“Sure, I’ll give Mayweather a rematch”—Marcus Maidana
“You have to fight him [Mayweather} dirty; he’s just too good…” Mike Tyson
In Floyd Mayweather’s case, “Saturday’s performance was not a case of simply seeing chinks in the knight’s armor; it was a case of the knight not even bothering to put on his armor before battle. It was the first time that Mayweather, a fighter who always treated the sport with reverence and professionalism, just didn’t seem to care”.—Paul Magno-Boxing Tribune
Mayweather’s aura of invincibility has been depleted post-Maidana while Manny’s gravitas remains very compelling. Off their last fights, the contention that Manny just might have a solid shot at beating Mayweather given their respective levels of activity has gained serious validity. Indeed, after struggling with Marcus “El Chino” Maidana, Floyd (now at 46-0) may no longer be able to reach and/or surpass Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0 and then retire—though if he resorts to some selectively sage cherry picking, his odds increase. A rematch with Maidana is probably in the offing, but a match with Pacquiao is what everyone really wants.
Speaking of Pac Man, he has fought six times since slicing and dicing Antonio Margarito in 2010 (showing mercy at the end). He easily beat Shane Mosley and then Juan Manuel Marquez before “losing: to Timothy Bradley in June 2012. Six months later he was sedated by Marquez, but a year later he bounced back to totally dominate Brandon Rios at the Venetian Resort in Macao (again showing mercy at the end). His dominant win over Bradley on April 12 was simply a repeat of his “first-win-over Bradley-that-was-not-a- win.” For all practical purposes Manny has won three in a row.
But most importantly (at least to me) is that I have rarely seen Manny fight off the ropes nor have I seen him backed up. In fact, even against Marquez, he was bringing it to him when he was countered into a lengthy slumber.
Mayweather, meanwhile, allowed the Argentinian mugger to, well, mug him on the ropes and then he rationalized his dreary performance by saying he wanted to give the fans “an entertaining brawl.” But truth be told, Floyd had a difficult time keeping El Chino in the middle of the ring and showed signs of a fighter whose legs were just a bit worn. In short, No, Mayweather did not fight because he wanted to “give the fans an exciting fight.”He fought as he did because El Chino gave him no other options.
Thus the ever-shifting gravitas between Pacquiao and Mayweather simply draws attention to the fact that now is the time for them to make boxing (if not fiscal) history by fighting one another, though a rematch with Maidana in September will probably be first on Money’s agenda.
The best fight the best so let’s do it.
