SONAHR: May 1, 2015 – Tomorrow night, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will clash in what is not only the richest boxing match in history, with a mind-boggling total purse of $300 million, but also a battle for bragging rights as to which of the two future Hall-of-Famers is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
True, in an ideal world this bout would have taken place five years ago, when it was first proposed and when Mayweather and Pacquiao were still in their fistic primes. These days, at ages 38 and 36 respectively, they?ve both shown signs of slippage. Fight fans have cried an ocean of tears over the spilled milk of the abandoned 2010 megafight.
But at least Pacquiao and Mayweather are finally going to cross gloves tomorrow. Plus which, they remain at the top of the pound-for-pound ranks, a position they shared five years ago. So even if they are no longer at their mind-boggling best, they still stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries. And their meeting matters just as much now as it would have in 2010.
However, time has taken its inevitable toll on both fighters. Pacquiao is no longer the whirling dervish who overwhelmed the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito. Mayweather is no longer the shoulder-roll Zen master who outfoxed Hatton, as well as De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez among others. Neither of them has knocked out an opponent in years, although Pacquiao did put his last foe, Chris Algieri, on the canvas six times in a fight that should have been stopped by either the referee or Algieri?s corner after the 10th round. But the overmatched Algieri was unconscionably allowed to absorb additional punishment in going the distance.
Mayweather did not have such an easy time of it with his last opponent, Marcos Maidana. Even though the aggressive Argentine lost two decisions to Mayweather last year, he made Floyd work harder than is usually the case. Indeed, a vocal minority of observers thought Maidana did enough to win the first fight.
Pacquiao is also aggressive, but that?s about all he and Maidana have in common. Manny?s skill set is several levels above that of the Argentine menace. That?s why Pacquiao?s fans salivated over the thought of their man, instead of the brave but limited Maidana, in the ring with Mayweather. Tomorrow, they get their wish.
The winner of the Big Event will be the fighter who retains greater quantity of the qualities that made these two the best in the sport five years ago. Since that time, Mayweather has continued to win, and remains undefeated. Pacquiao, on the other hand, suffered a controversial decision loss to Timothy Bradley and a shocking knockout at the hands of archrival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. He has since fought his way back into prominence with three wins, including a revenge victory over Bradley. In none of those
wins, though, did he look like the Pacquiao of old, who was a force of nature as much as he was a fighter.
So, on paper at least, it looks as though Mayweather has more capital left in his boxing bank than does Pacquiao, and that should be enough to earn Floyd yet another in a string of defensive decision victories. To stave off that outcome, Pacquiao will need to do everything Maidana did ? and then some.
But which of the two is the better man? That would be Pacquiao. For years, Manny has carried his family, his sport, and his fellow Filipinos on his shoulders. Mayweather?s metaphorical shoulders are only wide enough to accommodate his ego and his bling.
Will the better man win tomorrow?
I sure hope so.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His novels, Imaro, Damballa, and Abengoni: First Calling are available at Amazon.com.
