By Babatis Banda: This is one of those quotes from the P4P number one fighter, “Boxing will not retire me, I will retire from boxing”. Looking at the events of the recent past, I see this statement as an important declaration by Mayweather. It clearly shows that Mayweather junior is mindful of that moment, that which most boxers seem not to pay attention to, or are just too dumb to notice or financial demands get into the way of sound judgement. Most boxers just seem never to know when to call it quits. It is as if boxing is addictive..or is it? A strong magnetic force seems to pull most into brain damage or something of that sort.
Mainly because of Mayweather’s defensive skills and partly due to the fact that he has the luxury of fighting once a year, Mayweather has not received punishment like most at his level have. They say each fight is different and that styles make fights, but if Mayweather stays around for too long, age is his main rival and it would put him in the same grade with the rest, as some people point to his last fight with Cotto. For the first time in a long time, Cotto was able to make Mayweather bleed from the nose, courtesy of a sharp jab and glancing hard blows. While Cotto won only 3 close rounds at the most and far away from causing any serious distress to Mayweather, most people still point to this fight as the beginning of a Mayweather slow-down.
2013 is a definitive year for Mayweather. His legacy will definitely receive a boost, not only because he will beat some top fighters this year, but also because the man considered for years as his arch rival went out cold in his last fight. Pacquiao was literally blasted out by Marquez, a fight that saw Pacquiao go down in a spectacular manner in round three, of the scheduled 12 rounds. All the nonsense was put to rest in the sixth round with a massive right hand that stopped Manny in his tracks, and landed face first and he was unconscious for a number of minutes. It does not get any worse than that.
I don’t see Mayweather fighting beyond 2014 and 2013 may just be his last. For Pacquiao, there is a lot of uncertainty. The 4th fight was billed as the definitive bout meant to clear the air as to who is really better after the controversial 3 previous fights.
However definitive the win was for Marquez, there is likely a 5th fight between the two to allow Pacquiao avenge the brutal loss. It is difficult for Marquez to turn down this 5th fight for two simple reasons;… he would make the largest take of his career in a 5th bout. The other reason is that, Pacquiao has been gracious enough to Marquez by giving him re-matches and it’s time for him to return the favour.
In the pursuit for revenge and considering that he has been in many brutal wars, Pacquiao is likely to get retired by the sport. Worse, he seems not to make decisions by himself for himself. Pacquiao is a tool that is making money for a chain of people that won’t let go until that last penny.
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