Make it or break it

Jeff Haney, Las Vegas Sun

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

Even to those outside the insular realm of professional boxing, the significance of Saturday's megafight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. comes through loud and clear.

It pits two of the sport's few remaining bona fide stars in a showdown where the stakes are higher than they have been for years in boxing.

De La Hoya, past the prime of his magnificent career, remains boxing's most powerful box office draw and is guaranteed an estimated $25 million for the bout.

Mayweather, acknowledged by many observers as the most talented boxer in any weight division, relishes the chance to showcase his dynamic skills on his biggest stage yet. He stands to earn at least $10 million.

Media coverage of the buildup to the fight - highlighted by HBO's four-part reality series "De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7" - has focused on a common theme: Boxing has its troubles, but here's a fight that presents an opportunity for the sport to save itself.

Given the magnitude of the matchup, it's natural to view it as a referendum on boxing's popularity, even its long-term viability, compared with mixed martial arts events such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Even so, it was surprising that Mayweather felt the need to verbally body-slam the UFC and its ilk while promoting Saturday's super welterweight clash, which is shaping up as boxing's biggest fight in years but also perhaps its last big one for a while.

In one of his myriad media appearances in the weeks leading to his long-awaited - and highly hyped - fight against De La Hoya, a barely provoked Mayweather summarily dismissed the UFC as a "fad" and practically called out its signature star, Chuck Liddell.

"Anybody could put a little tattoo on their head, put a little tattoo on the arm, plus the piercing and go out there and street fight," Mayweather said, invoking nearly every MMA cliche that doesn't have to do with cockfighting.

Then he challenged Liddell to get in the ring against any good heavyweight boxer. "If Chuck Liddell beats him, I'll give him $1 million out of my own pocket ... Most of them guys, they couldn't make it in boxing, so they had to turn to something else. So they dig all of this different type of fighting up."

UFC President Dana White called Mayweather's comments "stupid" and cracked that he'd fork over $1 million himself "if Floyd Mayweather can sell more than 10 tickets without Oscar De La Hoya."

Bluster aside, both men touched on a key aspect of Saturday's fight. The buzz and lucrative box office and pay-per-view projections surrounding the promotion prove boxing can still pack a punch, at least for one special night.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is sold out and the gate of $19 million will be a record for a fight in Nevada. Add in pay-per-view, and the fight is projected to gross at least $90 million.

Yet doubts linger about whether the sport, starving for star power, can muster an encore.

De La Hoya, boxing's most prominent (and arguably most handsome) face, is near the tail end of his splendid Hall of Fame career as a fighter. Most of the sport's other top fighters haven't proved they command crossover appeal to mainstream sports fans (Mayweather). Or their charm is limited to a certain segment of the population (Manny Pacquiao; many of the exciting Mexican fighters in the lighter weight classes). Or they are barely recognizable heavyweight beltholders from former Soviet states.

Even the sport's critics would agree it's imperative De La Hoya and Mayweather put on a compelling show Saturday night, that they realize boxing's considerable potential rather than leaving fans with yet another letdown.

Although he declined to predict whether Saturday's extravaganza will shatter any pay-per-view records, HBO Senior Vice President Mark Taffet hinted that the two men in the ring might need each other even more than they would acknowledge.

"People have said for years, 'When is the next megafight going to be?' " Taffet said. "One thing about this sport, fighters make fights and matchups create matchups. And we know there are going to be more megafights.

"For all we know, we could get a magnificent fight here that results even in a fight like this happening again. It's happened before in this sport. There have been some great rematches and trilogies."