Floyd Mayweather Jr(47-0, 26KO’s) vs Manny Pacquiao(57-5-2, 38KO’s) is more than a boxing match. It is a global sporting event that seemed highly unlikely before it was announced earlier this year. Calls for the fight were first made six years ago. These calls grew louder and louder until a lack of action turned them into groans of tedium, only to be reinvigorated when the possibility of it finally happening became clear. Now we are on the cusp of that opening bell. It’s finally here.
The boxing cognoscenti have had their say; everyone from trainers to fighters to pundits to writers. Most favour Mayweather, some Pacquiao, all will watch. Three welterweight world titles are on the line at the MGM Grand on May 2nd but they are not important. This fight will be contested for the right to be called the best of this generation and it deserves all the attention it is getting.
Anyone who follows the sport closely will be aware that over the last few years all of the media outlets that cover the Noble Art have been wondering aloud why this fight hasn’t taken place already. The reasons, whether they were financial, personal or otherwise were never good enough. We all asked why, but now that doesn’t matter. Nor does it matter that both men have aged and some would say noticeably declined. It’s not even a bother that we’re all paying through the nose for it. It just doesn’t matter.
The wait we have had to endure is only part of the reason a large portion of the entire globe will tune into this bout. Mayweather and Pacquiao have similar backstories; born into strife and want only to exceed the limits of human potential through their pugilistic pursuits. But they represent different things. Mayweather’s image is that of individual success. The cars, the jewellery, the houses and the women are all indicators of his status. He fights for himself, his brands; TMT(The Money Team) and Mayweather Promotions, and of course for the money. He answers to no one, and if you don’t like it you can get out. He is a brash perfectionist whose mastery of the sweet science is unequalled, and he knows it.
Pacquiao looks like the more jovial character, always laughing and playing around even throughout his ring walks. His political career in his native Philippines and his relatively new God-fearing persona combine to make him seem more wholesome than his American counterpart. He is small and unassuming until he enters the ring, a place he has endeavoured to turn into one of Hell’s seven circles for his opponents. He is ferocious but flawed; a punching machine whose mind wanders from his defensive duties. Nevertheless, he has overwhelmed the vast majority of the men he has faced.
Both have ascended through the weight divisions, dominating bigger men who just could not handle the skill set they have brought along with them to every big dance they have attended. This is the biggest, and it tickles a very primal desire within all of us that needs to see who the baddest motherfucker on the planet is.
All logical roads lead to a Mayweather victory. He controls the action in the ring as if it is a video game he long ago mastered. He knows all the cheats. He finds pockets of space when he is heavily pressured. He controls the distance with his jab and the tiniest of steps. He slips, dodges and blocks punches that look sure to land and counters unexpectedly. He puts combinations together intermittently between long periods of single shots and movement around the ring. These are the nuances of the game and he dictates the action better than anybody. And he’s not just taller than Pacquiao, but physically bigger and most likely stronger too.
Pacquiao’s best asset going into this fight is his speed; hands and feet. Mayweather has not fought anyone during the course of his lauded undefeated run that possesses these characteristics in equal measure with Pacquiao. He flits in and out of punching range with relative impunity, and will let a ten-punch combo off at the drop of a hat when the target is there, sometimes even when it isn’t. His straight left hand from the southpaw stance is a destructive weapon and his right hook is an underrated tool. He makes up for his technical deficits with a desire to keep throwing punches.
All in all Mayweather brings the more complete package into the biggest fight this century. He exhibits fewer flaws and adjusts his approach from round to round like a supercomputer analysing data at an unfathomable rate. If he can measure Pacquiao’s speed and combinations to make him miss early on, this fight is a foregone conclusion. But Pacquiao’s style is far from orthodox; he often jumps in swinging his fists from the waist at strange trajectories and so will present a novel challenge for Mayweather. In the past, Pacquiao has been made to pay for his gung-ho attacks, so perhaps he will continue in the more cautious vein of his recent outings.
A points win or a late stoppage for ‘Money’ May seems the most plausible outcomes, but that is just preamble. The apprehension that comes along with the unknown, especially in this context, can be almost unbearable. We all can throw out our opinions with as much certainty as we please but we will not know until The Fight is in progress. It will be the swiftest thirty-six minutes ever to pass and the world will mourn when it is over. Here’s to the rematch.
