THE sun has deftly discovered some uncluttered space in the sky and is proudly exposing itself to London. As the warming rays comb the city, complaints of ?I wish the sun would come out? have predictably been replaced by grumbles of ?It?s too hot?. Be careful what you wish for because, however visible the image in your mind, the reality is often different.
At this time of year, with boxing schedules easing into their summer break, it?s nice to look forward and wonder what the future holds. Ask any boxing fan what fight they?d like to see in the coming months and virtually every single response will involve the names Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
However, it has become exhausting just to think about the pair sharing the same ring at the same time; their perennial failure to fight has drained optimism from desire, replaced excitement with frustration. But now that Floyd has ended his exile, courted the press again and mentioned ?Pacman? as a viable foe, there?s belief forming that, should Mayweather get past Victor Ortiz and Manny beats Juan Manuel Marquez, realistic negotiations for the elusive showdown will begin.
But be careful what you wish for. We yearned for a meaningful heavyweight showdown and we got it. But Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye produced a high-profile disappointment. Not so long ago we clamoured to see Floyd take on Oscar De La Hoya and it didn?t deliver. Keep thinking back. Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson was one-sided. Back further. Felix Trinidad and Oscar was ? controversial decision withstanding ? drama-free.
This is not a knock on the sport. For every big-fight-bust there are countless thrillers that, outside of the hardcore fan, go largely unnoticed by the sporting world. In the last month alone, Kevin Mitchell and John Murray produced an incredible war that went unnoticed among the back pages. In America, Pawel Wolak and Delvin Rodriguez showed intense desire in a ludicrously entertaining scrap that any sports fan would have enjoyed.
I?m tired of picking up the newspapers and reading negative columns and ill-educated opinions about boxing. David Haye has taken an outrageous amount of stick ? some justified ? for his last two outings but boxing is so much deeper than these few superstars hogging the attention. The fear is, should Manny and Floyd ever fight the end result will not ? given the outrageous promotion and promises of thrills that will precede it ? be able to deliver.
Has Mayweather ever been in a contest that anyone would deem fight-of-the-year worthy? It?s asking an awful lot of Pacquiao to stir up such a performance in Floyd now. And similarly, will ?Money? bring out the best in Manny? Shane Mosley proved that for Pacquiao to shine at his brightest, he needs an opponent to engage.
I?m not suggesting that I won?t be pleased if these two men fight. I?ll be delighted because, after all, the best should fight the best. But so many recent high-profile contests have been deemed letdowns because we expect too much. Not every superfight can be Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns ? very few are. Pacquiao and Mayweather may well produce a fight of the ages next year. And our summer might shine brightly for months.
Thanks for reading.
