By Listen: Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple months, you would know that the biggest fight in boxing history will be happening between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a fight fan, I say for us all; finally. Finally we get to see two of the best fighters in history of boxing face each other, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
There have been several articles printed since the announcement of the fight detailing several scenarios of the outcome of this fight.
We have all heard, Pacquiao by KO, because of his unorthodox style and excellent footwork; Mayweather by decision, based on Mayweather’s boxing ability and his superb defensive skills. Fans of both fighters clamor to these articles searching for every advantage for their guy. We have seen these articles dissecting common opponents and the subsequent outcomes as to how it relates to Pacquiao vs Mayweather. “Manny beat this guy much easier than Floyd”, “Floyd easily beat this guy that Manny struggled with”. Fans and some writers have even delved into the personal life of the fighters to search for advantages. “Floyd is sure to lose because of his criminal past”, “Mayweather is not a good ambassador for boxing because of his me first persona.” “Manny will surely lose, because of his commitments outside of the ring.” “Manny will win because he is a man of god”. Respected opinions, but just that; opinions.
As fans we can talk and argue until we are blue in the face, but truth be told we are wasting our time. Mayweather and Pacquiao are polar opposites as fighters, thus there fans are total opposites.
If you were to poll one hundred boxing fans and ask them why they enjoy boxing, you may get one hundred and fifty answers. Boxing is a complex sport but “most” boxing fans can be narrowed down into two kinds of fans, action Pack vs. the sweet science.
The action pack (AP) boxing fan, is the guy/gal who pays their hard earned money to be entertained. AP fans wants to see a fighter who lays it all on the line, throwing caution to the wind, throwing punches in bunches with devastating velocity. AP fans respects a fighter who can walk through adversity pick themselves off the ground and still manage to win. The AP fans yearn for Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy Hearns and wishes every boxing match could produce such a violent, climatic, and definitive results. AP hates the business of boxing and the politics surrounding the sport especially when it prevents dream fights from taking place. The AP fan craves for Ruslan Provodnikov vs Lucas Matthysse upcoming action fight because of the aggressive style of both fighters. Watching Cuban gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux for an action pack boxing fans would be the equivalent of getting a tooth pulled because of Rigo’s calculated defensive style. We all are AP’s if you really think about it, we “ooh and ahh” at every flush connection in a championship fight. We feel the jitters as fighters are being introduced during the ring walk. We shadow box when no one is watching and imagine ourselves training for a fight during our 2 mile run, but then maybe that’s just me. We admire the warrior and wish we had the guts to lay it on the line as action pack fighters do.
On the other hand, you have the sweet science (SS) Fan. The sweet science fans enjoy the skill involved in the sport of boxing. The SS fan watches boxing as a sport and not a masculinity test of warriors. The SS fan studies the sport for the nuances of technique and the variations of styles. The SS fan will be able to tell you why the jab and defense are the basic building blocks for any fighter and why the lack there of, could be detrimental. Sweet Science fans could tell you the advantages of the Philly shell defense and how it could limit a fighter’s offense, especially the fighter’s ability to counter. The SS fan will value less celebrated fighter attributes such as timing, balance and the ability of a fighter to adjust on the fly. SS fans are not mesmerized by KO’s. SS are more interested in how the KO was set up. Sweet science fans notices the variations of punches; traditional jab, versus stepping in to a jab, up jabs versus the benefits of a pawing (blinding) jab. Sweet science fans are generally more knowledgeable about the sport of boxing and loath conversations with action pack fans.
Action pack and sweet science fan will never agree on the outcome of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. Truth be told the conversations about the outcome has been more entertaining than the fight will be. To have that conversation is virtually a waste of time. Pacquiao is the king of the action pack boxing society and Mayweather reigns supreme in the eyes of sweet science boxing fans. Truth be told boxing needs both. Although Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters that have ever lived, most boxing fans 90% who are (Action pack fans) thinks Mayweather’s style is boring and unwatchable. Action pack fans don’t have time to dissect, review and detail the greatness of skilled boxers. Action pack sees movement as a boxer running from contact.
Acton pack fans basically just wants to see someone get KTFO. There is nothing wrong with AP, and in my opinion, action pack fighters and fans will generate the next generation of boxing fans. Action pack fighter’s knockouts can be shared, tweeted and watched by millions of potential boxing fans in seconds, thus bringing more fans to the sport of boxing. We need action pack fighters especially with boxing’s reemergence on network television. Action pack fighters bring casual boxing fans in the door, they bring fans in with their heart, determination, blood, sweat and tears. New boxing fans will crave the excitement of six punch combos and mind blowing knockouts. New boxing fans will be dazzled by warriors laying it on the line with every punch. New boxing fans will invite their friends over for fight parties which will generate dialogue about our beloved sport of boxing. My only wish is maybe, just maybe, some of boxing new found fans will stay around, and stay around long enough to read the book.
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