?He?s the coolest dude. You don?t even know how cool he is. It?s almost like I?ve known him my whole life??
?It depends upon what the meaning of the word ?is? is.??Bill Clinton
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, when he?s not making outrageous predictions, does a fine job seconding some of the best fighters in the world. One of those fighters is Manny Pacquiao, who Freddie said, in all seriousness, will knock out Mayweather if and when they meet.
The fact that Pacquiao hasn?t knocked out anyone since 2009 doesn?t matter, nor does the fact that Mayweather has never been knocked out, let alone ever lost a fight.
Freddie can be forgiven the above prognostication, even his prior prognostication that Manny would kayo Chris Algieri in the first round of their fight. It?s not that all is forgiven, per se. It?s that his latest statement trumps those that preceded it.
In an interview with the Daily News, Roach said he told Pacquiao?s promoter, Top Rank?s Bob Arum, and Les Moonves of CBS/Showtime that, given the bad blood between all concerned, an outside negotiator whose powers of persuasion are legendary needs to be brought into the mix.
The persuasive legend Roach has in mind is none other than Bill Clinton.
?There?s too much [expletive deleted] between you guys,? Roach told Arum and Moonves. ?He knows boxing, very bright guy. I think, maybe honest.?
If ?maybe honest? is good enough for politics, where dishonest is the norm, it may be good enough, I think, for boxing.
Clinton is presumably a fight fan. I remember him commenting on the Bite of the Century, the grisly rematch between Holyfield and Tyson. He has been photographed alongside Muhammad Ali. He spent time with Manny Pacquiao on Jimmy Kimmel. He has his picture taken with fellow Arkansan Jermain Taylor. He even met Timothy Bradley.
?He?s the coolest dude,? Bradley told USA Today in 2013. ?You don?t even know how cool he is. It?s almost like I?ve known him my whole life. There?s just something about him. It was one of the best experiences I?ve ever had. He was there and there were all his secret servicemen. It was a surreal moment.?
Equally surreal will be Bill Clinton trying to convince Mayweather to fight ?the midget.? Floyd will be flattered by the attention, no doubt, but unless Clinton can convince Pacquiao to fire Arum, accept every concession, financial and otherwise, known to man, as well as ?take the test,? Clinton?s herculean efforts will be for naught.
But if the lovable rogue that brought us Waco, NAFTA, and the most embarrassing presidency imaginable can accomplish that which others have tried and failed, boolah for Bubba.
And who knows?
We might even see Pacquiao knock out Mayweather.
