Manny Pacquiao
APOCALYPSE WITHSTANDING, MEGA BOUT HAPPENS NEXT YEAR
New York, NY– Over the past couple of years there has been plenty of disappointment in both Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) for not finding common ground and settling terms for a mega bout. Whether some feel that Mayweather is avoiding Pacquiao by manipulating an escape route with unnecessary demands, or if Pacquiao is simply afraid to get caught ‘cheating’, makes little difference.
NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE!
What does matter, is that the fight actually does take place before both pugilists become geriatric and lose their greatness. Although there have been plenty of reasons to doubt that this fight takes place, I’d like to point out a few reasons that it will happen barring that 2012 isn’t actually the end of the world.
Floyd Mayweather
#1 REASON IS FLOYD’S EGO!
It’s no secret that Floyd Mayweather believes that he’s the best fighter of his era. He has even grossly assumed that he is the best boxer of all time and relies heavily on his undefeated record to back the claim. But if he wants others, including his own uncle to start believing that, he will need to do a little more in the ring. The logical route in making his claim realistic (to some) would be in defeating Manny Pacquiao. Unless he addresses the 400 lb. elephant in the room from General Santos City, there is little chance he will be taken seriously, even as the best of his era. It’s doubtful that Mayweather can even convince himself that he’s the best, unless he conquers Pacquiao. Because the Pac-Man has uprooted him as ‘pound for pound’ champ and is now seen by some as the better fighter and biggest threat to him in the ring.
EGOCENTRIC PACQUIAO
Although fans generally see Pacquiao as a mild mannered, humble individual, we can also note that he also has an ego of his own. When asked on television show, 60 minutes who he thought was the best fighter of all time, without hesitation his response was, “me.” Of course Manny doesn’t boast as loud as Mayweather but he honestly feels the same way about his all time status as Mayweather does. To erase any doubt in his mind, it is necessary that he defeats Mayweather decisively so he can confirm that he was the greatest to ever lace them up. Many of Manny’s detractors have said that his attempts to capture titles at catch-weights and his selection of aging less than prime opponents remove luster from his victories. But Mayweather can naturally answer all of those questions in one bout. Manny will know without a doubt that he is the greatest by decisively besting Mayweather.
FLOYD’S RETIREMENT MUZZLE
Although Floyd has been out of the ring for long stints at a time, he has not mentioned retirement since the conclusion of his bout with De La Hoya in 2007. He’s only fought three times in the past four years but has not explicitly stated that he is through fighting. This alone gives at least some degree of hope that Manny Pacquiao will likely be a forthcoming opponent. In the recent past, there was at least one serious round of negotiations. Although team Mayweather denies the second round, the topic is inescapable and will continue to be unless either fighter decides to hand them up. The consideration has been there for quite some time with both camps, and with only one major conflict in the way. But could that conflict have already been resolved?
MANNY SHOULD AGREE TO TESTING OLYMPIC STYLE
There is a video that has been floating around for a few months and in it Pacquiao appears to state that he is willing to concede and take the Olympic style drug tests that Mayweather is requesting. If this is accurate, then the main obstacle in the way of this fight has already been resolved. Manny originally would not budge off a 24 day testing window, but according to Bob Arum, he moved to seven days (what is he scared of?) in the last round of failed negotiations and now has opened to window to full testing. Possibly after seeing Shane Mosley get an 18 day testing window versus Mayweather in May (based on a conclusion that he was clean), Manny will gamble with no cut off date, hoping that he is not adversely affected by unannounced testing.
MAYWEATHER’S LEFT HANDED ENIGMAS
And then there is Floyd’s comeback opponent. There were rumors a few months back that Floyd was looking at facing undefeated ex-lightweight (135) Paul Spadafora (45-0-1 19 KOs), who happens to be a southpaw. At some point, left-handed fighters became a perceived kryptonite to Floyd Mayweather’s style, mainly because they have been the only ones to give Floyd serious problems in the ring. He was badly hurt by southpaws, DeMarcus Corley (37-18-1 22 KOs) and Zab Judah (41-6 28 KOs), in respective bouts. There was also a rumor that Floyd’s father called from jail at one point and requested that Floyd be kept clear of lefties to preserve his career. Whether it’s true that Floyd has Problems with lefties or not, there is still irony in the choice of Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) for his September comeback fight. Victor is a very hard puncher and also a lefty, traits that he shares with Manny Pacquiao. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer has even stated that in facing Ortiz, Floyd is really getting ready for Manny.
THE MONEY & THE FAME COMBINATION
With offers reportedly coming in as high as $65 and $75 million dollars, there is no doubt that a bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao gets bigger by the second. There is no event in sports that could equal it on the world stage. When Mayweather reportedly asked for $100 million dollars to fight Manny, it was seen as a joke. But today it is really starting to look more like a shrewd business move than an unrealistic demand.
PEOPLE, EVEN THE SQUARES WANT THIS ONE!
Unlike the Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya promotion, the world truly awaits THIS bout and the winner could not only be the biggest name the sport has produced since Muhammad Ali, but might even be considered better. That’s an opportunity that’s far too tempting for any man, yes that includes Manny Pacquiao, to pass on or take for granted over a blood test. And barring some unforeseeable event, nothing else really stands in the way.
Jarrad Woods