Lampley on Mayweather-Pacquiao: 'This is not a mass audience event'
HBO boxing announcer Jim Lampley talked about the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight on Thursday's SI Now.
Lampley said he doesn't believe the fight, which is scheduled for May 2, will bring boxing back to a mass audience because it will be pay-per-view.
• MANNIX: Mayweather a big challenge for Pacquiao trainer Roach
"This is not a mass audience event," he said. "This is another large pay-per-view event. And if you think carefully about it, the fundamental essence of pay-per-view is that to a certain degree, you're saying we shrink the audience to maximize the economic impact."
Lampley said he believes the fight "will expand the degree to which boxing impacts the public discussion" and the number of people thinking about boxing for the next several months, but not necessarily expand the audience.
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight has been long-awaited amongst boxing fans, as the two are widely considered their generation's best pound-for-pound fighters. Years of speculation came to fruition last week when the bout was officialized. The World Boxing Council announced that the winner will receive a special belt to commemorate the fight.
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Lampley also addressed rumors that Mayweather tried to get him removed from calling the fight against Pacquiao, saying he "knows nothing about" such a request.
