By Tommaso Nappo: Now before the writer is accused of taking one too many blows to the head himself. Or being an herbalist ( and I don’t mean oregano, or parsley), hear me out. Back in the earlier 80’s Marvin Hagler was constantly fighting for the approval of the boxing world in hopes they would give him his due as being the the best fighter of his era.

Hagler resented Ray Leonard as he felt “Sugar” started boxing with a silver spoon, the Olympic and media darling who could do no wrong. No matter what he accomplished it would be in the shadow of Ray Leonard. Floyd Mayweather is also seeking the approval of the boxing world that he is the greatest fighter of his era (and all time great).

The fact that most publications, and polls have Manny Pacquiao as the pound for pound champion must be a source of displeasure to say the least for Little Floyd. While Pacquiao was not born with a silver spoon he came from an even more dysfunctional childhood then Mayweather, and has propelled himself with the help of Bob Arum and Freddie Roach as the the face of boxing beloved world wide. Having also involved himself into politics in order to help his fellow countrymen, it has elevated his status which transcends boxing to rival that of the greatest of all time Muhammad Ali.While Floyd has moved up in weight and proceeded to win titles , Pacquiao has moved up more weight classes, and won more titles.

Hagler dearly wanted the fight and made numerous concessions in order to make the fight happen. Ring size , glove choice. Though Hagler did make significantly more then Leonard. Hagler was the clear favorite being the bigger man, and the fact that he had not lost in approx 12 yrs. Floyd Mayweather too is the bigger man, is undefeated, and would be the clear betting favorite if Pacquiao and himself were to square off. Hagler’s obsession with beating Leonard is eerily similar with Mayweathers apparent obsession with remaining undefeated. The fight with Leonard was no so much what Leonard was doing , but rather what Hagler failed to do (though some would argue that was as a result of things Leonard was doing in the fight). Hagler had trouble with boxers and was far better suited in the role of a counter puncher with an opponent who was the aggressor. Similarly if you were going to select a type of fighter that could pose a problem for Floyd, it would be a left handed fighter with speed and some power ( Manny Pacquiao).

The defeat at the hands of Leonard devastated Hagler , who retired after attempting to secure a rematch that never materialized. Hagler had said after his retirement, there was only one fight he could get up for , only one that would have made sense. There is a saying ” I hate losing, more then I enjoy winning”. I believe this is true with Floyd Mayweather, so when the time has come for him to ultimately decide on whether to look to fight Pacquiao or not he needs to be reminded of Marvin Hagler and decide if the unthinkable happened and he had the worst night of his life in the ring and lost. Could he deal with it for the rest of his life as it is pretty much a given that fight would be a one shot deal .

I don’t see it bothering Pacquiao as much (maybe Arum), as Manny has lost before. If Floyd chooses to fight Manny the fear (not of Pacquiao) of losing his undefeated record will either propel him to train harder then ever before , come in more focused and have the fight of his life. Or it will weigh on him , causing him to have a sub par performance like Hagler vs Leonard, and a lifetime of regret.