By Babatis Banda: It is irresistible not to talk about these two. Without talking about them, boxing is just but a sport and nothing special. It is also not a sin for us to say what we all feel, even a hundred times. Those bored and offended need to either ignore and move on, or shut up and join the debate.
In the same way Ronaldo, the Real Madrid forward and the sensational Messy of Barcelona are in each other’s eras, so are Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Like it or not, Ronaldo is a terrific player and a prolific goal scorer. The only curse for Ronaldo is that he has existed in the same era with the small darting Argentinian genius, and to put it in one commentators words, ‘probably the best player ever’. I have no doubt that Ronaldo is in the shadow of Messy.
In the same situation, is one durable and strong fighter. He is not particularly the master of the game skill- wise, but he wears his opponents out through sheer pressure, speed and brutal force. Not so far in the past, he seemed to take in all kinds of punishment without flinching a single bit, and with his assets being speed, power and durability. This is the revered Manny Pacquiao, the flag carrying sportsman of his nation.
On the other hand, there is the all thinking and the all talented Mayweather Junior, a clear result of a fighting ‘breed’ whose genes carry the special ‘fighter’s’ instinct. His influence and popularity is drawn only from the sport. Unlike his nemesis Pacquiao, who draws a following on nationalistic and political level, he has moulded a clever marketing strategy that has seen him as the highest paid sports person of this era. His tool box is complete!
Again, have no doubt that Pacquiao is in the shadow of Floyd Mayweather junior. While they are both top grade boxers, Mayweather has remained an A+ boxer mainly due to his skill, his ability to fight any kind of fight and still remain unbeaten. In any era, you can only have a great and outstanding character if there is the ‘shadower’ and the ‘shadowed’. The argument today really seems to be that Mayweather needs to prove by beating Pacquiao and not that Pacquiao has an upper hand to beat Mayweather junior.
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