Archive for May, 2010

Let’s just say theoretically Bob Arum and Michael Koncz are right on this one, just this once, that the supposed megafight between P4P king Manny Pacquiao and surefire runner up Floyd Mayweather will indeed take place in November.  What can we expect out of the fight itself?  Boxing experts are split right down the middle as to who will win this highly anticipated matchup, and with much reason.  On paper, Mayweather-Pacquiao is a toss up.  Both sides also have extreme cult followings, where in the eyes of maniacal fans, their favorite fighter can do no wrong – “nuthugger-ism” being the operative word.

Floyd Mayweather has made a living off of pot shotting his opponents and picking his spots really carefully, landing only solid and accurate blows, enough to earn him points victories.  He has mastered ‘the art of the unanimous decision victory’ so to speak.  Most think it is a boring style, and to the casual boxing fan, it really is sleep inducing what with the lack of action the style brings – a style that hinges on counter punching and capitalizing on opponents mistakes not necessarily to do damage, but to score points (hence Mayweather’s low KO rate).  One thing we cannot question however is its effectiveness.  If Mayweather is to be favored in a fight against Pacquiao, there is no doubt it is by decision.  To think otherwise (that Mayweather could claim Pacquiao’s head via KO) would put you in the “Nuthugger” category.

On the flipside of things, Pacquiao has made a name for himself physically manhandling his opponents inside the ring.  He has shot into stardom, knockout after devastating knockout.  His style – highly fan friendly, he swings for the fences and he swings a lot.  More often than not, he challenges fighters who are physically a lot bigger than he is, making him sort of the underdog (sort of because everyone knows though he is smaller, he is almost always the stronger and faster fighter).  Opposite of Mayweather, Pacquiao throws punches to hurt his foe, to knock him down and eventually knock him out.  If anything at all, Pacquiao will have to win, should he fight Mayweather, by knocking him out.

This is where it gets tricky.  Barring the Pacquiao KO victory, we are left with a decision based on what the judges will see throughout the duration of the fight.  DECISION.  Certainly this makes Floyd Mayweather the favorite right?  It would appear so.  Does this mean that if the fight goes to the judge’s score cards, that it’s automatically a victory for Mayweather because Pacquiao wasn’t able to knock him out?  Let’s elaborate a little bit.

I believe that Mayweather, known for his pinpoint accuracy (and you can pretty much expect him to be accurate), will have to be scored on how aggressive he is against a guy that is so wide open and vulnerable.  It’s no secret that Pacquiao is no defensive dynamo, the guy leaves his hands down most of the fight and is open to counter punching, the likes of which Mayweather’s equally fast hands can most definitely deliver.  In my opinion, Mayweather should be scored on how much he capitalizes on that.  If he sees Pacquiao’s head open for a punch that he can throw, he has to throw it and land it.  He can’t wussy out of it and not throw.  Simply put, Mayweather will have to be scored in this fight on his willingness to NOT take it to a decision, he has to show the judges that he is capable of laying the hurt on Pacquiao, this is a contact sport after all.  If by the end of the fight, Pacquiao isn’t bruised and cut and bloodied, I don’t think the judges should give it to Mayweather.  I don’t think he would deserve it, not in a fight of this magnitude, with this much at stake.

On the other hand, in order for Pacquiao to win a decision, the formula is laid out and clear.  He will have to be the busier fighter (as he almost always is), that lands the more telling blows.  Now landing a solid shot on Mayweather is indeed a tall order, but with Freddie Roach in his corner, I’m sure Pacquiao will find a way.  How often he does will be the deciding factor.  If Pacquiao can land enough power shots on Mayweather that do visible damage (keyword being visible) to a fighter they once called “The Pretty Boy”, I think by the end of the fight, if it’s close and comes down to the wire, that Pacquiao could win by decision.  It would have to be via split or razor thin unanimous, and though it’s next to impossible because he’d be up against Mayweather, it’s still a possibility with a small glimmer of hope.

Of course this is Boxing.  And throughout the course of history, we have fallen in love with our upsets.  Though I would consider a Mayweather victory by KO an upset, I do also think a Pacquiao victory by decision equally upsetting.  Given Mayweather’s undefeated record and defensive style, I would like to think that Mayweather would be the betting favorite to win by Unanimous Decision with Pacquiao coming in as a close underdog to win by knockout.

Start saving your cash.  We stand to make a lot of money betting on this one.  It’s definitely a toss up folks!

