FightFan.com?s Ace Freeman weighs in on the mega-fight that is finally upon us and outlines why (despite the fact it is several years overdue) it will be a historic event for the ages we should all be excited about.
It was late on a Friday afternoon, Feb. 20, 2015 that the long awaited announcement that shook the sporting world finally came: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to face off May 2nd in one of the highest profile bouts of all time. It is an event that will surely transcend boxing and become one of the most lucrative sporting events ever to be staged. Two living legends, two of the best of their generation, will face off in a historic fight for the ages.
It has been a comedy of errors over the last five years as both fighters, several promotional outfits, networks and many more have had their share of blame in nearly fumbling one of the most significant and financially lucrative sporting events in history. It?s a tired, twisting tale that need not be reiterated here.
On Friday, Ken Hershman, President of HBO SPORTS perhaps said it best.
In a joint conference call with Showtime?s Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, the two network-heads fielded questions about the road to making the historic fight and were asked about the long and tumultuous process of reaching an elusive agreement between all parties (fighters and networks).
?I?d rather leave how we got here behind us,? Hershman said. ?We got the deal done which is the important thing and now we can all look forward to making this into the biggest event of all time. We?re looking forward now, not backwards.?
Years of animosity between the fighters themselves seems to have lifted in recent weeks, and with Friday?s announcement, both Mayweather and Pacquiao were respectful of one another and seemed excited to finally reward boxing fans around the world with the fight we?ve all been waiting for.
?I am glad my decision to meet with Manny and discuss making this fight happen helped get the deal done,? said Mayweather after the announcement, referring to the chance meeting between the two at an NBA game in Florida several weeks back. ?Giving the fans what they want to see is always my main focus. This will be the biggest event in the history of the sport. Boxing fans and sports fans around the world will witness greatness on May 2.?
?I?m excited,? Manny Pacquiao said from the Philippines this weekend. ?The fans deserve this fight. I?m excited because the fans are excited!?
Signed contract image courtesy of TMT
The news swept across social media like a storm on Friday and all major sporting outlets around the world had boxing at the forefront of their evening news reels.
While the announcement was largely met with excitement around the boxing world, several vocal critics didn?t take long to rain down negative thoughts.
The disdain coming from some of boxing?s most respected pundits has become as tiresome as the fight?s prolonged negotiations in recent years.
Several of the sport?s top writers had become bitter to the point where they scoffed at any fans or colleagues who still held out hope or merely made mention of the long awaited super-fight.
Even in the last few months, when rumblings of the fight finally being made grew louder than ever before, some of boxing?s biggest names insisted people were foolish for believing the hype. The cynicism was outweighed only by their smug air of arrogance in dismissing the fight.
Fortunately this all fell by the wayside as the tsunami of press rolled over the inter-webs and sporting world on Friday.
The funny thing about enduring pessimism and cynicism is that they are seldom extinguished outright. Some of boxing?s elitists have gone from cautioning us that the fight will never happen to now pointing out it?s come several years too late.
While it?s true, this historic clash would have been at it?s peak in 2010, as they say? better late than never, and all good things to those who wait.
There are those who have already began to speak dismissively about the fight, suggesting the gravity of the event itself will far exceed any action poised to take place in the ring.
Know-it-all scoffing can be felt spilling out from behind their text, suggesting we are somehow being duped by getting excited about a fight that would have been more meaningful had it happened five years ago.
While that notion is not entirely untrue, the fight before us is still one of the most intriguing ones of this generation.
While both Mayweather and Pacquiao are north of 35 years of age and a step below that of their physical primes, they are still unequivocally the two biggest stars in all of boxing. In fact, Mayweather in particular has seen his star rise in the realm of mainstream entertainment tenfold in recent years. It is another element that may bring a broader audience now than was the case several years back.
While Manny Pacquiao did suffer a dramatic and surprise knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez is 2012, he has rebounded to a point where he is widely regarded as the number two pound-for-pound fighter behind Mayweather.
These are still the two best fighters in boxing facing one another in what will be the biggest fight of the year, the decade, and possibly this generation.
In many ways, it still holds the same intrigue it always has.
Floyd Mayweather has long looked like one of the greatest pure pugilists of all time. His defense is impregnable, his ability to adapt inside the ring is paramount to his growing legend. However, many wonder how he will fare against the ferocity and speed of a fighter like Manny Pacquiao?
While he has never been confused with a Ray Robinson or Henry Armstrong, Pacquiao is a terror. Born in obscurity he was kid who grew up largely in squalor only to punch his way to global superstardom.
