Other than being almost complete and total opposites in terms of ring style and temperament, there’s another major reason why Manny is Manny and Floyd is Floyd.
There’s no doubt that both fighters are great and that both deserve first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame as soon as eligible. In many ways, these two polar opposites have carried the sport on their small shoulders at a time when boxing really needed a superstar (or two) to distract from some relatively lean times.
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather completely fulfilled their responsibilities as boxing ambassadors and even went above and beyond what would normally have been expected of them. But, again, there’s a major difference in the way both fighters ran their tour of greatness.
Think of Pacquiao’s rise to glory as an explosive rocket burst while Mayweather has been enjoying a steady jet ride to the atmosphere over the course of more than a dozen years.
To be fair to Pacquiao and his career trajectory, the eight-division world champ has been steadily awesome for most of his career as well. However, the Filipino icon only really become a true mainstream force after his 2008 destruction of Oscar De la Hoya.
Up until the mauling of an emaciated and ill-prepared Golden Boy, Pacquiao was a a boxing star only well-known by his Asian fan base and the hardcore boxing fans who avidly follow every aspect of the sport.
After De la Hoya, though, Pacquiao became mainstream fodder for American fight fans and parlayed the win into several other high-profile bouts.
Pacquiao was a curiosity and a bit of a pop culture fad from 2009 to 2011, but his star was burning brightly and it was doing so because of legitimately awesome ring performances. During this span of time, Pacquiao destroyed fighters such as Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley, all the while becoming the biggest Asian presence in America since, perhaps, Bruce Lee.
Pacquiao could not have been hotter, but it was the type of once in a lifetime brilliance that is impossible for one man to sustain over a long period of time.
When Pacquiao’s performances stopped sizzling, things came crashing down to earth, similar to Pacquiao, himself, when he ran into a perfectly timed Juan Manuel Marquez right hand last December. The Marquez shot would not only stop him cold, but it would generate plenty of retirement speculation for a career that appeared to have run its course.
For Mayweather, the road to mainstream stardom has been more conventional.
The five-division world champ began his climb with his first world title win back in 1998 and, like Pacquiao, was pushed along by a high-profile win over Oscar De la Hoya.
Mayweather would become part of the mainstream fight culture collective consciousness during the build-up to his De la Hoya bout and has been a polarizing, yet money-generating figure ever since. The only obstacles to Mayweather’s growing stardom were self-imposed periods of semi-retirement that temporarily flat-lined his career at its physical prime.
Except for the capricious fake-retirements of a money-heavy fighter, Mayweather’s climb to stardom has been steady and sturdy. Without the aid of a niche demographic group or pop culture push, Mayweather has become the biggest star in not only boxing but also in all of combat sports. And while many have criticized the overall level of his opposition, there’s also solid reason to believe that the two or three key fights not on his resume — including a mega-bout against Pacquiao — were blocked by boxing politics and conflicts with former promoter Bob Arum.
So, as Mayweather and Pacquiao live out the last fights of their stellar careers, it’s worth noting that the sport’s two most important figures became stars for different reasons and under different circumstances and, because of this, are treated differently at times by fans and media.
The shooting star rise to prominence and all-action ring style of Pacquiao make him a more lovable character than Mayweather, whose nullifying ring style and dismissive arrogance will always place him firmly in the “love to hate” category.
Ultimately, though, boxing is a sport with a business bottom line. And at the moment, Mayweather is leading in the race of superstars as both an undefeated competitor and top pay-per-view draw.
Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and as Editor-in-Chief of The Boxing Tribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing. For breaking news, additional analysis, and assorted crazy commentary, follow him on Facebook, @TheBoxingTribune or on Twitter, @BoxingBTBC.
