The Pacquiao – Mayweather Wars
by Glen Anglin: There is an all-too-common tendency among many boxing fans to attempt to promote the greatness of their chosen hero by denigrating their hero’s current rival. Currently, there is a blazing war of words between the respective fans of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather .
Normally, this verbal battle takes 4 basic forms:
· Mitigating the accomplishments of the other guy. (He defeated stiffs, old guys, shot fighters)
· Your guy cherry picks his opponents; my guy fights real competition.
· Your guy’s style is not as good as my guy’s style.
· You are blindly rooting for your guy without looking at the facts.
Recently, the Pacquiao/Mayweather debate has added some new forms such as: insults, charges of PED’s and worst of all, thuggish racial epithets. This sort of behavior only drags our great sport down and reaffirms what outsiders say about boxing, boxers and boxing fans.
Let’s start with the simple fact that rarely do two great fighters fight in their primes against each other. It is an unusual occurrence if for no other reason that the prime of many fighters just do not coincide. Birthdates are different, guys peak at different times, guys have an off night, etc. Many people forget that Liston was pushing 40(at the very least) when Clay ‘shocked the world’. In turn, Ali was in his late 30’s when Larry Holmes beat him so badly the fight was stopped with Ali cowering in a corner. By the same token, some of the guys Mayweather and Pacquaio have fought were not at their best either.
Now, let’s address the respective legacies of Mayweather and Pacquiao. PBF has beaten the best the world has to offer for the last 8 years (with a 2-year layoff). He dominated JMM and Hatton and has victories over Judah, Corley, ODLH and two over Castillo among others. With a likely win over Mosley, he has HOF credentials and is an all-time great for sure, possibly retiring undefeated. Any questions?
Pacquiao has also beaten the best the world has to offer for a decade, but mostly at a lower weight. His 10 or 12 knockdowns scored against Barrera, Morales and Marquez are a HOF accomplishment BY THEMSELVES. Not to mention victories over ODLH, Diaz, Hatton, Cotto and a likely win over Clottey. How about 7 weight division champ? How can anybody think he is not an all-time great?
As for ‘Cherry Picking’, how can ANY fighter fight EVERYBODY who calls him out? It’s impossible. So, considering that most champions want to make a truckload of money while their skills allow it, almost all of them try to get an easy payday here and there between the real tough fights. Examine the record of any great champion, and you will find a sprinkling of tomato cans on their resume. This applies to Mayweather and Pacquiao, as well as Louis, Ali, Robinson, Duran……anybody. No shame in it.
Regarding the charge of PED’s, I am not exactly sure what it is all about, other than MP’s refusal of PBF’s unreasonable demand to have unannounced, random blood tests within days of the fight. He will submit to random, unannounced urinalysis anytime and also blood test immediately after the fight and all other boxing commission requirements. Those who say he is turning down a lot of money are ignoring the fact that he already has more than he can ever spend and will make tens more millions each time he fights. Filipino’s are prone to superstition. Pacquiao thinks he lost to Morales partially because he allowed blood to be drawn from him 2 days before the fight. By the way, Pacquiao and Mayweather both started boxing in their teens under 110 pounds and are now around 145.
Let’s now review the style argument. Supposed boxing purists are constantly sniffing at Manny Pacquiao’s lack of boxing ability. He is a brawler with no skill, they say. The record shows that Pacquiao’s slashing, herky-jerky, 7-punch-combination-from-impossible-angles offense has done him quite well in the sport of boxing, thank you. After all, asthetics aside, isn’t it only the results that matter? I mean, if it is true that a REAL boxer can easily defeat Pacquiao, then why doesn’t it ever happen? Weren’t Barerra and Marquez considered master boxers the same size as MP? Having an acute appreciation of the finer points of the sweet science (as do I) should not close your mind to Pacquiao’s greatness. It only makes you look foolish and elitist, or even worse, racist. (By the way, isn’t it interesting that the same people who attack Pacquiao’s lack of boxing skill also attack the Klitschko brothers for being boring and cowardly? The K’s fight very carefully, taking few risks and taking full advantage of their physical ability and gifts…….in other words they fight just like Mayweather).
On the other hand, many Mayweather haters drone on and on about his predictable, boring style that is designed only to win rounds and influence judges. Let me ask you, if you were blessed with the talent that allowed you to win boxing matches against top shelf fighters without even getting hit, what would you do? That’s right, you would do the same as Mayweather. At the end of the Mayweather/Marquez fight Floyd had to be thinking: What a great life I have. I easily defeated a world class boxer and he barely even touched me.
If MP and PBF ever get in the ring against one another, I would pay $100 PPV to see it. However, neither of these guys is defined by the other. It is their body of work in the ring that matters. It is the only thing that can truly be judged.
One of the saddest ‘too-bad-that-fight-never-happened’ stories is Hagler vs Monzon. For a couple of years in the mid to late 70’s they were both near their prime. However, they never fought each other. Does that diminish what either man accomplished in the ring? JGA