While he might not carry the purist, pugilistic pedigree of a Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao has earned his way into the history books by tearing his way violently through eight weight divisions with the ferocity of a Tasmanian devil.
More than just a puncher, he is a storm of aggressive mechanics that moves with blinding speed and comes at you from completely unpredictable angles.
Despite Mayweather being deservedly favoured in this fight in light of his earned status and years of answering everything asked of him in the ring? Manny Pacquiao is an entirely different kind of question.
A quick and nimble southpaw, Pacquiao presents a stylistic matchup unlike anything Mayweather has ever seen.
In turn, the stalwart grandmaster chess champion is a test of boxing IQ beyond anything the Filipino charge has ever dealt with.
Despite these two styles being only 80 ? 90 per cent of what they were at their physical peak? they are still far and away the two benchmarks of the sport.
The intrigue around how they contrast with one another, how supreme offense will fare against purist defense, speed vs. speed, power vs. timing, footwork vs. head movement? all of these great questions still remain as prevalent and mysterious as they did five years ago.
Some of the above mentioned critics are quick to point out that the bout is a foregone conclusion in favour of the betting favourite Mayweather. Currently the odds are -295 for Floyd to Pacquiao?s +230 on Vegas Insider?s opening lines. Some have listed this as yet another reason why our excitement should be tempered.
Pacquiao?s lack of scoring a stoppage win since defeating Miguel Cotto in 2009, coupled with his devastating one-punch knockout loss to Marquez, seem to automatically equate to him having little chance against the flawless Mayweather in the minds of some people.
I don?t see it that way.
If anything, the intangibles have someone shifted, yet there is no shortage of intrigue.
I believe several years ago this bout, in a nutshell, would have featured Pacquiao?s sheer ferocity against Mayweather?s unbreachable defense and counter punching ability.
Now, I am not so sure.
I do firmly believe that that titanic counter right hand from Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8, 2012 was a game changer? however, it surprisingly, may have come as a blessing in disguise for Pacquiao.
While many fighters have never recovered from a knockout loss that pronounced, there was a moment as I sat ringside one year later in Macau, China where I became convinced Pacquiao had not only recovered, but may have also been somewhat transformed. His opponent that night was a proverbial soft-pitch in a game but out-gunned Brandon Rios. While the rugged brawler has never been mistaken for a fighter on Pacquiao?s level, he is physically big enough and hard hitting enough that had Pacquiao been ruined by that fateful knockout loss, some of the right hands Rios landed could have caused Manny to crack? and possibly break. It has happened to many historic fighters in the past that suddenly found themselves forever compromised and haunted by a concussive loss.
On that night in China, Pacquiao looked reinvigorated and he used an array of angles and footwork to stymie the limited Rios. In that one sided drubbing there was a moment late in Round 12, that really resonated with me. Pacquiao clipped and hurt Rios who stumbled back to the ropes. A moment where, in the past, the Filipino would have jumped in and gone for the kill, he seemed to stop, reconsider? and then backed off. He aired on the side of caution and went back to dominating the bout from range.
It was a small, insignificant moment in the bout overall, but it was perhaps the rebirth of a more calm and calculating Manny Pacquiao.
This hypothesis was further confirmed for me in Manny?s next outing. A bout that also re-established him as a top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
On April 12, 2014, Pacquiao handed a resounding, one-sided beating to Tim Bradley in a showcase of tactical brilliance. You may think that sounds over-stated but the nuances in that performance could have made for a very difficult matchup. Instead they allowed Pacquiao to hand the hard charging Bradley his first pro defeat in a performance that showed a wealth of tactical brilliance:
Pacquiao-Bradley II Analysis courtesy of Lee Wylie
Even in his last bout, despite the step down in opponent, Pacquiao absolutely dominated a very tricky and defensive minded Chris Algieri using deft footwork, a patient but speedy attack and did so calmly and calculated.
There is good reason to suggest the Mayweather super-fight is not the matchup it once was, but it is still rich with intrigue for a multitude of reasons.
Despite the select few within the sport of boxing who would have you believe you need to temper your excitement and expectations surrounding this historic fight, the sporting world will look forward to it with blinders on.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are two of the only active boxers that casual sports fans could name being completely unaware of the cautionary warnings mentioned above. These fans only know that two titans have finally agreed to face off in a bout that has been marinating in the public consciousness for years.
On May 2nd the sporting world will come to a standstill. The Superbowl of Superbowls will have Las Vegas booked to capacity and some of the biggest stars in the world will spend tens of thousands of dollars just to be near to the ring when history will be made? and EVERYONE, from me to you reading this to the naysayers mentioned above, will wait with baited breath and an elevated heartbeat as that opening bell sounds.
