I earlier wrote that the first De La Hoya-Mayweather bout was bad for boxing.  Now that it appears there is a rematch in place for later this year, I'll simply reiterate my earlier claim.  Before I trash this potential matchup, I have to acknowledge that for both men, the fight is a no-brainer, financially at least.  Even if the rematch does not match the record-setting PPV and tickets sales that the first installment generated, it likely will be 2008's biggest fight.  However, I compare this fight to someone (hypothetically) producing The Da Vinci Code II - a pointless follow-up to an over-hyped and uninspiring, yet commercially successful original.   

So who loses? For starters, Miguel Cotto has to sit back and hope the winner fights him.  He appeared to be the logical opponent for Mayweather in the wake of his destruction of Ricky Hatton.  The other loser is a familiar one.  You guessed it - it's you and I, the fans.  Despite this fact, like many of you, I will complain about the matchup during the pre-fight buildup, reluctantly buy the PPV, and then complain about the fight afterwards.  It's an all-too-familiar scenario that many fans have unfortunately gotten used to in recent years. 

Floyd now calls himself Money Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya's boxing namesake is the Golden Boy.  So it should come as no surprise that this fight has a "cash register" ring to it.  I can't knock both men's business savvy, as they are proving to be forces to be reckoned with outside of the ring.  But are these accomplishments worth diminishing their "in-ring" reputations? History will ultimately tell the story, but I have always preferred the fighting part of the phrase prize fighting. For better (their own net worth) or for worse (fight fans' enjoyment), Mayweather and De La Hoya recently seem to have their eyes solely set on the prize part.