Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are always battling. Even their fan base fights each other by going to Twitter and calling one another Flo-mos or Pac-tards. Although they have never actually fought each other yet, they are always trying to out do one another. Their recent choice in opponents is no different. Both guys made huge statements by their selections, which is great for the sport but most importantly, the fans.
After losing two straight fights, one by botched decision and one by devastating knockout, Pacquiao will return against Brandon Rios (31-1-1) in November. Any one who was watching his last fight thought the old Manny was back and appeared to be on his way to stopping Juan Manuel Marquez. However, fate would intervene in the form of a lucky punch or skillful overhand counter, depending on who you ask. The punch left Pacquiao out cold and motionless. A lot of fans and critics say he is done and should retire. He could have took a light puncher as a warm up fight but he choose the heavy handed Brandon Rios to show he is fine and still among boxing elite. In my opinion, the loss makes Pacquiao dangerous. Expect a top notch performance from the ‘Pacman’ in November.
Last month, Floyd Mayweather destroyed Robert Guerrero in a boring fight but displayed his masterful skills. There was a lot of scrutiny on whether Guerrero even deserved the shot at Mayweather and that Floyd was taking the easy way out. This lead to Mayweather-Guerrero not doing very good pay per view numbers and Showtime supposedly losing $12 million on it. The huge financial loss to Showtime put pressure on Mayweather to make a fight the fans want. So Mayweather pulled a play out of Pacquiao’s playbook and set up a bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1) at a catch-weight of 152 pounds. Mayweather has given Pacquiao a lot of crap for catch-weights in the past saying, “I look at Miguel Cotto as an undefeated fighter because he faced Pacquiao, but Pacquiao caught him at a catch weight. He wasn’t the best Miguel Cotto. He was drained. He wasn’t hydrated.” So although Mayweather may come out of this slightly a hypocrite, fans are still excited about the match-up. I personally hate catch weights but as Mayweather found out they are a necessary evil when making fight negotiations.
If all things go according to plan, both Floyd and Manny win and look good doing it, does that mean the dream fight is still alive? I would say so. There is no more lucrative fight to make currently than a Mayweather-Pacquiao pay per view. People will say Pacquiao can’t beat him but styles make fights and Mayweather hasn’t faced a style like Pacquiao’s. The fights chances of actually happening however are slim, due to the Cold War between the promoters. The boxing world will have to keep dreaming.
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