All of a sudden, you can’t say Floyd Maywather just runs inside the ring.  All of a sudden, you can’t say Floyd Mayweather never fought elite competition.  What happened last night was a beauty to behold.  It was the ‘sweet science’ depicted in its purest and finest form.  It was the definition of ‘boxing’ – to hit and not get hit.  Floyd Mayweather is a very easy guy to hate.  He goes around and runs his mouth to the point where it’s just infuriating to continue to listen to him and his unending trash talking.  A lot of people hate Floyd Mayweather.  After last night, you can still hate him all you want, but if you don’t respect him and his unparalleled mastery of the sport then you are not a true ‘boxing fan’.

Floyd took an elite fighter in Shane Mosley and totally nullified him.  Let’s not forget, this is the same Shane Mosley that completely destroyed Antonio Margarito just about a year ago.  This version of Shane was being touted as an elite version of him until Floyd downright made him look like a tired old man last night.  Coming into the fight, many people were giving Shane a chance to hand Mayweather his first loss.  He certainly had the tools to accomplish the task.  He had the hand speed, the power and the boxing ability to hurt Mayweather – and in the 2^nd round he actually had Mayweather in trouble.

To which Mayweather replied in the post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, “It comes with the territory.  It’s a contact sport and you’re gonna get hit.  When that happens, you suck it up and continue fighting like a warrior.”

A reply that was as short as it was sweet, and definitely true.  Mayweather was hurt in that second round and Mosley knew it, and tried to capitalize.  Being the great ring general that he is, Mayweather adjusted from the 3^rd round onwards and the rest of the fight was lopsided.

“I felt tight after I hurt him in the 2^nd round, I thought to myself, I’m gonna knock this guy out.  I tried to get him out of there.  He [Mayweather] adjusted and I didn’t and that’s why he won the fight” said Mosley.

Mayweather showed why he is considered to be one of the greatest defensive technicians in the history of the sport.  He was nearly impossible to hit.  Also surprisingly, from the 6^th round onwards he was actually the aggressor.  He wasn’t dancing in the ring like in his usual fights, he was coming forward trying to bring the fight to Mosley.  It wasn’t like a Pacquiao throwing bunches of punches at his target, or a Tyson bull rushing to the middle trying to land bombs – it was a calculated, well thought out assault.  It wasn’t overwhelmingly relentless.  It was deadly accurate.  It was Floyd Mayweather-ish.

“I tried to do what the fans wanted me to do.  They didn’t want to see me move in there so I stood in front of him [Mosley].  I tried to give the fans what they wanted” said Mayweather.

But let’s be fair here.  Whenever Pacquiao wins, they always try to discredit it, downplaying his opponent.  In Mayweather’s case, some of that is warranted.  Let’s not forget that Shane Mosley is 38 years old and NOT in his prime.  I believe a young Shane Mosley could have thrown more punches like Nazim Richardson was asking an old Shane Mosley to do.  That would have changed the fight dramatically.  We also cannot overlook the fact that Mosley hasn’t fought in over a year and could have over-trained a little bit (he had been training to fight Berto in January until Berto pulled out).  So yeah, in a sense it wasn’t a challenge that was all that it could be despite what HBO’s 24/7 series had you believe, but like Mayweather is a genius inside the ring, he is a genius outside of it.  He couldn’t have picked a better time to fight Mosley as Mosley is winding down on a very long and hard career.

Props to Floyd as I admit he is the most talented and gifted fighter of his era.  He’s still a cherry picker though!

Still, you have to give credit where credit is due.  And you can’t deny the fact that Mayweather’s defensive skills are off the charts.  If we learned anything, it’s that the only guy who can challenge Mayweather now is Pacquiao.  Pacquiao’s activity and equally blinding speed provides a whole different dynamic altogether.  Pacquiao has the same tools that Mosley has and then some.  Which is why it was sickening to hear Mayweather basically lay down a ‘no drug test – no fight’ verdict on his fight with Pacquiao during the post-fight interview.  I’m still one of the believers that the fight will happen though.  It’s the only logical fight now for both fighters.  It’s our job as writers, as those who deliver insight in this amazing sport – it is our job as boxing fans to make noise and clamor for Mayweather-Pacquiao to take place.  If we are loud enough, if we voice out our opinions we should be able to turn the tides on Mayweather and hopefully he’ll fold and give in to public demand.

I guarantee you that what you saw in the 2^nd round with Mosley staggering Mayweather, you’ll see all night with Pacquiao.  Except Pacquiao will do what Mosley couldn’t, which is finish Mayweather off.

Does this win for Mayweather change the mythical pound for pound rankings?  Though some are quick to pull the trigger, I say absolutely not.  Pacquiao is still number one until someone takes him down from there or he retires.

Last night’s fight set the backdrop, now it’s time to set the stage.

Mayweather once again proves that his ultimate defense is impenetrable.  Now it’s time to see that ultimate defense go up against Pacquiao’s ultimate offense…

Which is unstoppable.

Credit photos to Ethan Miller/Getty Images