By Mead Johnson Dempsey: First, let us talk about the well-regarded Boxing Olympics. An Olympian is regarded to be very disciplined. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a bronze Olympic medalist. Additionally, Guillermo Rigondeaux is a Gold medalist in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
Zou Shimming is also a Gold medalist in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. But I would like to downplay his achievement because he won one of them in his own hometown, Beijing.
So I would like to say that Floyd and Rigondeaux are legit disciplined fighters.
When Rigondeaux fought Nonito “Flash” Donaire in 2013, he fought like an amateur cruising away with a shoe-shine boxing strategy for the unanimous decision. Perhaps, even if Rigondeaux was too sleek, the slugger Flash caught him and floored him. However, it was not enough for the Flash. Nonito should have other arsenals in his back pocket and not rely on his power as his last resort to win fights.
Now when we talk about Floyd, he too is a sleek boxer. No doubt. He has out-boxed a Cuban before and that’s a big plus for him. However, he has become slower and bigger as years passed by. An aging Shane Mosley was able to punch him straight in the face in their fight in 2010, and it was no Victor Ortiz sucker punch. By no means did Mosley used any angles in that shot. But it landed clean.
Enter Manny Pacquiao. He has five loses. Every one of which is disappointing and heart crushing. Every time he lost, he got up. It’s safe to say that on the average, he loses every 5 years by the time he started boxing. It’s been 3 years since Juan Manuel Marquez. Manny is really on a roll now with his confidence going through the roof. His confidence builder came in the form of beating up tomato cans like Chris Algieri and Brandon Rios.
Anyhow, easily, easily did Rigondeaux “respectfully” boxed and broke down Donaire. Manny Pacquaio, also, “respectfully” boxed Oscar De la Hoya and won. The main factor on those fights is that they did not clown around while they were dishing out their offense to their respective opponents. Unlike a certain someone whose clowning is a staple of his fights?
Furthermore, almost all of Mayweather’s opponents had been clowned. In the psychological standpoint, it is not his fault. Before his professional careers started, he too was a victim of clown judges. He got robbed and “received” a bronze medal in the Olympics. The lesson for him is that judges can either make you or break you. As a professional, rumor has it that he is a protected fighter in Las Vegas. It is more likely to be true. In history, he got mocked once and now, he continues to give the boxing world, a mockery.
When Mayweather fought Marcos Maidana, it was a step up from all the other oppositions that he had.
Maidana is a strong puncher, however, he is just an above-average brawler. No strategy or feints at all. It’s like if Ruslan Provodnikov and Maidana fought, we will be sure that it is a barnburner as both sluggers rough it up. History dictates that every once in a while, even someone like Ricky Hatton had landed a good one on Mayweather. A slugger may get lucky sometimes.
What’s in it for Pacquiao? Is he going to get clowned? What did he learn from for the last 14 years in America? Not to be downgraded, he still has his legs with him. One small, contributing factor he got knocked out years ago was when Marquez stepped on his foot and delivered the counter punch. Dinamita stepping on the foot to deliver the KO punch should not be overlooked. Floyd might be dirty but he won’t resort to that tactic. Or he would, we never know.
Pacquiao’s movement will be the key to this fight. His strategy. His evolution as a fighter. If his punches don’t go in as planned, he will be patient to wait for Mayweather. He will not gratify the taunts but continue to chop down his opponent methodically. Methodical, disciplined and patiently calculating -that is the best way to approach this fight for him. Take something from the Olympic book – being disciplined.
What’s in it for Mayweather? He is chopping woods for his power. Perhaps too much of a fan of Marquez’s handiworks, Mayweather would like to duplicate that knockout. Pacquiao is very hittable. Floyd would like to be a shoeshine master to a knockout king overnight. It is not impossible since his timing is impeccable. It could be a double whammy for him. He could lose his speed for the sake of power. Just a little bit of speed lost means all the difference. At the end of the day, he could still resort to his old habits and still win a comfortable decision in his own turf. Kudos to him for trying to make this fight a risky fight for Pacquiao. Because if it is not a fight, a rematch would not look ridiculously lucrative.
May 2, can’t wait! Peace!
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