Sergio Martinez & Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather JR: Nowhere Left to Hide
By Geno McGahee
There are three fighters now with the claim of “Pound for Pound Best” in boxing, and all three claims have strong arguments.
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather, JR., 41-0, 25 KO’s, believes he is the best, but has been unwilling to prove it against the peoples’ choice, Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao, 52-3-2, 38 KO’s. As it has been widely reported over and over again, the fight of the decade, the fight that the entire world seems to want, has fallen through on two occasions. The first time was linked to rumored steroid use by Pacquiao and refusal to adhere to specific testing that Team Mayweather demanded, and the second time seemed to be a lack of interest in the fight by Floyd, perhaps linked to his Uncle/Trainer Roger Mayweather getting locked up for beating a woman.
The disappointment spread across the boxing world as Pacquiao proceeded to take on Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito, two fighters that were not in his league, while Floyd beat up a totally shot Shane Mosley. The two fighters seemed so much superior to everyone else with laced up gloves that the public cannot handle them fighting anyone else. There has to be a Mayweather – Pacquiao showdown, but there is now another acceptable option.
Sergio Martinez, 46-2-2, 25 KO’s, the current middleweight champion is looking for a showdown with Floyd at 154, but I expect the willingness to face him will be equal or lesser then his wanting to face Manny.
Martinez flew under the radar for a long time, but he continued to win. His mixture of boxing and punching, southpaw stance, natural talent, and heart made him a big player in boxing, and with his most recent win, he’s now on the same level of Floyd and Manny.
Paul “The Punisher” Williams was widely considered the “most avoided man in boxing,” and was clearly avoided by Kelly Pavlik, which opened up the opportunity for Martinez to step in and face him in 2009. It was a back and forth war, with both fighters down and stunned at one time or another. Williams would walk away with a majority decision in a fight that should have probably been a draw. The ridiculous 119-110 score for Williams was another slap in the face of Martinez, who had taken some lumps from the sport’s shady side.
Prior to his first fight with Williams, he took on Kermit Cintron, and was not only robbed of a knockout win, but robbed of a clear victory as well. Cintron would be dropped and the referee basically stopped the action, let Cintron recover, and restarted the fight. The fight went on and it was scored a draw, but everyone that has ever seen that fight has scored it for Martinez by a great margin. It was a robbery.
In April of 2010, Martinez moved up to middleweight to take on long time champion, Kelly Pavlik, and used his superior mobility and boxing skills to outland and eventually batter the champion and took his titles. It was incredibly impressive.
On November 20th, the rematch that many waited for took place, and it took place out of necessity for both men. There weren’t too many fighters eager to face off against Williams or Martinez, and after the amazing first fight they had, it was an easy sale. The fans expected a repeat, but Martinez would show his underrated power and knock Williams out cold in the second round, avenging the loss and sending a message to the boxing world and namely Pacquiao and Mayweather. There was another fighter with claim to the spot.
As of now, Floyd has no fight set, although there are negotiations with Pacquiao rumored to be occurring at this moment. Pacquiao would seem like a better option than Martinez at this point, for several reasons for Floyd.
Pacquiao is a much higher profile contest for Mayweather at this time. He has had successful pay per view after successful pay per view, beating notable opponents along the way. He has won the majority of his big fights in dominating fashion, destroying many fighters that Floyd had difficulties with. He is the new Mike Tyson, a destroyer that keeps coming, forcing the opponent into a game of survival rather than one in the pursuit of victory. He is seen as unbeatable at this stage of his career and if Floyd were to defeat him, it would be the biggest thing in his career and solidify him as the best fighter in the game.
Manny is smaller and more manageable. Floyd would have a world of trouble with Martinez’s style and would have to work incredibly hard to win. Pacquiao will come right at him and Floyd can work with that. He enjoys being the counter puncher and would have more opportunities with Manny then Sergio.
There is a story with Pacquiao-Mayweather, JR. There is high drama. Steroids allegations, law suits, nasty comments from the fans of both fighters, and plenty of media hype surrounding this fight. Prize fighting is about the prize, and there is a world of money involved in a showdown, much more then one with Martinez.
Floyd is not immune to the critics and fans and would most likely opt for a showdown with Pacquiao to silence them. It appears that Floyd wanted to take certain fights that would place him above Pacquiao and convince the public that he could beat him without actually fighting him. Juan Manuel Marquez is a great example of a fighter used to push Floyd’s agenda. He easily beat the man that gave Pacquiao hell, but styles make fights and it was a mismatch on size and style. It was a business move to face him.
Pacquiao is on the verge of retirement or so he says. This may be a ploy to get Floyd out of his “retirement” and back into the ring into a huge showdown. Martinez is eagerly awaiting another fall through in negotiations to throw his name in the hat. Pacquiao vs. Martinez may be the most likely scenario considering Floyd’s past behavior and unwillingness to take on the best in the game.
A decision has to be made by Mayweather. Martinez and Pacquiao have both shown in recent fights that they are willing to fight any available fighter that the public wants them to face, while Mayweather, the businessman, has sat on the sidelines, carefully selecting his opposition, seeking the most money for the least risk. The public wants more than that.