At the moment the sport of boxing has been plagued with the constant onslaught known as Pacquiao-Mayweather and for very good reason. It?s hard to think of a fight that would pit two fighters against each other who are as talented and accomplished yet drastically different in their livelihoods. It?s more than just a fight and more than just an event.
When taking in any ongoing saga in the world of sports you can often serve yourself well by tracing your roots and going back to the beginning. In the case of Floyd and Manny that very well may be in September of last year when Mayweather returned to boxing following a 21-month hiatus with a whitewash victory over Pacquiao-rival Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather brings something completely different to the game and his return elicited thoughts of a possible showdown with the Filipino star.
Two months later Pacquiao dissected Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in scoring a 12th round stoppage and chants of ?We want Floyd? echoed throughout the arena. The stage seemed to be set for one of the biggest fights of all time and the drama surrounding the fight has been continuous and heavy.
Wanting to get a feel for the early stages of Pacquiao-Mayweather I reached out to some boxing insiders and asked for their opinion on three subjects. The first being Mayweather?s return to the sport against Marquez, the second being Pacquiao?s dismantling of Cotto, and the final question being the initial thoughts on Mayweather?s proposed Olympic drug testing scenario during the early talks between both camps.
This is what everyone had to say?
Kenneth Bouhairie, U.S. Correspondent, Boxing News (UK) ?The Marquez bout was obviously a tune-up. Don’t think Floyd ever seriously viewed the Mexican legend as a serious threat at welter. What he did – as far as the weight – was just terrible. Money conquers all, I guess. That Floyd announced his return the morning of the Pacquiao-Hatton bout shows what his true intentions were. Floyd looked sensational but also showed signs that, at 33, he’s no longer the fleet-footed fighter he once was. I think we’ll see him getting hit more and more in his subsequent bouts.
– Excellent, downright scary performance from Pacquiao. He toyed with Cotto. Ate his best punches and delivered far heavier ones in return. Is still blazing fast and his stamina and foot speed are out of this world. It’s quite impressive that he’s been able to maintain the latter even as he has moved through seven divisions, 60 fights and countless wars. Cotto never had a chance, even though he was competitive early on. Pacquiao completely took his jab away and not only was he the faster man, he was also stronger. Granted, Miguel seems to have slowed a bit since the Margarito war but he was still a formidable opponent. And Pacquiao bludgeoned him.
– While I question Floyd’s motives (fear, ego, etc.), there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for tougher testing. I find it strange that much of the media has pointed the finger at him as if he’s using the testing to somehow avoid the fight. The finger should be pointed in the opposite direction. Mayweather’s request is long overdue for the sport. And has raised plenty of awareness. I doubt he’s trying to clean up the sport but Jose Canseco wasn’t trying to do that either. Sometimes the right message comes from the wrong guy. It’s no coincidence that the last two big heads in Nevada (Drs. Flip Homansky & Margaret Goodman) have both blown the whistle on the rampant use of PED’s in boxing. Why would anyone object to tougher testing? Even worse, why would anyone demand that they know when they’re tested and then ask for a cutoff date? Horrible. And the fact that the boxing media hasn’t taken Pacquiao to task for this is amazing. They should be ashamed of themselves. Perhaps Floyd needs to ask his opponent to weaken himself to a catch weight or institute some sort of ridiculous fine (like Pacquiao did to the weight-drained Erik Morales) instead of asking for tougher tests. Maybe everyone would be OK with that.?
Terry Trekas, promoter, One Punch Productions ?I thought Mayweather’s opponent choice in Marquez was brilliant. First off, the style matchup favored him tremendously. Second of all, by completely clowning Marquez, he basically eliminated competing against Marquez for a possible Pac fight. After Floyd owned him, Pac-JMM 3 wasnt nearly as marketable. As for the performance, what it lacked in drama or suspense it made up for in skills.
– Cotto-Pac suprised me. I think had Cotto stuck to the gameplan of the first 2 rounds, he could have made it interesting down the stretch. But once he got a bit flat footed and got dropped, the writing was on the wall. It was no longer a question of “if”, but the question was “when”.
