By Gerardo Granados: At a post-fight interview on ESPN the Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the World Floyd Money Mayweather W48 (26)-L0-D0 stated he would vacate his entire welter and light middle WBA – WBC and also his welter WBO championship belts; meanwhile Manny Pacquiao hurried to make excuses for his loss saying he had a shoulder injury.
Which was a surprise that not many could have expected, but if the reader was surprised with Floyd´s Unanimous Decision victory then it could be because you didn’t bet on Mayweather to win on an easy bet.
Pacquiao was unable to get inside, Floyd´s jab and straight right was a nightmare for Manny as he was hesitant to charge, no Floyd didn’t run he just moved out of range when needed, yes on times he clinched Manny in close negating him to work in the inside but Manny has never been a great inside fighter which was proved when he threw seven punches combos landing one or two punches only. For most part of the fight Floyd not only stayed at fighting range also outpunched and out landed Manny, connecting the more meaningful punches all night long.
I scored it 118-110 with two close rounds that I gave to Floyd because he was in command edging defense, ring generalship, effective aggression and also clean and hard punching as well. Mayweather was the better boxer, there is no doubt about that, just as I stated in a previous article I placed my bet on him to win by Unanimous Decision instead of paying one hundred notes on a Pay Per View that had its issues during the broadcast of the fight.
Maybe some fight fans were not pleased with the outcome of the fight but it was clear this one was not going to be a fight of the year nominee since it was announced. Pacquiao fans seem disappointed and started to accuse Floyd of hugging and running too much but what really surprises me was the lame excuse Manny used stating he had an injured shoulder, not even when he was robbed against Tim Bradley he tried to demerit his opponent victory.
Mayweather said at a post-fight interview “this is not called slugging, this is not called toe to toe, it’s called boxing” but I cannot agree with that, because this is called Prize Fighting and the fighter who takes the risks should be awarded more merit than the one who plays it safe. Boxing purist will never agree with me but the audience deserves to see two lions engaging with skills and willing to take the risks and not just brilliantly box around each round of the bout.
I was not disappointed with the fight because it was interesting, and also the ability and strategy used by Floyd can be studied by the young new comers to learn how to deal with one dimensional pressure fighters. Styles makes fight they say and Pacquiao is far from being done.
The undercard was poor, but Vasil Lomachenko gets better fight after fight, it was a shame his opponent was as limited on his skills as on his heart. Meanwhile Leo Santacruz fought a limited Jose Tigre Cayetano who showed great heart and hunger losing a lopsided Unanimous decision but also proving that “The Cab Driver Assassin” Leo Santacruz as a friend calls him (@forever_boxing) would struggle against Guillermo Rigondeaux and Carl Frampton if he dared to convince his manager to allow him to engage a top ten contender instead or picking former sparring partners or local club fighters to try to look good.
I believe it was clear Floyd Mayweather won the fight and a rematch would not be necessary. After the fight ended a friend of mine asked what if it had taken place six years ago, my answer was “we will never know and there is no use to talk about it anymore; it is time to move on.”
Do the readers think it’s time to move on and leave the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight in the past?
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