By Collie Moore: New to twitter and quixotically optimistic, I typed to Floyd Mayweather Jr. querying him: ‘What do you think your legacy will be? What did you want it to be at the start of your career?’ Of course he didn’t reply but I pondered, if he read that tweet, did the words Manny Pacquiao come into his mind.
Boxing is a sport permeated with opinion, hype and speculation due to the fact that unlike in most other sports, the best don’t always meet the best. And as the twilight of their careers approach, Mayweather and Pacquiao, two great fighters whose legacy, perhaps more than any others before them, will be ultimately tainted by the names of those they didn’t fight: each other. One has to acknowledge that they are the two standout fighters of their generation and anybody who disagrees on this (which I imagine will be evidenced by many of the keyboard-warrior typed comments below) is, forgive me, obtuse.
Let’s look at the record sheets, at the facts, and they are thus. Firstly, Mayweather. Olympic medallist as a teenager, world champion in five weight classes, he has beaten world champions such as Hatton, Marquez, De la Hoya, Judah, Corrales, Castillo, etc. He has never been knocked down, he has never been beaten (in professional ranks). Secondly, Pacquiao. World champion at eight weight divisions. Has also beaten Hatton, De la Hoya, Marquez, and additionally the likes of Margarito, Cotto, Morales, Barrera. He was awarded Fighter of the Decade. These are the facts, no matter how you or I could or would like to dispute them. Form lines cross between the two pugilists like plane trails in a blue sky. But, and this is where that intangible idea of legacy comes in, they have never fought each other. And I shall briefly delve back into the realm of opinion, go out on a limb and say that I think the moment in terms of legacy has now past.
If the fight does come to fruition, the result may go a long way to deciding who the ‘best’ is. Alternatively though, like Tyson-Lewis, the winner will have it put to them that the other was over the hill. Mayweather is 35, and Pacquiao while two years younger, has more fights and possibly is showing some aging after the controversial Marquez bout. If the fight does occur, each set of fans will argue their fighter would have won if the fight had taken place years ago when in their prime.
I respect both fighters greatly. They have achieved so much and still after c. 15 years can go to the gym and push themselves to the limit. I do not blame them entirely for the bout not happening. They are after all entrenched in the boxing world of promoters, money, negotiations, etc. But at the same time they must each take some shared sense of responsibility for the fight not taking place. It will be their legacy that will be scrutinized after all; their health, a lot of their money, their pride – and with this comes a degree of bargaining power. However, I fear and imagine that when both fighters are old and looking back, the fight that may be with them most will be the one that happened too late or the one that never happened at all.
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