Ever I Saw Your Face.?
You can say that he prefers to duck and dodge opponents when he climbs into the ring, that?s true because his darting, shifting style is one of jabs and jukes. He moves his hands with the speed and deception of a Three Card Monte dealer.
But never, ever say that this undefeated veteran and accomplished graduate of the amateur ranks lives in fear of a Pinoy bear named Manny Pacquiao because that is an out and out lie.
There?s no doubt, though, that Pacman?s ascension to PBF?s old roost as best around, Pound for Pound has pricked the American boxer?s ego. How else to explain his barking at an ESPN inquisitor and rambling on about being ?a cash cow? of boxing?
Mayweather was nearly frothing at the mouth. He almost had a cow in the interview but at least he did not start mooing like Bossy. To put it in another cow reference, evidently hearing good things about Manny is no (ouch!) udder delight for Mayweather.
I think my colleague, Indiana Fight Examiner Dennis Anthony Guillermo got caught up in Pacman Fever when he penned these lines:
?No offense to all pro boxers out there, I?m sure they mean it when they say it?s their job and would fight anybody in the ring- up to a certain point. Sometimes though, things like ego, money, pride, personal vendettas and yes I said it, fear, gets in the way of a fight from happening.
In the curious case of Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Manny Pacquiao, what reason is there really behind Floyd?s recent tirades against Pacquiao and for him to claim that he does not need to fight Pacquiao? Businesswise, lil? Floyd has always said he was about making money, and practically if he wanted to make the most money, dancing with Pacquiao is the biggest money-making fight there is out there for him. So why did Floyd go out of his way to sign and announce a fight against Pacquiao?s nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez on the same day Pacquiao fought Ricky Hatton?
Perhaps Pacquiao?s ascension as the sport?s #1 Pound for Pound best fighter in the world after he retired, hurt lil? Floyd?s ego.?
As much I appreciate the Pacquiao story, and his entire homage from selling cigarettes in the slum streets of Manila to overcoming early pro ring defeats en route to becoming the National Fist a/k/a Megamanny, that is an untruth no matter how you slice it.
Guillermo got the ?ego? part of the equation completely right but using the four-letter word ?fear? is completely wrong.
I don?t care how massive a Manny fan you are, I don?t care how much of a sniveling Pacman syncophant you have become, you need to acknowledge the Gospel According to Marley truth and that is Floyd Mayweather Jr. fears no man.
Mayweather?s only fear, really, is the same one Pacman has at this starry stage of his meteoric career: the fear of being underpaid for his fistic services.
Let?s put aside the schoolyard namecalling, the infantile rhetoric and talk the real deal Holyfield on this important matter.
Mayweather went into the ring against Oscar De La Hoya and outpointed the Golden Boy without really working up a major sweat.
Mayweather went into the ring against ballyhooded Brit Ricky Hatton and played the Artful Dodger, befuddling the simplistic Hatton from start to finish in a 10th round stoppage.
If Mayweather was the matador in both those high profile, very financially rewarding bouts, Bull Oskie and Bull Hatton were handled like bulls who had been gelded prior to the fights. (There I go back to the farm again.)
Simply put when is the last time you saw Mayweather hurt, wobbled or getting banged around the ring?
Through 39 pro bouts dating back to his 1996 debut, he has picked and chosen certain foes and skipped certain others but all fighters do that for various reasons. Don?t forget he did box 24 rounds against rugged Jose Luis Castillo and that he stopped bruiser Diego ?Chico? Corrales in 10 rounds.
All this palaver, all this hot air emanating from Mayweather?s flapping lips is designed for two purposes. One is to build up the July 18 gate for Juan Manuel Marquez. The other is to start stoking the fire for Mayweather-Pacquiao.
So let Floyd ramble on about how Pacman got beat three times and knocked out twice as a callow youth. Floyd knows that it?s irrelevant but he certainly can?t knock recent performances by Pacman, can he?
At the end of the day, Manny is afraid of no opponent just as Mayweather and Marquez fear no foe.
These are professional risktakers.
When the bell goes ding for round one of Money May-Pacman, remember my fearless forecast.
Love will bring Pacquiao and Mayweather together, not fear.
The love of money that is.
When that happens, both cash cows will milk all this hype for all it?s worth.
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.
