The debate between who will win between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is as intense as ever before, and the argument will only gain more steam as the fight gets closer.
Most insiders assume Mayweather is a lock to win the fight while maintaining the idea that Pacquiao at least packs enough of a punch to have a small chance to dethrone Floyd. At least a better chance than most. Pacquiao fans shouldn’t take the experts’ pick too harshly because it is the safe bet and in a sport that judges its authorities on consistency you can’t be wrong with the kind of attention this fight is receiving.
That said, picking Mayweather in this fight isn’t a bad pick, either. He is a great counter-puncher and an all-time-great boxer with skills that have gone unparalleled throughout his career.
However, there is a case to be made that Floyd is already winning the fight and will take with him an uncalculated advantage heading into round one of his May 2nd bout with Pacquiao.
Former HBO commentator and legendary reporter Larry Merchant was recently interviewed by Thaboxingvoice.com’s Nestor Gibbs, and in the interview Merchant brought light to the fact that it is possible to use the negotiations as a mental strategy over an opponent. The winner of the negotiations cements himself as the man to beat heading into the fight.
“Mayweather is the driver of these huge events and it’s to his advantage to be able to call the shots because negotiations are in these fights like the pre-fight fight. Who can dictate the terms, who’s got the bigger impact on the event, and sometimes that can even effect what happens in the ring,” Merchant told Thaboxingvoice.com.
It is a fair enough point, but ultimately Pacquiao fans can take solace in the fact that the Filipino fighter is no typical B-side.
When Floyd fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2005, there were many that suggested De La Hoya had an advantage heading into the fight based on Floyd’s lack of “big fight” experience. The notion was baseless, and Mayweather won the fight despite being the B-side fighter.
Both fighters have been in enough “big fights” to suggest the atmosphere and mind games won’t play a major role, if at all, in this fight and we can be confident that the fighters’ abilities will ultimately be the deciding factor.
Now… about those judges?
