By Robert Elmore: First, I’m really glad that the Floyd Mayweather Jr/Manny Pacquiao fight is happening. And for all those who are crying “the fight is five years too late”, I suggest they look at how long it took for the Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard fight to happen.
It’s only a hand full of people are saying it because this fight is going to easily cross the three million mark in pay per view buys and exceed 250 million in revenue.
I understand that BOTH men needed this fight as there was nowhere to turn but each other. Pacquaio’s last pay per view fight with Chris Algieri did horrible with 300,000 buys. But moreover, many believed that Algieri should have never been in the ring with Manny in the first place. So Manny had to come back with a big fight. He couldn’t face Jessie Vargas or Mikey Garcia and get away with it. It reminds of the Danny Garcia/Rod Salka situation.
Garcia had to face Lamont Peterson because of the caliper of opponent Garcia faced. So it was like a setback for a big set up. Floyd couldn’t have fought Amir Khan or Miguel Cotto and gotten away with it. I didn’t think for one second that he would face either. Floyd clearly said he wanted to fight Pacquiao in his post fight interview after he defeated Marcos Maidana. Later, he even shunned a fight with Khan telling espn.uk that no one knows Khan except those involved in boxing.
Then there were rumors that Mayweather was seeking a bout with WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. Nobody was even talking about that fight until Saul “Canelo” Alvarez/Cotto negotiations failed and Cotto mentioned he had other options on the table. There was some contact between Mayweather’s and Cotto’s people, but I don’t think it was serious. But almost every blog I read, watching ESPN First Take prior to this fight being announced and even the day of, claimed that Mayweather needed this fight and that his legacy would have an asterisk by it if he didn’t fight Pacquiao. I can understand peoples reasoning for saying that.
Mayweather is on top boxing right now. He’s the man to beat. He has set and broken his own purse records. He has involved in two fights that has done over 2 million pay per view buys; once with Oscar when he was the B-side and again with Canelo when was the A-side. Pacquiao has yet to do those type of numbers as his highest pay per view fight was the third encounter with Juan Manuel Marquez (1.4 million).
BOTH fighters’ legacies are secured and they are first round ballot Hall of Famers. But if people don’t think Pacquiao needed this fight as well they are kidding themselves. He has 68 million reasons he’s taking this fight and I’ll stop there. Not so much in the mainstream, but more so among fans, Pacquiao has been given a win-lose crutch to stand on. If he loses, big deal because he’s already lost, he’s lost a step, and not in his prime. But if he wins, he will be the greatest thing since sliced bread. His speed, combinations, work rate etc will dominate the headlines. Mayweather doesn’t have that crutch to stand on.
It seems to be a lose-lose for him. If he loses, it would be the greatest thing on earth to some people. It would put in perspective that he hadn’t fought Pacquiao because he wanted to maintain his undefeated status. We’ve heard the saying “great fighters have lost a fight or two and they are still considered great”. That quote will only go so far for Floyd. If he loses, his other 47 fights won’t matter to some. It will be the ONE lose to Pacquiao that will crumble his legacy. Again, I understand why some take that point of view. Mayweather’s presence in boxing is huge. If he wins, then he beat an old, war ridden, shot fighter who was looking for pay day.
It’s really unfair to both combatants and the stuff they hear from fans. But Floyd gets it a little more than Pac does. It will be interesting to read the comments on May 3rd. Enjoy the fight.
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