Peter Quillin(31-0, 22KO’s) was only a month a way from his chance to dethrone WBO World Middleweight champion Andy Lee(34-2, 24KO’s) when he gave Thaboxingvoice.com his thoughts on the upcoming super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr(47-0, 26KO’s) and Manny Pacquiao(57-5-2, 38KO’s) on May 2nd.
He touched on the fight in the broadest of strokes.
“Mayweather is considered the best boxer in the world, the best pugilist in the world. A lot will consider Manny the best fighter in the world. So you get the two different styles that night, and you know it’s gon’ be an awesome atmosphere.”
For the uninitiated, the distinction Quillin draws here is fundamental to the intrigue of this fight. Mayweather is a practitioner of ‘the sweet science’; to land scoring blows on your opponent while taking as few as possible in return. Pacquiao, the fighter, casts aside the obvious benefits of a water-tight defence in order to sustain a two-fisted attack, of which a knockout would be the desired result if not absolutely necessary. The coming together of these styles and how completely either fighter can implement their game is what every boxing fan has wanted to know for years.
They are opposites to one and other, and interesting to note that each man’s fighting style contrast starkly with his presented personalities outside the ring. Between the ropes Mayweather is calculating, conservative, precise; he is provable. He rarely gambles and only throws punches he is close to certain will land. Contrastingly, in the numerous behind-the-scenes T.V shows that have detailed his preparations for big fights, we see he is gaudy, a glutton for wealth, and apparently careless in the way he spends his earnings. Manny is the same way inverted; his calm, happy demeanour dissipates into a vicious snarl when he bangs together his gloves after taking a decent shot, before he marauds forward in an explosion of speed and force.
Nobody can be sure how their styles will match up or to whose favor advantage, but Peter Quillin gives a very different reason for whom he favours, one far removed from the mechanics and tactical approaches of modern boxing, from the economically challenged home they both sprung out of.
“Well you know, I’m from Grand Rapids, Michigan, so anytime somebody make it out of that place where I’m from, I’m always gon’ give them the biggest shot to win, cuz you know it’s hard for me to get out of there.”
Another vote for Mayweather.
