There is no bigger fight than Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao showdown. This fight is the biggest in the history of boxing, which means it’s the biggest fight in both fighters’ careers.
Both fighters have been caviler about the whole thing, claiming that it’s just another fight and that they have been in this position before and won’t be blinded by the pageantry. It is a nice notion, but the truth is this fight has the potential to shift their careers in a way that could not be possible with five other fights against five different opponents.
The question is, can it define each fighter at this stage and after all they’ve already accomplished in their storied careers? Mayweather and Pacquiao are surefire hall of famers, but a win will solidify the public’s opinion on which fighter was the better fighter.
Paulie Malignaggi recently did an interview with FighHype.com’s Luis Sandoval and in the interview Malignaggi claims that this fight will absolutely effect each fighter’s reputation one way or the other. Malignaggi, who will work for ShowTime on fight night to some extent, says that the fight is so big that it will carry weight on both fighters’ career in its entirety.
“I think because of the hype that’s generated, to a degree it’s going to define [the fighters] in some ways. Obviously, the two fighters are going to play it off a bit, but in some way shape or form, regardless of what anybody wants to believe, it’s going to define them to a degree. This is a big fight that the public and the fans have really mandated and waited for and it’s happening, so it’s going to cause some kind of judgment to be cast on their legacies depending on the result of it, regardless of whether they want to believe it or not,” Malignaggi tells FightHype.
Malignaggi also believes that regardless of what Manny and Floyd say, the public will ultimately shape their opinions on both fighters overall.
“Sometimes your legacy, all it is really is based on public perception. You can have your own legacy and whether you want to believe the public perception or not is up to you, but public perception is a big thing and I think in this fight there’s going to be a lot of public perception once the fight is over.”
