People are up in arms because the big fight ended up being a big bore. Many casual fight fans shelled out $100 for the ?Fight of the Century? only to be disappointed and angered because they claim Floyd Mayweather Jr. side-shuffled and held his way to another easy decision victory. For those outraged by the lack of toe-to-toe action in Mayweather?s victory over Manny Pacquiao, I have two important pieces of advice for you: 1) Do your research before ponying up the big bucks 2) Blame Pacquiao, not Mayweather.
Anyone who has seen the pound-for-pound king fight in the past, should have expected Mayweather (48-0, 26KO) to box cautiously. Mayweather is a defensive-oriented fighter. He is not, and has never been a brawler, warrior or knockout artist. I laughed out loud when I heard predictions of an early knock out from fans drinking the Mayweather TBE Kool-Aid. Despite his vicious KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, Pacquiao?s (57-6-2, 38KO) chin was not in much danger. ?Money? takes very few chances in the ring. He?s only knocked out one opponent in more than seven years and that that guy wasn?t looking.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, built his name and fame by blitzing and assaulting opponents with reckless abandon. The fiery Filipino sensation destroyed fighters such as Marco Antonio Barerra, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and others. Though he was on his own five year knockout drought, Pacquiao?s fists still chaperoned many opponents to the canvas during that time. The allure for the fight was the matchup between the most skilled defensive fighter of this generation versus one of the most skilled and devastating offensive fighters. However, it seemed that Pacquiao was so busy counting his money that he forgot to pack his offense.
My criticism of Pacquiao is no shade to Mayweather, who put forth a spectacular defensive effort. It?s nearly impossible to outfox or outbox Mayweather. The only way he can be beaten, especially by a smaller fighter, is through pure skilled aggression. On paper, Pacquiao seemed to have the speed, power and punch output to dethrone boxing?s current king of the ring. He generally throws more than 750 punches per fight. Saturday night, he only threw only 429. Shame on Pacquiao.
There?s no feasible way Pacquiao could?ve won with the strategy he employed Saturday night. He threw less punches than his accurate-but-frugal opponent and somehow expected to win. ?Pac-Man? and his die-hard fans claim that Mayweather ran the entire fight. Instead of being a stationary target such as a limited guy like Brandon Rios, Mayweather didn?t run, he moved. That?s what boxers do. That?s what Mayweather does. Pacquiao?s previous opponent, Chris Algieri moved plenty but Pacquiao managed to hunt him down and drop him six different times in the fight. Versus Mayweather, Pacquiao was either afraid or unwilling to let his hands go. He refused to meet his end of the bargain.
After the fight, we learned of a rotator cuff issue Pacquiao allegedly suffered during training camp. I believe the injury is legitimate, but the excuse is not. Pacquiao simply didn?t bring it. Both Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins have always had an amazing ability to seemingly hypnotize their opponents. Gone were the varied angles and four- and five-punch combinations that made people willing to drop a bill to see the bout. The happiest fight fans in the world are the Charter customers who will be refunded their money since their servers knew the bout wouldn?t be worth the price of admission. Cable service was the only thing knocked out that uneventful night.
Mayweather has now channeled his inner Bob Barker and stated he?s willing to give Pacquiao a rematch sometime next year after he recovers from rotator cuff surgery, ?if the price is right.? After price gauging fans for an underwhelming event (the undercard was despicable) though, it is doubtful fans would pay again to see two guys Jazzercise around the ring. Insanity?s Shaun T might as well have been the referee.
Marvin Hagler, the great former middweight champion once said ?It?s tough to wake up and go running at five in the morning when you?re in silk pajamas.? That didn?t apply to Mayweather, who deserves props for painting his usual defensive masterpiece. However, it might be true for Pacquiao, who seemed so happy and joyful to be a part of the show than he forgot to try to close it. As Mike Tyson so eloquently stated via Twitter, ?We waited 5 years for that?? Thanks Manny!
