By Ricky Hale: After Manny Pacquaio’s one sided demolition of Antonio Margarito and Floyd Mayweather’s equally impressive showing against Shane Mosley there is surely nowhere else for these two fighters to go. There has been talk about both stepping up to light middle weight (last night’s fight was not credible at 150) – however I believe this would be a step to far for both men. The two credible light middleweight champions – Martinez and Williams would, in my opinion be a step too far for either men. Not so much because of their respective abilities, but for their sheer size. Pacquaio and Mayweather would both struggle against these two.
There have been one or two murmurings about young up and coming fighters such as Berto, Khan and Bradley, however fighting (and beating) these guys would prove nothing. In terms of credibility and legacy there is only one fight that either guy can face. They are the two best P4P fighters on the planet and the only debate is as to which is no. 1 and to which is no. 2. Also a winner between these two could make a genuine claim to be considered as possibly the greatest welterweight of all time.
Seeing one of these guys fight against the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson would be the stuff of fantasy. However we are fortunate enough that these two fighters are part of the same era and the boxing public should not be denied the chance to see these two legends face each other… So why isn’t this fight happening?
The way I see it, it’s like seeing two tough guys square off in the school yard. Both having the fear and admiration of their peers. Both guys having a carefully built reputation and both hesitant at the risk of seeing this crumble. They will square off for as long as possible until both run out of excuses and lose respect as a result. Once their credibility starts to waiver they will have no other option than to give in (and agree to a 50/ 50 split.) Only when boxing fans and the public make it clear that we are not prepared for anything less will this fight take place. That time is now…
I feel it was inexcusable for Pacquaio to refuse to give in to the random blood testing that any Olympic athlete would have to take (the Olympics have random testing for good reason.) However I also feel it is ludicrous for Mayweather to suggest a 60/ 40 split. These men are ducking each other.
Let’s presume that the fight does take place in 2011, how will this fight go? The fans syate that either Pacquaio will annihilate Mayweather, or that Mayweather will beat Pacquaio with his eyes closed; but this is silly talk. I will compare these two as carefully as possible as a fan of both fighters.
Mayweather has never been beaten but there are one or two fighters he maybe should have faced in their prime but never did. I’m thinking of Sugar Shane Mosley, Kostya Tszyu and Miguel Cotto who could have posed a genuine challenge. Mayweather lost his first fight to Castillo and got the decision, but beat him fairly in the rematch and De La Hoya pushed him hard so the man is beatable. Beatable, but still exceptional. Floyd’s movement is second to none, one second he’s in your face, the next he’s gone, he’s like a ghost. His opponents do not see the shots coming.
He is as fast as Pacquaio, but is less agressive and has slightly less power. However his sense of timing is perfect as is his ability to pace himself to finish strongly in a fight. He has a sense of balance which is second to none, instinctively adopting the perfect defensive stance. This makes the man almost impossible to trade with which may be a problem for Pacquaio. The key to beating Mayweather is to place him under relentless pressure and try to force defensive errors. The problems with this are obvious. First off this is incredibly tiring (ask De La Hoya) and secondly every time you charge forward you are coming into range of the best counter puncher in the business. Mayweather also uses his size advantage well against smaller guys.
Pacquaio has some advantages against Mayweather. Pacquaio is a better combination puncher and has a better engine. Pacquaio will be able to come relentlessly forward throwing flurries non-stop, a lot will miss but some will get through. If Pacquaio can deal with the power of Floyd’s counters then he can start to impose himself. Pacquaio has shown against Margarito and Cotto that he can take punishment from top welterweights. He may be able to deal with Floyd’s power. However if I am to question Floyd’s record it is only fair to look at Pacquaio’s.
Pacquaio has been (badly) knocked out twice early in his career (fans are quick to ridicule the likes of Amir Khan for this but gloss over it when discussing Manny.) Pacquaio was outboxed by a prime Eric Morales although he subsequently beat him twice and he was lucky to get the decision against Marquez. Marqez is an effective counter puncher who appeared to have Pacquaio’s number, and Floyd is a better counter puncher than Marquez. Floyd and Manny both have exceptional records, but history suggests both men are beatable.
If these two face each other Pacquaio will charge forward as he normally does throwing a huge number of punches, some will get through but Floyd will counter him all night long. Scoring the fight may come down to which style you prefer, Floyd will have the precision and will land more often, but Manny will be the aggressor and keep Floyd on the back foot. I expect that Floyd would beat Manny on points but the result would be close enough that Manny fans would cry foul and inevitably demand a rematch.
One thing is for sure though, if any man is good enough to drag Mayweather into a war it is Manny Pacquaio. Win or lose, both men will fulfill their legacy having finally faced each other not once but twice, in what will be the biggest and hopefully best mega fights of all time.
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