By Babatis Banda: I am a collector of special fights that I love to sit and watch from time to time. I have in my vault, a considerable collection of super fights, present and past. Over the week-end, I sat to make another review of the Mayweather/Gatti fight. In this fight, I saw skill that was rare to a lot of fighters. Atturo Gatti had previously produced spectacular fights in senseless exchanges in a gladiator style. His fights were always reminiscent of the inherent violence in man that could be traced from the ancient barbaric times and people loved it.
In this fight, Atturo Ghatti hardly landed his punches. Yes, it was a vintage Mayweather performance that included speed, accurate punching, foot movement and an elite ring IQ matched with a shell type of defence that has now developed into a Mayweather signature. His punch choice and combination and the manner he landed them, the power and the graceful movement made it look as if Gatti did not belong to the same ring with him. He had mentioned earlier that Gatti was the people’s champion and that he was the world champion and after that fight, few could question that remark.
The commentators in that fight said that, it was just a matter of time before Floyd’s name would be mentioned alongside Robinson, Ali and other greats. This has come to pass, Floyd’s name is up there with the all-time greats and this is an undeniable fact, love or hate him. Mayweather had several times mentioned that Gatti was a one-dimensional C+ fighter. Many had gone to watch and to see Floyd get beat and humiliated but on that day, Gatti did not look a C+ fighter but something even worse. Yet again, Floyd had been vindicated.
Pacquiao is no Gatti, but this is true for him as well. He is a people’s champion who is so loved by his followers. He might not be a C+ fighter, but definitely not an A+ fighter. Pacquiao is a fighter that has accomplished so much, but has still a lot to prove, even in the evening of his career. The PED accusation brings into question so much of his achievements considering that he seemed to obliterate his opponents in fashion but after the PED accusations, his performance nosedived and worse, recorded one of the nastiest KO losses in the history of the entire sport.
While Pacquiao remains popular, the casual fan is asking a number of questions about Pacquiao’s health and his ability to continue fighting at the top level after the devastating loss. With Maywather signing a lucrative 6 match fighting deal, we are blessed to witness this brilliant fighting machine first-hand.
It is true, Pacquiao is the people’s champion but Mayweather is the world champion. Boxing can be a love or hate business but the skill and ability, and the result in the squared circle is the greatest decider of level of greatness.
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