Say goodbye and good riddance to 2010

It will be remembered for what didn’t happen instead of what did and for a self-proclaimed face of the game seen more often in a booking photo than the ring.

To 2010:

Bah, Humbug.

Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn’t happen in March, didn’t happen in November and might have its best chance at happening in virtual reality. Look for the video game in neighborhood stores, maybe next Christmas. With legal trouble multiplying for Mayweather and his future subject to a jury’s unpredictable deliberations in a domestic-abuse trial scheduled for Jan. 24, he only will be fighting to stay out of jail, at least in the near term.

There is a cynical temptation to say that Mayweather’s legal bills are the only way to ensure a fight that has become the real face of a business that can’t get its divided house in order. He’ll need the money. Whatever finally happens, abortive negotiations throughout a futile year have set the stage for more trouble in 2011, which is already clouded by Holiday condemnations for promoter Bob Arum’s decision to go forward with Pacquaio against a faded Shane Mosley on May 7 instead of worthy Juan Manuel Marquez.

If Pacquiao-Mayweather doesn’t come off later in 2011, it will be more of the same. If it does, cynics and conspiracy theorists will spin damning speculation. You can hear it now. If Mayweather is acquitted or gets probation, blogs and talk shows will be full of suggestions about how the casino industry and politicians pressured the prosecution into a deal for a fight that could be a stimulus that Vegas needs in a wager to lift itself out of recession,

At the intersection of Sin City and , there is suspicion at every turn.

Reasons for optimism have been lost, trampled, in the attention to do just one fight. Blame Arum. Blame . Blame the he-said, she-said feud between De La Hoya and Arum. Blame the media, which pursues page views and internet hits like Arum and De La Hoya chase money, which means mentioning Pacquiao and Mayweather, Mayweather and Pacquiao gratuitously, ad nauseam and all too often at the expense of everybody else.

In November and early December, there was a chance to salvage 2010 with a string of terrific fights. There was a banquet from which to pick Fight of the Year contenders, one after another. The pick in this corner is Humberto Soto’s victory over Urbano Antillon on Dec. 4 in Anaheim, Calif. But there is no argument with Amir Khan’s gritty stand against Marcos Maidana on Dec. 11 or Juan Manuel Marquez’ comeback drama against Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27. For emphasis, there was a on Nov. 20 as good as any from Sergio Martinez, the likely Fighter of the Year whose left hand in the second round sent Paul Williams crashing to the canvas like a demolished building.

But there was a disturbing sign at all of those memorable fights. Attendance was down. On good nights, crowds of maybe 5,000 showed up. For Khan-Maidana in Vegas, there were reports of ticket upgrades and giveaways.

Even beneath the big top in a ring above the 50-yard-line and below the Jerrytron on the Dallas Cowboys home field at Texas Stadium on Nov. 13, there was a crowd that failed to fulfill Arum’s expectations for Pacquiao’s dismantling of Antonio Margarito. Arum predicted more than 60,000. But the announced crowd was 40,154. Of that, paid attendance was 30,437, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Even with 9,717 comps, Pacquiao-Margarito fell about one-third short of Arum’s projections. On Wall Street, that would lead to a huge sell-off.

In recession-plagued Vegas, economic woes are a reasonable explanation for slow sales especially for two cards, Marquez- Katsidis and Khan-Maidana, without an American in the main event.

The Pacquiao-Margarito shortfall is harder to explain, especially with Pacquiao’s international stardom at the top of a card against a well-known Mexican, Margarito, in a city with a big Mexican and Mexican-American population. Also, Texas is reported to be one of the few states on solid economic footing. So what gives? In this era of HD television and screens that are getting cheaper by the day, there’s good reason to stay home and watch.

Nevertheless, there’s a theory that the live gate is still a good indicator of whether a fight is attracting so-called crossover fans. They’ll shed their ambivalence about boxing and show up in person to see more than a fight. They want to experience it as well. That they weren’t there in the expected numbers adds up to a problematic 2011.

One guess is that they stayed home, went to a concert or out to dinner, because of Pacquiao-Mayweather talks that went nowhere once, then twice. See ya.

There’s been lot of talk that boxing is finally making matches that matter. True enough. Soto-Antillon, Khan-Maidana, Marquez-Katsidis, Martinez-Williams, Juan Manuel Lopez’ victory over Rafael Marquez and even controversial majority draw with Jean Pascal are all evidence of that. Those were good fights, some great,

But the crossover crowd had lost interest in the empty aftermath of talk about nothing. For the casual fan, it’s hard to believe that any fight can be a good one if the best one can’t be put together. If customers can’t get what they most want, they’ll move on, no matter what else is in stock.

This is the season to talk about awards, about who is worthy and who’s not. But 2010 will be remembered for America’s empty seats, which are beginning to look like a prize you can’t even give away anymore.