By Dan Ambrose: For some people this Saturday’s mega-clash between the two superstars of the boxing world Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. means more than just a fight for the supremacy of the No.1 pound-for-pound status and the best fighter in the welterweight division; it’s a fight where Pacquiao will be looking to put a bully in his place.
That’s the way Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach sees it.
Roach has personalized the fight as a good vs. evil match-up with Mayweather representing all that is bad in the sport in Roach’s eyes. There are a number of boxing fans who see it the same way Roach does.
“Our long, international, boxing nightmare will soon be over,” said Roach via ESPN.com. “Boxing has been held hostage by Floyd Mayweather and his antics long enough. Manny is going to stand up to Floyd on [Saturday] and put a bully in his place.”
Mayweather will have a lot of pressure on him in this fight. He’s trying to keep his unbeaten record intact, and he’ll be dealing with a lot of fans that will be against him. It’s fair to say that Pacquiao will have the MGM crowd in his favor on Saturday night despite him being the visiting fighter. Pacquiao has been the good guy in the lead up to the fight. The fans could side with Mayweather if he starts to dominate the fight at some point.
The only way Pacquiao will be able to keep the fans in his favor is if he stays on top and is able to get the better of Mayweather in the exchanges. Pacquiao has looked good in his last three fights against Chris Algieri, Tim Bradley and Brandon Rios. He totally outclassed Algieri and Rios. The Bradley fight was close, but Pacquiao was the clear winner in that fight. Mayweather, if he fights like he did against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, he’s going to be a difficult opponent for Pacquiao. But Mayweather hasn’t looked good in his last two fights against Marcos Maidana, and some fans are beginning to suspect that he’s slipping as a fighter.
“Manny has always come out on top when he was the underdog] and you don’t have to look any further than his victories over [Lehlo] Ledwaba, [Marco Antonio] Barrera and [Oscar] De La Hoya,” Roach said. “As Manny said earlier, ‘it’s time for Floyd to lose.’ Manny is on a mission. This fight is his crusade. The fans of the world are rooting for Manny to win just like they willed this fight to happen. He is their champion. This will be their victory.”
This isn’t Ledwaba that Pacquiao is fighting on Saturday night though. Roach needs to realize that fight between Pacquiao and Ledwaba took place 14 years ago in 2001, and Ledwaba was subsequently beaten by a string of mediocre fighters like Spend Abazi, Cassius Baloyi [twice] and Maxwell Awuku. Beating Ledwaba doesn’t mean that Pacquiao will beat Mayweather. Pacquiao is going to need to bring his A-game on Saturday night and fight in a smart manner because Mayweather will be looking to out-box Pacquiao. The way he can do that is to take advantage of Pacquiao’s mistakes if he comes out looking to slug like he frequently has done in the past.
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