Regardless of the feud or misunderstanding that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., may have, they seem pretty united on their stand against a man named Manny Pacquiao. The Mayweathers have repeatedly belittled the accomplishments of the boxing phenomenon from the Philippines. Mayweather Sr., who trained Pacquiao’s most recent opponent Ricky Hatton, described Manny’s boxing skills as “amateur” at best. In fact, he went so far as predicting a beating for Pacquiao at the hands of his fighter. Likewise, prior to his announced comeback to the ring scheduled for July, Floyd Jr. has time and time again stated that Pacquiao is nowhere close to his level as a boxer and is not worthy to be called the “Pound for Pound” best fighter in the world.
Pacquiao, a man of few words, responded last Saturday with his fists. By virtue of demolishing Ricky Hatton, who was the undisputed champion and undefeated in the 140 lb. division, Pacquiao again bested Mayweather Jr. inside the ring. Floyd faced the same Ricky Hatton at 147 lbs. in December of 2007 and won via TKO in the 10th round. Pacquiao, on the other hand, knocked Hatton out in just 2 rounds at Ricky’s more natural weight of 140 lbs. Furthermore, in December of 2008, Manny Pacquiao soundly dominated and defeated Oscar De la Hoya via 9th round TKO despite having to jump three weight classes in order to face the Mexican-American legend. Floyd Jr., who previously faced De La Hoya in 2007, barely defeated the Golden Boy via split decision.
To say that Pacquiao will defeat Floyd Jr. based on those facts alone is ignorant. The point I am trying to make, however, is that if Floyd Jr. truly wants the world to believe that he, not Pacquiao, is the best in his class, then why has he ducked the best fighters in his division? Mayweather Jr. could do his reputation some service by actually emulating what Pacquiao has done throughout his career: face the biggest and best names possible. Pacquiao swept the legends of his former divisions and has continued to move up to find better competition. Floyd, on the other hand, has done more talking about his greatness than actually proving himself inside the ring.
Explain to me why Floyd Jr. has yet to face the likes of Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Paul “The Punisher” Williams or even Antonio Margarito? Who has Floyd Jr. really beaten? And now he expects us all to be wowed by a comeback attempt against a much smaller man in Juan Manuel Marquez? Give me a break! For whatever reason Floyd Jr. is coming back to the ring (and we all know it’s about the money), it’s definitely not because he’s been missed. During the time he’s been away from the sport, Manny Pacquiao has given fans three spectacular victories. Not only that, but attention was justly given to other premier boxers in and around Mayweather’s division, including Paul Williams and Shane Mosley.
For all the pageantry and hype that Floyd Jr. surrounds himself in, it’s Pacquiao that has got the world buzzing about boxing once again. Just today, on ESPN’s 1st and 10 show, the resident analysts talked about how Manny Pacquiao would defeat Floyd Jr. if they do indeed tangle in the boxing ring. To feature a boxer like Manny Pacquiao on that show is high praise considering that they primarily cover mainstream sporting events such as NBA, NFL and college basketball and football. On fight night itself, A-list celebrities such as Denzel Washington, P. Diddy, Mariah Carey and Jack Nicholson all came out to watch him. Jay-Z even requested access to be in the ring with Pacquiao’s team. On top of that, former President Bill Clinton wished him luck before his fight. All of that because of a man who can barely speak English.
If anything, last Saturday told me why Manny Pacquiao is truly the best boxer on the planet. He reminded my why I first became a fan of the sport back when I was still a little kid. Outside the hype and all the shady sides of boxing, at the end of the day, it’s all about what goes down in the ring. He may not be a great interview and he may lack the verbal promotional skills of an Ali or Roy Jones Jr., but his fists more than make up for that. Every time this guy fights, he provides action, drama and excitement. With that said, the Mayweathers can keep on disrespecting the little Filipino all they want, but “real recognize real!” Manny Pacquiao is the real deal!
