Publicists are Celebrities’ Best Accessory

Mayweather vs. Cotto Official HBO Poster
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For Puerto Ricans and worldwide boxing fanatics, this Cinco de Mayo was much more than eating tacos and drinking margaritas. At 11pm that day, the most anticipated HBO PPV boxing fight of 2012, Miguel Cotto vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., took place. The Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto gave Mayweather a fight beyond expectation. It was a close fight and a tough match. Cotto trapped Floyd against the ropes throughout the fight and landed hard shots to the head that for the first time ever, drew blood from Mayweather’s nose. But, Cotto’s effort was not enough. It was Mayweather's ability to get his uppercuts and jabs in with enough regularity to take most of the fight. Mayweather triumphed in a unanimous decision and blew kisses to a booing and disproving crowd, while Cotto suffered the third loss of his career.

Although a controversial fight, it was a classic boxing match where at the end, one of the opponents wins. The curious thing about this fight, looking at it in a Public Relations standpoint, was what happened after it. In a regular sports competition of this caliber, the main event takes place, a space is allowed for a few informal interviews, and immediately after, a press conference is held with the former opponents. Nonetheless, after hearing the judge’s decision, Miguel Cotto left the boxing ring and headed down to his room without facing the media, refusing to attend the post-fight press conference. As stated by El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s most important newspaper, Miguel Cotto returned to Puerto Rico yesterday and even then, he didn’t talk to the media. The only public statement he gave was through his Twitter account.

That right there is a huge Public Relations mistake that could lead to a PR disaster. Comments in social media sites immediately shifted from people praising his boxing abilities, to comments tainting him as a sore loser. Everyone knows that refusing to face the media is one of the biggest mistakes any celebrity can make. Situations like these reinstate the prominence of a celebrity’s publicist and proper media training.

In Cotto’s case, his refusal to talk to the media is a reflection of his lack of media training because he doesn’t have a publicist. All of his media inquires are managed through his assistant, someone who is not properly trained in Public Relations. Any good publicist would have advised him to attend the post-fight press conference and face the media because even boxing experts were praising his abilities. Although he didn’t win the fight and didn’t agree with the judge’s decision, he should have faced this situation as the professional he is. Additionally, upon arriving to his hometown he should have given interviews because Puerto Ricans were really proud of him.

On the other hand, using one’s Twitter account to give statements is a great way to connect with fans and media outlets around the world, especially in the technological world we live in. Yet, giving informal statements through Twitter before formal interviews with the press or before an official media alert is released is an amateur move. Again, this reflects the absence of a trained media professional in his team. I hope that this PR mistake doesn’t escalate to a bigger PR problem because Miguel Cotto is a great boxer and hasn’t had altercations with the media in the past. Yet, this situation serves as a great lesson to everyone: not having a publicist and proper media guidance can lead to a PR disaster. This said, it’s safe to state that publicists are celebrities’ best accessory.