The fans demand it, the critics? mouths water just thinking about it, and millions of dollars are guaranteed to be generated in a dream fight between professional welterweight boxers Floyd ?Money? Mayweather and Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao. Unfortunately, it seems that whenever this fight comes close to happening, either Mayweather or Pacquaio?s representatives make silly excuses to cut off talks for the fight. Mayweather is most known for three things: his defensive brilliance, speed, and trash-talking. Mayweather, who currently holds a perfect 41-0-0 professional record, has always claimed that he is if not the best, one of the best boxers of all time.
This may be true, seeing as he was (or still is?) the best pound-for-pound boxer, with no one able to shut his mouth up or knock him down in the ring. Regardless of how people feel about his personality, Mayweather?s boxing skills must be respected and seen to be believed.
In his last fight, Mayweather outboxed and outpaced the impressive Shane Mosley. Mosley was able to give Mayweather a fight in the first two rounds, but by the time round three came around, he looked all of his 38 years. Mayweather was able to pick Mosley?s defense apart and decided not to knock him out in the tenth round just to trash-talk him and slap him around in the last two rounds. Mayweather may have won the fight by decision, which is when all three judges of the fight give the higher score to one fighter, but he did not win over any of the boxing fans when he called out and disrespected Pacquiao and left the MGM arena in a chorus of boos. If Mayweather is the ultimate bad guy in boxing, then Pacquiao is his complete polar opposite. Pacquiao was born and raised in the Philippines. He began boxing at a young age and astounded fans with his speed, power and heart that he put into every fight. Aside from his boxing career, Pacquiao is well know for his charity to the Phillipines and is currently running for a seat in the country?s government.
Pacquaio?s big break in the U.S. came when he brutally destroyed Oscar De La Hoya, who lasted nine rounds before his trainers and wife begged him to throw in the towel. Since the De La Hoya fight, Pacquaio has been playing a game of ?Anything you can do, I can do better? in indirectly competing with Mayweather. Pacquaio took on Ricky Hatton, who Mayweather defeated in 12 rounds, and knocked him out in 2 rounds in a spirit of challenge.
Around the same time that Mayweather came out of retirement and easily defeated boxer Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquaio fought Miguel Cotto and destroyed him with a technical knock-out in round 12. Mayweather looked vulnerable on the first two rounds of his last match with Mosley. On the other hand, Pacquiao kept Joshua Clottey in a defensive shell with over 1,000 punches thrown at him with a dominating decision win. Boxing fans have always wondered who was the better fighter: Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson. While that question can never be answered, a similar question now exists regarding the skills of Mayweather and Pacquiao.
This question can potentially be answered as early as next fall, if the talks bear fruit and the fists start flying.
