performing at the level he did against Rios and Algieri? Probably not. Again, that's saying a lot.

So let's not be so quick to write Pacquiao off just yet. While it's true the sport of boxing needs a breath of fresh air, believing Manny really is one fight away from retirement might be putting the cart before the horse. I suspect he'll be back if he wins in May and I get the feeling I'm not alone.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao era may indeed be over. The career of Pacquiao, however, just might end up having good reason to keep chugging along.