Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium will help with boxing comeback

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

For almost a decade much has been made about the demise of boxing on the professional level. The rise of the UFC, the lack of free television, no heavyweights, too ethnic a sport, too violent, fractured leadership, lack of Olympic success etc, etc.

Yet this Saturday night in the Bronx, Yankee Stadium will again serve host to a major fight, the first non-baseball sporting event in its young life, as Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto will highlight a card for the super welterweight title.

Now it is not the ultra big fight that was supposed to have been on this card, Pacquaio-Mayweather, but it still shows boxing's brand value for the big event, especially to an urban audience that can appeal to many of the growing and diverse inner cities that New Jersey calls home.

The fight card will also be dotted with New Jersey ties, including trainer Joe Grier and judge Steve Weisfeld, as well as many fans who will make the trip across the river. So is boxing dead as a professional sport? Nope.

Fact is small fight cards still provide a great revenue stream for the casinos of Atlantic City and bigger cards still have the draw for The Boardwalk. Smaller venues throughout the state still fill vacant dates with boxing cards that appeal to a growing Hispanic audience, and some of the sports biggest names still call New Jersey home.

On the brand side, even with the growth of MMA, which although some view as a competitor to boxing is really complimentary in many ways, new brands are still coming to the sport. The latest case is Baltimore-based Under Armour, which will put its hand into boxing for the first time as presenting sponsor this week for the Yankee Stadium fight. UA is a strong, young apparel brand looking for new places to grow. They have tried MMA to success, and now will see if their brand can gain a foothold with a boxing audience that is not exactly the UA demographic - more urban and more ethnic. It is a good move. Also boxing still remains a great training regimen for many who want the aerobics but not the contact. Everlast, another strong brand, especially in boxing, recently launched a great campaign to tap that casual fan called "What Do You Fight For?". The campaign is more about competitive life spirit than what goes on in a ring, and has the broad-based appeal, tied to boxing, that could help the brand grow.

So yes boxing does have its issues. Rather than lamenting on what could have been, the sport is trying to show what it can be, especially with a big card. It is still a bit on the mat, but it is coming back up, and events like Saturday's at Yankee Stadium can certainly help.

Joe Favorito has over 23 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.