– Megafights like Floyd-Pac operate by a different set of rules. The same way Pac was able to demand that Cotto weigh 145 for a 147 title fight, Floyd can demand the blood testing. And Pac is free to agree to it, or to take a pass. I dont believe its an ideological issue with Floyd trying to clean up the sport or anything, I just think he believes (like many others) that Pac is on the juice. And saying “well why not take blood after the fight” is kinda like saying “put that gun to your head, squeeze the trigger, and THEN check it for bullets”. At that point, the damage is already done. The bottom line though is that with this much money at stake, you could demand that your opponent wear pink trunks and fluffy elephant slippers and they would probably agree.?
Chris Cozzone, photojournalist for www.Fightnews.com ?Mayweather looked surprisingly rust-free after such a lengthy lay-off. Performance was top-notch, though the weight & size difference did not add up to much of a challenge. Would’ve been nice to see MW go in for the “kill,” and a KO win.
– Pacman’s performance vs. Cotto shows why he is viewed as ‘Fighter of the Decade,’ ‘Fighter of the Year (again)’, and P4P No. 1 fighter.
– Though it may be for the wrong reasons, Floyd’s insisting for new testing is badly needed for today’s professional sports. There is nothing wrong with upping the testing in boxing – though it is really with MMA that it belongs! In demanding that MPacman adhere to the tests, Floyd is agreeing to do the same; therefore, it’s not unreasonable. His demands should be met – if that’s what is going to make that fight, do it.?
David Avila, West Coast Bureau Chief for www.TheSweetScience.com ?Floyd looked very good in his return against Juan Manuel Marquez. But he was too big and Marquez was slower with the added weight. It was a mismatch from the time they announced the fight.
– Pacman’s dismantling of Miguel Cotto was more impressive than Mayweather’s win. Cotto tried everything and nothing worked. Pacman looked unbeatable that night.
– When it was announced that Mayweather had agreed to fight Pacquiao, I was a little surprised. Then, when he demanded the blood tests to detect HGH and other steroids it made more sense. At first I disagreed with Mayweather’s demands but now I think it’s a good thing. Not because I think Pacquiao is juiced, but Nevada needs stricter testing rules. The state does a bad job of checking for drug enhanced athletes.?
Eric Kelly, former amateur standout from New York ?I knew that Floyd would whoop Marquez, as styles make fights. Many people think that Floyd was too big for Marquez but I dont think that it would have made any difference at all. Mayweather’s style of fighting isnt a style of one who uses his weight to push around and bully his opponent. He uses skills and movement. Even Marquez was 154, Mayweather still would have owned him. As far as his boxing skills go, he was a beaut that night.
– I think that Pacquiao had an awesome night against Miguel. And honestly, if they fought again at 54 then I predict the same result. Miguel is just too slow for Pacquaio and square’s up too much for a fast southpaw who is all over the place with crazy angles. Miguel doesnt do well with boxers, much less a boxer that can hit and is not going to be infront of him. Pacman is NO judah!
– With all of the drama going on with the USADA testing thing, I think that this is just Floyd and Manny milking the system a bit and making the fight bigger. You and I both know that Mayweather vs. Mosley and Pacquaio vs. Clottey was the perfect build up to set up a super fight between Mayweather and Manny. Every good saga needs a drama and here it is.?
Jake Donovan, Managing editor for www.BoxingScene.com ?Mayweather’s return against Marquez was what it was – an event more so than an actual fight, on paper and in reality. He looked sharp as usual, but in a predictable fight. Meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, other than Marquez becoming a few million dollars richer by night’s end.
– Pacquiao lived up to expectations against a credible opponent, though there were signs of his no longer being in his prime. Was tagged far too often for a fight in which he basically dominated, a trend that would continue against Clottey four months later. Was a terrific performance, though I thought he was a bit too reserved in the later rounds prior to closing.
– I’m not big on any sticking point proving to be the difference between a fight materializing and falling apart. That aside, I’m heavily in favor of stricter testing, though I’m not yet convinced that Floyd is for reform across the board more so than merely posturing. When his entire stable is held to the same standards, then I will begin to believe. Nevertheless, the current drug testing measures in the sport are a joke and tougher testing is required.?
