“Only in death will I relinquish my belts.”
An old man outside of a barbershop once told me the definition of Hell: “The last day you have on earth, the person you become will meet the person you [could have] become.”
Hell will be raised on May 2nd, as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will try to send each other to God while exorcising demons. Listening to that anonymous man – who will forever be synonymous with a gift from a stranger – was as if a prayer for the dying.
Figured I’d better get to living.
He didn’t have shoes to shine so that I could return the favor for what he did to my eyes. The best of us are people with vision who possess the courage to see it through. They are not blind to the fact that it takes fear to summon bravery, and a true understanding of the ravages of hate to obtain prevailing love.
The best of the best — Pacquiao and Mayweather, subscribe to these notions from decidedly different points of views, and because of that, only one of them will win what is essentially the championship of each other.
We’re now two weeks away from the press event which formally announced their superfight, an event that more than likely revealed how the fight will unfold. Pacquiao displayed a Christian lion-heart on the podium and an almost regal presence. His mindset seems to be one of granite, as he swaggers with the bravado of a “Teflon Don”.
With history on the line, it seemed fitting to recall Epictetus. He said: “If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.” Modern day interpretation:
“Hold your head high motherf*****, don’t ever look down. Be comfortable with who you are, are flaws are what makes us perfect.”Machine Gun Kelly aka “MGK”
“What if I lose?”
FMM
Sometimes following your heart means losing your mind.
Floyd seemed as if a reluctant superhero with an impending sense of doom and obligation on the podium. He was thee American gangster on the witness stand in a 500 million dollar case, awaiting a very real cross-examination from a Filipino prosecutor charging him with Fraud and Treason.
During the infamous phone call in which he offered Pacquiao a now universally ridiculous 40 million, Floyd (according to Pacquiao via ESPN) asked Pacquiao the question in bold print. Despite tough talk coming out of TMT (and this rare sparring footage the other day), this is subterfuge and he will not fight this way. He’ll fight not to lose. What you see in that footage, is an absolute last resort, for Floyd is not a confrontational fighter and does not want to fight to win.
The reason he wore that face (and despite what anyone feels to the contrary) is the very reason why he attempted to avoid this fight entirely: He’ll probably be “forced” to fight to win. The reason he’s becoming Ricky “Money” Marquez, is the same reason why you’re going to click “buy” on your remote control for $100.
He’s preparing for an action fight – and you should too.
The span of 5 years is a long time to see anything, much less a fight of this magnitude, and the obvious comparative is a fight which took place in Pacquiao’s native Philippines: “The Thrilla in Manilla”. I believe this fight will be as brutal as that one was, just like I believe had they fought 5 years ago, the result would have been similar to Ali’s brave loss to Frazier.
Robbed of the almost supernatural hand-speed he possessed in his prime, Floyd appears to have lost degrees of flexibility and foot-speed as a result of 24 grueling rounds with Marcos Maidana and he knows it. In his mind, he’ll face a very villainous version of Pacquiao on his favorite Mexican holiday, which is fitting because he’ll facing a fighter adding a Mexican hybrid of the great Julio Cesar Chavez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
FMM VS. MGC
Don’t think for one minute that Julio Cesar Chavez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin stopped by the Wild Card Gym to visit with Pacquiao because they were groupies and wanted a photo op.
No.
Freddie Roach, who alluded to Floyd training himself, also suggested that the world’s #1 rated fighter who wears a hat bearing the initials “TBE”, has never been taught properly. The last time Roach went after a fighter who he thought “taught and trains himself”, was Miguel Cotto, in perhaps Pacquiao’s greatest performance ever.
Still, its an interesting observation from Freddie when you consider “Money” doesn’t technically do anything wrong. But neither did his Uncle Roger, who was never-the-less mugged by the likes of Rocky Lockridge in one brutal round (see Uncle Roger, I do know sh*t about boxing!).
He was also savaged by Chavez twice and had absolutely no success with Tszyu, which might further explain why he has nothing to do with the either the game-plan or the corner for Pacquiao. In truth, TMT has been preparing for the possibility of Pacquiao (however remote) since the Cotto fight in May 2012, which forced Mayweather to rely exclusively (and reluctantly) on his father.
The original ‘Black Mamba’ was mugged in two rounds in 1985, and then beaten sadistically over 10 brave rounds until he quit in 1989. In 1995, a 34 year-old Roger lost a one-sided decision to young upstart in the 26 year-old Kostya Tszyu. Tszyu then became an older fighter that a younger Floyd Mayweather reportedly avoided. He was eerily similar to Golovkin (today’s version of Chavez) in a his straight forward attack.
***MGC***
No one currently cuts off the ring better than Golovkin in the entire sport, and no one in history did it better than the all-time great Chavez.
Legendary for his debilitating body assault, powerful right hand and left hook to the liver; Chavez made opponents seem as if they gained weight during the fight and punched in dynamic combination. He had no regard for anyone in front of him and was completely cold-blooded. This is absolutely how Roach wants Pacquiao to attack Mayweather.
Golovkin is a more nuanced version of Tszyu with the calculated menace of Chavez. He never stops forcing the fight and demands that things are conducted on his terms. His one-punch knockout ability is something Chavez didn’t have, and his shots feature a sudden power which changes an opponent’s Plan B or C right away.
They wind up fighting in total retreat with no escape route.
This is exactly what Roach wants to instill in Pacquiao on May 2nd, as he possesses a greater, faster and more versatile offensive arsenal than either Golovkin or Chavez. But he hasn’t yet demonstrated either’s deadly ring generalship. His ability – or inability – to shrink the ring, will be a huge subplot to watch on May 2.
***FMM***
Floyd prefers to fight in spots, and I believe his game-plan will be very similar to the one employed by Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler. In his son, Floyd Sr. knows he has a fighter capable of a vintage 80’s great- and he’s going to need to be.
Both Chavez and Golovkin can be beaten with great speed and sound fundamentals. Chavez showed against the likes of Juan Laporte, Rocky Lockridge, Frankie Randall and defensive master Pernell Whitaker that he could be outboxed. Meldrick Taylor, while taking a frightening beating, was out-gunning Chavez before being stopped. While Golovkin has shown that a truly great fighter with good speed and elite conditioning (.ie Andre Ward) would bother him greatly based on his (still) masterful destruction of Martin Murray.
Floyd is capable of matadoring a marauding Pacquiao, by lowering the volume of his offense and frustrating him with smothering tactics. To win, he would produce just enough offense to get a points victory over a dark Pacquiao. In gauging their current form, Pacquiao seems to have an almost tremendous edge in hand and foot speed, which is a clear advantage Leonard had on Hagler.
If Pacquiao has morphed into a fighter with real dimensions of “GGG” and Chavez, then what awaits him in a few weeks will be a very nasty and complete version of the late Edwin Valero. Based on what I’m seeing, Floyd’s going to be forced to win.
May “The Force” be with him.
