(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Supporters of boxing and horse racing, two pursuits that dominated the sporting landscape of last century, like to point at a weekend like we just had as proof that their sports can be refurbished.

A dismal fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao probably drew more than 4 million pay-per-view buys at $100 a piece. The Kentucky Derby, with a field said to be one of the strongest of the last several decades, lured a record crowd of 170,513  to Churchill Downs and was watched by 16 million others on TV.

You could see why there’d be reason for optimism.

But there will be no bounce. Already the only boxing story the average sports fan cares about is whether they might be subjected to a second Mayweather-Pacquiao farce.

Those same fans will watch to see if American Pharoah can win the Preakness — Why not? It takes all of two minutes — to set up a shot at the Triple Crown, which hasn’t been won since 1978. If the colt lingers anywhere behind the winner, though, they will stop caring.

And, let’s be honest: Even if American Pharoah does become the first to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed, horse racing won’t suddenly re-emerge as a thing people make time for on a regular basis.

These events weren’t exactly gateway worthy. Two aging fighters spending their time trying not to get hit by each other is nobody’s idea of fun.

The Derby does little to keep fans, most of whom are there because the event is now Decadent, Depraved and Commercialized, making it a perfectly palatable concoction. The weekend is mostly an excuse to party at level 9 when all these weeks you’ve been humming along at 6.5.

Any fans who stayed sober enough to bet the race likely weren’t hooked. It features far too many horses to ever provide a satisfying gambling experience. A typical field of eight or nine horses you can make some sense of, and there’s money to be won. The Derby, though, showcases adolescent horses still learning to run. They’re basically sophomore basketball players suddenly thrown into a game of 9 on 9.

(Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports)

Boxing and horse racing have been relegated the niche sports, and they’re going to stay that way.

Which, actually, is fine. It works for the busy, modern sports fan. There’s only so much room in our lives. You know how much work it is to follow Major League Baseball? Too much. But when there’s only one or two bouts — or two or three races — you need to care about each year, that’s doable. Especially if the events are as big and colorful as boxing and racing (just look at those pictures!) and come along with a license to do things you might otherwise not (wear salmon pants and a light blue blazer to the race, stay out at the sort-of-shady bar that paid for the fight until closing time).

Read a few articles about the fight and dub yourself an expert. Tell your boss you think one guy will win if he can avoid the left jab and work into the later rounds.

Watch a video on the Daily Racing Form’s website and pretend you know racing. Swear to your significant other that the No. 8 is going to stalk the pace but close late, like he did in the Wood.

Feels great, doesn’t it? You deserve a cigar and some bourbon.

The profits generated from the Triple Crown help sustain the sport at a level that makes sense for the number of fans who do care throughout the year. Boxing could probably learn something there: too much of the money filtered to the fighters with no future.

The Triple Crown races won’t disappear. But those who run boxing must be more aware of the need to cultivate young, exciting fighters so that these big pay days continue to exist. It may seem that this would require them to stop being driven wholly by greed, and is therefore impossible. But the absurd levels of money that flowed into the sport last weekend will dry up if they can’t convince us there are new boxers to care about.

Maybe they can even work on raising up two fighters who are willing to fight each other before they’ve lost what made them great.

[sigallery id=”7c99c2cb02a3f7495bb2fc11f3578c72″ title=”Best of Mayweather-Pacquiao” type=’sigallery’]