Showtime's reality boxing series Fight Camp 360 is a show that follows and documents the lives of two fighters during the weeks following up to their big fight. Earlier today, Fight Camp 360 aired the first of four episodes of the Pacquiao/Mosley edition of the show on CBS in an attempt to gain more mainstream exposure for the upcoming Pay-Per-View showdown on May 7th. This was the first time the show has aired on major network television instead of the premium cable channel Showtime, making it also the first time that the sport of boxing has aired on network television since NBC's The Contender back in 2005. The move could very well end up attracting more casual sports fans to watch the fight, and that is precisely the goal that Top Rank Promotions is aiming for.
From the beginning of the show, it was clear what the angle on the build up for this fight is going to be. Manny Pacquiao is a man engulfed in chaos and has huge expectations placed on him, both inside and out of the ring. Shane Mosley is a more low key guy, who is using the underdog status as a motivator to try and pull off the huge upset. This underlying theme played out during the entire episode. It showed Manny being surrounded by people flashing pictures and asking questions. It showed him even going to meet the president of the United States of America. It is clear that Manny Pacquiao has gone "Hollywood" and seems to be thriving and enjoying all of the pressure. Shane Mosley, on the other hand, is portrayed as quite the opposite. In the episode, it shows him shooting pool with a long-time friend, walking with his mega-hot girlfriend, and doing an interview for ESPN while Manny was at the White House.
What the episode did not show much of was training. I suppose this is because a lot of the filming for the first episode took place before training camp actually began. Of the training it did show, there was one thing that really stood out to me. Manny Pacquiao is quick. He is REALLY quick. In comparison to the clips of Manny, Shane Mosley looked slow. I see this being the biggest factor in this fight. For Shane Mosley to win, he is going to have to time Manny and catch him with a big punch. Although it may seem unlikely, I agree with Naazim Richardson's comments when speaking of Manny's style. He said, "You can see holes. You can see flaws." Exploiting them may not be easy, but can be done. For instance, in all of Manny's last several fights, he will throw a few punches then roll under and step to his right. He even does it in this episode when working on the mitts with world-class trainer Freddie Roach. By doing this, Shane could possibly meet him with a nice left that could make the fight really interesting and very entertaining.
All in all, the show was what to be expected. It was an attempt to sell a fight between a boxing phenom in the prime of his career and an aging veteran underdog. If you have seen one of these boxing reality series, you have seen them all, but it's one of those things where the hardcore boxing fan dare not miss it, and the people who may have never seen something like this find some fresh television entertainment. Hopefully, by being on CBS, it will bring some new fans to the sport. My only concern is that by coming on at 12PM in the East, and 9AM in the West, following a children's Saturday morning cartoon called Trollz, the only people that may have been around to see this episode were some mom's bringing Pop Tarts to their elementary school-aged kids. Let's be positive and hope that it hit the demographic they were aiming for. Fortunately, the episode will reair on Showtime on Saturday, April 16 at 10PM ET/PT.