I like to think I’m not naive. I get it, sometimes the best things in boxing – the most logical things – don’t ever actually happen.
If it did, Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad would have had a rematch in 2000. Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins would have met in 2002. The list goes on and and on and sadly, on further.
But if Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather don’t fight within the next 6-12 months, something is seriously wrong with the sport.
The blame would be everywhere. It would be with the egos of the fighters, the promoters being unable to hammer out a deal. It would be devastating in trying to earn that common fan back.
Boxing is riding a high right now after back-to-back PPVs that put up monster numbers with Floyd Mayweather’s wipeout of Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao’s legendary outing Saturday vs. Miguel Cotto.
Strike while the iron is hot. Heck, you don’t know when it will be this good again.
There is no doubt in my mind that Pacquiao wants this fight. None. You look at his resume. Believe me, if he wanted to avoid a fight, he would have done it by now. Three fights with Erik Morales, two with Marco Antonio Barrera and Marquez. Battles with De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and now Cotto.
The ball is in Mayweather’s court. I won’t say it is in PacMan’s.
Pacquiao can fight anybody he wants because he won’t duck anybody, but if Mayweather wants anyone to take him seriously again, his options are: retire or fight Pacquiao.
Even Shane Mosley has taken a backseat in the Mayweather stakes. It has to be Pacquiao. And it has to be within the next year.
Everyone loved Pacquiao before Saturday but after the Cotto fight, all the sudden these all-time pound-for-pound lists are being released.
I don’t have enough boxing knowledge to say anything like that, but I’ll say don’t count out Mayweather. There isn’t a smarter fighter in the ring. I don’t know the last fighter who has the type of intelligence that Money Mayweather has.
I don’t think Mayweather would knock out Pacquiao, but I’m not sure if PacMan would ever find Mayweather with his shots. I get giddy just thinking what could be, though.
This is as close to the biggest fight we could possibly see. It would easily be the biggest fight of the decade…easily. I actually think, age-wise, both guys are a year or two removed from their prime. No biggie, you can’t notice it because they’re so much better than everyone else.
It would also be a personal conundrum as not only would I be torn on who I think would win, I would be just as torn on who I want to win. I’ve been a huge fan of each guy for a long, long time. I remember the Pacquiao with the hilites in the hair and the No Fear gear. I remember the baby-faced Mayweather against the likes of Genaro Hernandez.
So half-jokingly I say give ‘em each $30 million. I don’t care about how bad the economy is when it comes to this fight. Pay ‘em, and let’s see who really is the best fighter of the generation.
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Seems I struck a chord with a reader or two regarding showing Miguel Cotto’s wife and son Saturday night. Let me clarify my stance: it’s all about the context when you’re doing something like that. All about context.
What I didn’t like was this was like at the end of the ninth or 10th round in a fight Cotto was taking a beating. I don’t need to be reminded of something like that during that particular moment.
If it was a back and forth battle and you could still see Cotto perhaps winning, I think I would have been OK with it. Like after the third round would have been fine with me, the fight was still up in the air at that point.
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Been fun riding the PacMan wave and the buzz he’s created. But now it’s time to look ahead to the final matchup of the first round of the Super Six between Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward. I’ll also have some UFC 105 thoughts as well as some thoughts on UFC 106 this weekend featuring Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin.
