We?re three months removed from Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, a fight that was five years in the making and the defining bout of this generation, and we are still being punished by it. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao walked out of their low-contact affair with well over $100 million in each of their pockets and left fans with a sour taste in their mouths after years of anticipation resulted in a boring, 12 round waltz as Mayweather danced around the ring as Pacquiao was too out of his depth to do anything about it.
While the boxing world is trying to move on from their now infamous encounter, recent months have suggested that Mayweather and Pacquiao are all but intent on testing the limits of the boxing world?s patience. Both men have stepped up on their offensive against the intelligence of the boxing public, and their most recent developments won?t even register any defense from their most ardent followers.
Since the announcement of Mayweather vs. Andre Berto, almost everyone involved has been on immediate damage control to justify a colossal mismatch against an unworthy foe. No matter how hard they?re trying to push this one, Berto is an easy mark for Mayweather and nobody is buying it for a second that Mayweather blatantly picked his supposed retirement opponent in error.
Mayweather/Berto is also coming with a hefty $75 price tag after it was initially considered for free on CBS, making it an even tougher pill to swallow. It does have to be said that the undercard for the fight is better than your average pay-per-view (except for Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ishe Smith, which has ?bathroom break? written all over it), but this debacle looks like it will lead to Mayweather?s most disappointing numbers in several years.
Even Mayweather is washing his hands clean of the fight, even telling the public that they don?t have to buy the fight if they don?t want to. At this point, Mayweather is numb to the negative press and really doesn?t have anything to lose by picking a softy like Berto.
The only guaranteed thing to actually end that September night is Mayweather?s deal with Showtime, leaving him free to take whatever lucrative deal will be made once he inevitably decides to change his mind and go for his 50th win.
It?s not what the fans deserve, but Mayweather feels entitled as ever after fighting Pacquiao, so what we get is irrelevant in regards to what he wants. Though Mayweather antagonizing the fans and the public is one thing, Pacquiao?s recent developments are somewhere in-between bizarre and insane.
Despite how hard his fans cry, or how slow they make the videos run, Pacquiao unequivocally lost to Mayweather and was clearly embarrassed by his performance. From the cringe-inducing interview with Max Kellerman after the fight to the sudden realization that Pacquiao suffered a debilitating shoulder injury in the weeks leading to the fight, Team Pacquiao pulled out all the stops to reduce the damage done in the Mayweather loss.
Nobody really bought Pacquiao?s shoulder injury, especially since nobody made any mention of it until Pacquiao tried to get a potent painkiller shot just moments before heading into the ring, but they tried to sell the injury ever since.
Bob Arum recently chastised Pacquiao in the media for not attending his post-op rehabilitation, but Pacquiao went on to claim that he was rehabbing himself and didn?t feel the need to visit a specialist in Los Angeles. Now, all of a sudden, Pacquiao has claimed he?s been healed thanks to?bathing in the ocean?
I wish I were making this up, but Pacquiao claims that thanks to the sea salt and good ?ol vitamin Christ that he?ll be ready to fight again as soon as April.
The bottom line is that there are too many good fighters that are coming into their primes right now, right in front of us on free and premium TV that we have to continue buying into the nonsense our legends-in-twilight are trying to sell us. The Mayweather/Pacquiao era looked to have ended with a whimper just three months ago, but now it looks like it?ll be dragging itself out until we?re able to just let them fade away.
