Floyd Mayweather rings in new era in comeback fight with Marquez Read more: "Floyd Mayweather rings in new era in comeback fight with Marquez" - http

The hopes are high that Floyd Mayweather Jr. can bring boxing to new heights now that Oscar De La Hoya, the sport's previous box office king, has retired. Golden Boy Promotions demonstrated how high when they held a press conference on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building Tuesday to announce a match between Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 18.

Good thing Mayweather and Marquez, who both did a photo op on the Observation Deck on the 86th floor, aren't afraid of heights. And good thing for Golden Boy that Mayweather decided to end his retirement just a month after De La Hoya announced he was hanging up his gloves for a chair behind a desk and a seat at ringside on fight night.

With the economy still on shaky ground, boxing is being further marginalized, particularly when it comes to pay-per-view. The mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas earlier this month did 850,000 hits, which is outstanding considering the financial times and the fact that neither participant is American (Hatton is from Britain and Pacquiao is Filipino).

The backers of Mayweather are counting on his having generated 3.4 million pay-per-view buys and a reported $250 million in gross revenue in his fights with De La Hoya and Hatton in 2007 to position him as the beacon in the darkness. Before he retired following his match against Hatton in December 2007, Mayweather had done a turn on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" and had appeared in a "Wrestlemania." It was enough to put him in the homes of non-boxing fans. And he was the star of HBO's boxing reality show, "24-7," before his fights against De La Hoya and Hatton, which also gave him greater exposure.

"Floyd Mayweather has an unbelievable following," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. "With Oscar being retired, that will bring Floyd to an even higher level. People are going to see him as that next pay-per-view star. Manny Pacquiao is a great, exciting fighter. But here in the United States I just don't think the general public really knows Manny Pacquiao. They know Floyd Mayweather."

Mayweather, who was No. 1 pound-for-pound when he retired, believes that he has the right stuff to become boxing's box-office king.

"You know they say that an African American could never be the biggest draw in boxing," Mayweather said. "Me and Mike Tyson are tops in (boxing) pay-per-view. I hold the record. I don't know any other athlete who has generated $250 million in one hour in two (events). It's truly impressive."

If he does say so himself.

Beyond being the best fighter in the sport, Mayweather has the kind of brashness that gets under some people's skin. People will tune in to see him win or lose.

"He has the kind of personality that evokes emotions," said Schaefer. "Both groups will buy the pay-per-view. That's why he can't lose. That's what makes him "Money Mayweather."

Boxing truly does make for strange bedfellows. When they were promoting their fight in 2007, Mayweather crawled under De La Hoya's skin so bad that De La Hoya needed a shot from his dermatologist to get rid of the itch. Now that they can both make money together, the irritation has gone away.

"At first we really didn't like each other, but me and Oscar we're coming around," Mayweather said. "I think Oscar is a hell of a businessman. I think Richard Schaefer is a great business guy. The whole staff at Golden Boy is tremendous. But I have a great team around me too, with (advisers) Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe. When you put those two teams together it's a dynamic duo."

Schaefer said they will create the same kind of events for Mayweather as they did for De La Hoya, who owned Las Vegas in May (Cinco de Mayo) and September (the other Mexican Independence Day). He can foresee Mayweather in future big money matches with Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.

"He's going to be stepping into Oscar's shoes," Schaefer said.

Read more: "Floyd Mayweather rings in new era in comeback fight with Marquez" - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/05/20/2009-05-20_floyd_rins_in_new_era_.html#ixzz0GBfZzqMs&A

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/05/20/2009-05-20_floyd_rins_in_new_era_.html