The Manny Pacquiao – Floyd Mayweather JR Meltdown: Where the Fault Lies
By Geno McGahee
I think it’s safe to say that the boxing world is about as disappointed as it can be at this moment. The fight that everyone wanted has fallen through. Bob Arum was quick to note a missed deadline for Floyd Mayweather, JR., to agree to a fight with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao, while Team Mayweather contended that there was never even a negotiation taking place. RSR can confirm that there was, and now the picture may be coming clear.
Floyd Mayweather, JR., 41-0, 25 KO’s, has had the reputation of being a businessman first, and a fighter second. When tests would arise that may challenge his unblemished record, he has often bowed out, citing different reasons. When Antonio Margarito was in line for a shot at Mayweather, JR., he declined, stating that it was not a marketable fight. Kostya Tszyu showed interest that was never reciprocated. Mayweather, much like he does in the ring, picks his spots, and there is no real reason at this point why he cannot fight Pacquiao…at least on the surface.
Manny Pacquiao, 51-3-2, 38 KO’s, has appeared to be a fighter first, businessman secondly, although most would contend that he lost the number of Juan Manuel Marquez when he nearly beat him on two occasions. There was no need to tempt fate again. He has made a name for himself as a fearless brawler, that enjoys being in fights. He is quick and has great timing, and is just the opponent to test the impregnable defense of Mayweather, JR. The people want this fight. They want the fight more than any other fight in boxing over the last ten years, but it’s not happening. Let’s explore the reasons.
Roger Mayweather
The last thing that you want to do when you are going into the biggest fight of you life is to switch trainers. It has been evident time and time again that there is an adjustment period when fighters move from trainer to trainer because all are different and you can see a fighter do different things depending on what they are being taught. Roger Mayweather, the trainer of Floyd Mayweather, JR., is in quite a bit of trouble after beating up a woman and choking her out. He will hopefully be locked up for a while, but what’s good for humanity may not be good for boxing. Without Roger, this fight will not proceed and this is, I’m assuming, the big reason why this fight is not happening.
Sabotage
The sly Bob Arum may not have clean hands here. Pacquiao may have five more fights in him before he calls it a day and should he fight Floyd, he would most likely lose, and his marketability may plummet because of it. If he should fight some recognizable names in fights that he should easily win, it might make that much more money over the course of time.
Despite the objections of Luis Resto returning to the ring, Bob Arum had no problem bringing back Antonio Margarito, a fighter of similar offense. He had loaded gloves. He knew he had loaded gloves and he and his trainer were loading them for some time. Prior to the discovery, Margarito went on a spree of destruction, plowing over the opposition with the bricks he had on his hands, but when he went into a fight without the Plaster of Paris on his hands, he was dominated and left in a heap by an old Shane Mosley. The fact is: Margarito + plaster in gloves = top fighter. Margarito – plaster in gloves = mediocrity.
The positive thing that has come out of Margarito’s bad ways has been his appeal as a bad boy of boxing and Arum knows that he can sell him as an opponent for Pacquiao and people may actually think it’s a competitive fight. Even if they didn’t, Mike Tyson sold fights just on the “I wonder what he’s going to do,” factor. Margarito may have that same appeal.
On November 13th, we will see Margarito in the ring with Pacquiao and we will see the “PacMan” pummel him into early submission, and Arum will laugh all the way to the bank. This bird is in the hand is better than the two in the bush. Arum’s interest may have been in this route then the shot at Floyd, where he could lose his cash cow.
Better Safe than Sorry
There is a widespread contention by the Pacnuts that Floyd Mayweather, JR., is afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao. They would probably say the same thing about Wladimir Klitschko…but you have to take what blind groupie fans say with a grain of salt. I have seen articles by “writers,” which just about anyone can be a writer that has a laptop and an email address, jumping on this contention as well. You have to cut through the garbage here and draw your own conclusions and amazingly, they may not be that far off the mark.
When you look at the career of Mayweather, it is very impressive, but when he established himself as the man to beat, he began to play it safer then he did throughout his early career. The fight with Pacquiao would be his toughest, on paper, since his fight with Diego Corrales in 2001. He has beaten a lot of good fighters, but few were in their prime when they eventually met.
Boxing is a business and sometimes not doing what the public wants is better in the long run, but with the money on the table for this fight, it’s hard to imagine Floyd not wanting it, unless he has some trepidation. The two fights where Floyd was hurt were against Zab Judah and DeMarcus Corley, both southpaws. Pacquiao is a more complete fighter than either Judah or Corley and would not stop punching. Floyd had issues with Jose Luis Castillo. There may be some major concern about fighting Pacquiao from Floyd, and it may not be worth the gamble when he could fight anyone else and make great money in the process.
A big problem, really, is that Floyd has nothing to prove. When he fought Corrales, he was an unknown to most of boxing and he needed to put together some signature wins to establish himself. Now he is known worldwide and win or lose to Pacquiao, they have a spot reserved for him at the Hall of Fame. He is always working on his own terms and will not be dictated to, no matter how much the fans are begging for the fight.
One More Power Play
When the fight was all but set, Floyd Mayweather, JR., demanded specific steroid testing for Pacquiao, which was quickly refused and just as quickly, the fight fell apart. Time passed, and they sat down again to speak and that was ironed out, but once again, the fight evaporated and Floyd went on vacation. Is this a power play by Money Mayweather?
There is no question that both men are a draw, but PPV buys proves that Floyd is the “Money” going into this fight. He knows that the fans want to see him tested and know that no other fighter can do it but Pacquiao. He also probably realizes that Margarito or a Miguel Cotto rematch would not put a blemish on the record of his future foe and therefore, they are not a threat to him. He can come back at any time and say: “I agree to fight” and it will be on for the 13th of November.
Floyd is the master of mental warfare and this could be another example of it. It’s hard to imagine it is, but it’s certainly a possibility. We will find out in the near future because the fans are feeling shunned and are losing interest. They are refusing to salivate over food they will never get.
Who’s to Blame
The blame has to fall, at this point, on Floyd Mayweather, JR. If he wanted the fight, he would have the fight and it would be based mostly on his terms. Pacquiao, by all indications wants the fight. He wants to be the undisputed best in boxing but he has to beat Floyd in order to be that. I’m interested to see what happens with Roger Mayweather. Should he come out of his legal troubles in decent shape and ready to train, will the fight be on? I believe that this is the biggest obstacle and once it’s out of the way, let’s hope that we have the mega fight that we all want.