Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs. Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. “Glittering Prize and a pot of Gold ”. WBC , WBO, and WBA
super welterweight championship of the world. MGM
Grand Resort and Casino, Las Vegas.
Over the years, we have had
fight hyped slogans, in “ History” , “ Undisputed”, “The
world awaits”, “ The War “ , “ It’s On “ and so
on. …. Great fighters,, and great fights, but this fight
hype has been dragging on , in anticipation for so long,
you could say it’s been the longest running promotion
for any fight in the history of boxing. Some would say, it
was either a cruel joke on the boxing fans around the
world, or was it just a promoters genius. I would say it
was a bit of both. In reality, this fight was
always going to happen. It had to. It just needed the
right ingredients, then let it come to the boil, then let
the whole thing simmer for as long as possible, without
letting it burn .
So here we are, some six years
on, and with all the talk, all the debating, the
negotiations, and all the bullshit over, we only have two
weeks to go, before these two finally touch gloves for real. When I write these big fight
analysis pieces, I try to think of a heading, a title,
which I think relates to the fight at hand. It took me
about 2 seconds to come up with the title for this one.
The glttering prize is the specially made bely which has
been made for the winner. [ A reported one million dollars
worth , which is a crime ] The pot of gold is the amount
of money , all the players will make [ which is a billion
dollars plus , which is also criminal ] We are told that it’s a fight
for the fans, but how can it be. If it was, they would
have put it on at a big stadium, and sold tickets at a
reasonable price. This fight is all about supply and demand
, but not for the boxing fans around the world , who have
been waiting on this fight to be made. This fight is all
about making as much money as possible. With ringside
ticket prices being sold for 65, 000 dollars to 90,000, and
mid tier being sold for 14,000, not to mention the
bleachers tickets going for 8,000, how can this be for the
fans?? Bob Arum was reportedly offered
100,000 dollars for a ringside seat central to the ring,
between the blue and the red corner, and good old Bob
said, “ Give me $200,000 and you can take your pick .
That is wrong . Anyway, enough of that. It is what
it is, and there’s not much we can do about that. It’s
done! Lets get to the fight.
Just so we are all clear before I
write this . I have trained in the gym with Mayweather
and Pacquiao , over the years. I have also spent time with
the two fighters, in and out of the gym and I have
been following them through their careers. I am a huge
fan of Mayweather and Pacquiao. Both fighters have given
me some incredible, fantastic memories. As people, [
extraordinary people ] it is tough for me to separate
them . What more can we say about Floyd
Mayweather ? Not much more than has already been said. His
boxing record says it all. With 47 fights, and no losses, in
a professional career that started in 1996, he has dominated
every weight class he has campaigned in, from featherweight,
to super feather, to lightweight, through to welterweight, and
super welterweight. In my opinion, he is the greatest
fighter ever. It’s a big statement, and the fans reading
this will think, what !!, is this guy real, what about
Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard…the
list could go on. . All , more than worthy, but
Mayweather is my pick. Some would say Pacquiao could
quite easily go on to that list, and why not. He has earned it. He has won
world championship belts in 7 different weight divisions, and
has multiple belts in world title fights, and has done it
in exciting, devastating fashion. He is a legend of the
sport of boxing. Both fighters will go down in the
history of the sport of boxing as modern day greats. This
fight and the winner of this fight cannot take away or
enhance their status as boxers. Like I said, their record
speaks for itself.
As with all fighters, each of
them have their pro’s and cons , each explore and
exploit their weaknesses, their chinks in the armour, and each
fighter will try to impose themselves to be first and win
the battle at any cost. This fight will be no different. Here is my thoughts on each
fighters good and not so good.
Mayweather. [ strengths ]
-
Ring smarts. Boxing brain.
-
Speed. [ hands]
-
Confidence in his abilities
-
Footwork
-
Dictating the tempo of a
fight
-
Dedication to training
-
Height [ 5.8 ] 173 cms
-
Weight
-
Reach [ 72’ ] 183cms
-
Accuracy and precise punches
-
Defensive genius
-
Being able to adjust to his
opponent
-
Combination punching
-
Counter punching
-
Anticipating, reading his
opponents movements
-
He has great timing .
-
Is a 12 round fighter
Mayweather [ weaknesses ]
-
Floyd can be open on the
ropes
-
Can he fight flat out for 3
minutes of every round
-
Is his hands ready for that
-
Can he handle an aggressive
southpaw , who has speed
-
If he gets cut, will he
handle being cut
-
Can he handle pressure from
pacquiao
-
One punch power. [ last
opponent we could count was ricky hatton in dec, 2007 ]
Please don’t
count Ortiz !
Pacquiao [
strengths ]
-
Aggressive
-
Speed and volume of punches
thrown
-
Dedication to training
-
Being a southpaw
-
Ko power
-
Speed of foot and hand. [ in
and out ]
-
Awkwardness .
-
Is a 12 round fighter.
Pacquiao [
weaknesses ]
-
Is a 12 round fighter.
-
Is he damaged. [ he has made
a career out of brutal fights ] I think he is.!
-
Has been ko’d [ marquez
2012. ]
-
He gets counter punched a lot
-
Leaves himself open to right
hands
-
Predictable
-
Does he have a cramping
problem in his lower leg muscles
-
Can be outboxed.
-
Height , and reach will
favour Mayweather
The fight, and
my analysis.
To win this
fight, Mayweather must establish his jab early on, and
throw his straight right hand, and whenever he goes to the
ropes, he has to tie up Pacquiao’s arms and withstand
Pacquiao’s 4 or 5 round onslaught of aggression and
movement. Pacquiao basically has to throw everything at
Mayweather, and turn it into a brawl.
If
Mayweather gets tagged, or cut, the fight dynamic will change
. Manny has been known to clash with his head and if he
opens up Floyd’s eye, it could be a much different fight. I think
the referee will have a busy night, and also a big part
to play in who wins. Go back to the Hatton v Mayweather
fight, the referee , Joe Cortez just wouldn’t let Hatton
near Mayweather. If
Mayweather can keep off Pacquiao for the early rounds, and
box and move, making the Filipino use those big legs, and
bust him up with eye catching combinations he should win
the rounds. From there, once the legs slow up [ or get
cramped], Mayweather will go to work, and try to make a
statement in the remaining rounds, until he does enough
damage to force the fight to be stopped in or around the
10th round. Mayweather wins.
After all these
years of waiting, and talking, I just hope that it is a
fight for the fans. No questions , no doubts, and no
rematch required.
Gary Todd is an international best selling author with his books on
boxing. “
Workouts from boxings greatest champs” volumes 1 and 2. He has been involved in
all aspects in the sport of boxing for over 25 years.
Please send all questions and comments to Ken Hissner at: Kenhissner@gmail.com