If the winner was going to be decided merely by physicality, then Floyd Mayweather Jr. would walk over Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather has ability and agility which the lefthanded Pacman simply cannot match.
Still, I lean towards Megamanny beating the natural born boxer when they inevitably fight next year.
I?m leaning on the old Yogi Berra quotation about ?ninety percent of this game being half mental.?
The chief reason I tab the Pinoy Idol over Pretty Boy is because I don?t believe that Mayweather has the incredible mental toughness that Manny possesses.
In order to defeat Pacman, Mayweather will be in for a possible 36 minutes of living hell.
Within 12 rounds, can the hit and run tactics of the slick Money May break Pacquiao?s indomitable will?
I don?t see that happening. Pacquiao, whose iron will seems to have been forged in early career defeats, is probably the strongest fighter in the world when it comes to being mentally strong.
His crystalline focus, his concentration on winning and his seemingly imperturbable attitude make him extremely hard to beat.
In terms of mindset, Pacquiao is the Hercules of boxing.
He?s like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and those ultra select athletes who always seem to win when it matters most. And, to athletes at this level of brilliance, winning always matters most.
Back in 2004, a golfer named Bob May told USA Today that Tiger?s power from the neck up needed no check up.
“Tiger is the most mentally tough guy in sports, from race car drivers to football players to anyone,” pro golfer Bob May says. “You can never get him down, and he will never let himself get down. That’s where he really beats up on people.
“Tiger hits all these great shots, but the way he thinks on the course is incredible,” May says. “His mental game is every bit as good as his physical game. If he’s seven shots out, he still thinks he can win.”
Legendary writer and fight fan Budd Schulberg said that people make a mistake of comparing boxing to street and bar fights.
“Boxing is a mental sport. Think of a prizefight as a chess game of mind and body, and you are a little closer to it than if you compare it to a bloody brawl in an alley,? Schulberg said.
Given that Schulberg wrote ?On The Waterfront? and ?The Harder They Fall? you might say he knows boxing and he?s completely right.
On paper, Mayweather figures to hand Manny a boxing lesson, to take him to slickster?s school.
My old mentor, Big Al Braverman, hated that expression. He would mention it when somebody brought up a contract issue in boxing.
?Did you ever see two pieces of paper ever get into the ring and fight?? Don King?s loyal henchman would bark.
Mayweather gave away nearly five rounds before putting his foot on the gas to outpoint Oscar De La Hoya.
He won?t have that luxury when he fights Pacman.
Mayweather is a genius at pure boxing but Pacquiao is a genius at fighting.
If he can?t break Manny?s will, Mayweather?s ?0? is going to go.
Michael is a former sports columnist at the New York Post. He was a criminal defense attorney and worked for sports legends Howard Cosell and Don King. Marley also operates BoxingConfidential.com. Email him your thoughts. He makes it a practice to always recommend Pacland and Philboxing.
