Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, or Malignaggi, Watch Your Tongue

By Lorne Scoggins: Let’s try this on for size: Manny Pacquiao vs. Paulie Malignaggi. How does that work for you? Do those words make your heart speed up just a little? No? What about the thought of Pacquiao shooting one of those blinding, “out of nowhere” uppercuts at the precise moment that the Magic Man sticks out his tongue? Now that could be interesting to see.

How about: “Mayweather vs. Matthew Hatton? This would be another display of Mayweather’s brilliance, no doubt. I’m talking about his brilliant ability to choose fighters that he can dominate to such an extent that to the casual boxing fan he appears to be unbeatable.

Are these the fights that the boxing world has to look forward to?

We know that Pacquiao is an offensive genius. We know that Mayweather is one of the most brilliant defensive fighters to ever “grace” the sport with his presence. But I have two words for both of these potential match-ups, and I think fans of the sweet science will back me up here. Who cares?

No disrespect to Malignaggi, or Matthew Hatton, but neither one of them has a chance against either of their aforementioned opponents. Forgive me for being Captain Obvious again.

Both matches are utterly ridiculous, but they could happen. Why? Because Pacquiao wants one more fight to retire on and Mayweather needs to continue to awe his fans, (all three of them), with his poetically brilliant displays of supreme boxing athleticism against… whoever he’s absolutely certain he can beat without breaking a sweat. He refers to this as a “level playing field”.

Pacquiao has already sealed his legacy. He has very little left to prove. He can retire now and forever be known as one of the greatest of all time. He’s a true champion in every sense of the word; one who has never side-stepped a challenge. He’s fought brutal wars with the best that boxing has had to offer. There’s really only one viable opponent left for Manny Pacquiao and that is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather, on the other hand, has become so protective of his undefeated record that he has increasingly resorted to fighting less capable opponents. However, he certainly has gall. It takes a lot of gall to force an old Lightweight to jump up to the Jr. Welterweight level and not have the decency or professionalism to come in at the agreed upon catch-weight. (Recall the scene of Juan Manuel Marquez gazing at the scale as Floyd flashed that big, white smile despite being two pounds overweight.) Hey, what’s $600,000 to Money Mayweather anyway?

My point is this; Mayweather still has a lot left to prove if he ever wants to be known as one of the all time greats. Does he have the ability and skill to be known as one of the all time greats? Absolutely! But there’s something he needs to do first. He needs to fight Manny Pacquiao, win or lose. After all, there’s no shame in losing to Manny Pacquiao. He loves to boast about his gambling habits. Well, this is a gamble he needs to take. I’m not going to get into all of the nonsense about Olympic style drug testing or steroids.

Let’s announce the fight the world wants to see. Imagine getting up in the morning and checking your favorite boxing site and finding this: “The Fight is Made! Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather is a Done Deal!” Now wouldn’t that put a smile on your face?

But alas, with each passing moment it appears more likely we’ll see this: “Pacquiao vs. Malignaggi set for March 13”. If that happens to be the case, one word of advice for The Magic Man; please keep your tongue in your mouth, Paulie.

-Lorne Scoggins

Email me: scrimmer1@hotmail.com

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