By Kwabena Twum: The sweet science as it is known isn’t immune to the desire for mayhem and destruction and sometimes it’s the reason why pressure fighters irrespective of their skill levels tend to receive more respect than the traditional purists or boxer punchers.

Mention the Gattis, Wards, Matthysses or even Provodnikovs of this world who are all brawlers and the cravers of blood and gore start wetting themselves like teenagers who have recently hit puberty with the words, Brave, Courageous, Warriors, whereas someone like Pernell Whitiker who is an advocate of the sweet science attracts the moniker of BORING.

Don’t get me wrong because I enjoy watching two men in a no holds barred situation slugging their guts out in the ring, but is that the true interpretation of boxing as a sport or an ART.

Earlier this month the best boxer of this era and arguably one of the finest of all time the incomparable Floyd Mayweather Jr. put on a masterclass at 38 years of age in neutralizing a Hall of Fame offensive fighter Manny Pacquiao overly exerting himself yet despite the dominance somewhere quick to label him a runner and a hugger which wasn’t helped by the antics of Pacquiao after the fight which was absolutely deplorable and regretful to say the least. The hate towards Mayweather for obvious reasons has mandated that Pacquiao and his camp have got away with controversial comments over the years so their behavior after the fight wasn’t surprising to many including me, no matter how pathetic and infantile as it seemed.

There is a difference between running in the ring to avoid contact and a fighter nullifying an opponent due to supreme skills. Mayweather out landed and threw more punches than Pacquiao who has traditionally been frenetic and high paced, high energy sort of fighter but the genius of Mayweather meant that Pacquiao’s best attribute were taken from him like the other 47 victims whilst Mayweather made him fight his fight and in the process made a SOMEWHAT hall of famer look like a nobody.

Pacquiao’s questionable claim of winning , after the fight was an act of GENUINE shock because even he couldn’t comprehend the fact that another fighter had made him look utterly ordinary. Every PPV record features the name of Mayweather and yet they call him boring. Pre-guessing Mayweather has been to the detriment of many because when Shane Mosley rocked him in the second most thought he would slip and box after that but in the very next round he met him in the middle and suffice to say we all know what happened afterwards.

Mayweather pressed and pushed the younger and bigger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez back when many thought otherwise. After 4 fights, Pacquiao still couldn’t figure out Juan Manuel Marquez, yet it took Mayweather 36 minutes to render a rematch an insult to the paying public. 19 world champions, Mayweather has accounted for whilst modifying his game with age to stay at the top as he got older bearing in mind this is a man who was a ferocious puncher in the lower divisions.

The most poignant part of his fight with Pacquiao to me was when his father got frustrated and wanted him to bring the left hook into play a bit more but Mayweather just looked at him as if to say why be gung ho at 38 years of age in a fight am in total control of. That was typical Mayweather and that is why he is STILL THE MAN but that has also become a stick his detractors use to beat him as been overly cautious. Ali held Frazier over 70 times in the second fight and about 17 times in the first round alone amid boos, yet he is seen as the greatest by many.

The money moniker is the BANE of the hatred of Mayweather and just like you and I, he has made mistakes in his personal life but what you need to realize is if it wasn’t for that bling-bling in your face money persona Mayweather would just be another Whitaker but that persona has made him the richest boxer ever, even though that has been detrimental to his personal life.

Deep down this is a man who loves his family and takes care of them. Only a select few are able to command love and hatred in equal measures but it takes a special kind of person to back that analogy up with sublime and impeccable talent. Mayweather is one of those select few. Like I said in the headline you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone cos a boxer like Mayweather with a colorful lifestyle and a style that keeps him on every man and his dogs lips irrespective of which side you care to be , comes along once in a lifetime.