Brian’s Boxing Mailbag (Manny Pacquiao Movie Idea? Floyd Mayweather/Don King Connection, Jean Pascal Crowned)
By Brian Wilbur
Hello boxing fans! Thank you for coming by RSR and checking out my mailbag. On Saturday we saw the crowning of a new Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion when Jean Pascal surprised the favorite Chad Dawson in a close and competitive fight. Dawson is unhappy with his treatment from the Canadian judge and referee and has already made up his mind to enact the rematch clause in his contract.
I look forward to the return match between these two elite champions. Pascal was the clear #2 light heavyweight in the world, behind only Dawson, prior to the match, which is why the vacant Ring belt was on the line. Hats off to both guys, especially Dawson for being willing to take these kinds of fights. In today’s era of safety first, boxers rarely take challenges of this nature in fear of suffering a loss. You can see this kind of behavior from Amir Khan for example, and to some degree Floyd Mayweather. The path to greatness is through the best available competition, even if it means a few losses on your record along the way.
The light heavyweight division is going to be an exciting one over the next few years with guys like Dawson and Pascal running the show. They both have the mentality that they will fight anyone anywhere. I am eager to see how guys like Glen Johnson, Tavoris Cloud, Bernard Hopkins and Lucian Bute factor in to the mix. At least hardcore fans have one division where the top contenders aren’t avoided. In the mailbag this week we try to figure out what is behind the budding partnership between Don King and Floyd Mayweather. Also, a couple Pacquiao emails for all the loyal Pacfans out there. Enjoy!
Mayweather/Don King Connection
I honestly believe the true reason why Floyd Jr. is trying to do business with Don King is due to the pressure from Golden Boy and HBO. HBO I believe has an existing contract with Golden Boy and under the pressure from HBO, Golden Boy was pushing for Floyd to fight Manny. Because Floyd doesn’t want to fight Manny Pacquiao, he tries to business with notorious Don King. Don King is the next biggest promoter, with Arum and Golden Boy being the top 2. Don King has been shown schmoozing Floyd Jr. with $500 lobster and showering Floyd with compliments. But I believe the reason why Floyd is seeking Don King’s help, is to help secure lesser risk fights and still get big money. Floyd has no intention of ever stepping into the ring with Manny. What is your take with this whole fiasco with Don King and Golden Boy? -BBM
BBM,
The whole Floyd Mayweather and Don King relationship came as a surprise to me. I don’t know what to make of it yet. Floyd has always been very vocal about not wanting to work with big time promoters because he feels like they take too big of a cut from his purse. This notion came from his days with Top Rank and a soured relationship with Bob Arum. Don King has a reputation of doing exactly what Floyd dislikes; taking large percentages from his boxers. Almost every big name boxer that King has ever worked with has made some kind of public statement with their displeasure of King’s honesty with their money.
If King and Mayweather really do start up a business relationship I will be left scratching my head. Floyd is always saying that he works for himself and puts down all of the boxers who are inked to Top Rank, Golden Boy, and other big promoters. I’m not sure what is going on here, but it smells fishy. I can’t disprove your theory that Mayweather is getting friendly with King as a way to avoid tough competition. However I don’t want to jump on that idea, and essentially slander Mayweather, until I have some evidence to suggest that that is what is going on.
Maybe Floyd just really wants to fight Ricardo Mayorga? Looking Back At Pacquiao vs. Cotto Hello Brian, I was just watching the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight again and discovered something that I didn’t notice the first time. Cotto really got in some good shots and even in the later rounds when he looked all done in he was constantly getting in some good punches. It is possible that the punching power he possesses had diminished because of fatigue and the beat down from Manny, but it seemed to me that Manny was able to eat his punches very easily.
There are two things that I am wondering about
1. How good is the defense of Manny in your opinion? I mean his offence is one form of a defense but it seemed to me that this could be a sign of weakness (in a fight that actually showed how good he is). I never thought he would be able to take the punches from a bigger man like Cotto. In the fight against Oscar he didn’t get hit. But in this fight it was more like: hit me I don’t care you can’t hurt me. He actually he used some Ali tactic in the first rounds when he looked like he was in over his head baiting Cotto in. As soon as he got his punches in Cotto seemed to have no chance. The punching power of Paquiao is frightening for his size.
2. How good is Pacquiao’s chin? I mean he hardly had any remark on his face after that fight and he got hit a lot. He seems to have some good chin. If Manny fights Floyd Jr. he would probably get hit a lot seeing as how other opponents like Cotto got to him. So the question is can he get to Floyd? I think it may be difficult since Floyd would not be lured into a fight like Cotto. Manny would be able to take punches well against Floyd.
Even though Floyd has a good chin too I think it might be a good strategy for Manny to use the old Frazier tactic of taking couple of punches to get one in (but not to recklessly though he needs to have that mindset). It seems to me these guys are evenly matched regarding they’re chins, speed, stamina and experience. But the Floyd as big advantage in defense and the technical side. Manny has amazing offence, is left handed and fights in a style of his own. This can all make troubles for Floyd. In my mind this fight can go to either one of them but I lean towards Floyd because I can’t get the image out of my mind of Manny throwing recklessly punches and getting hit and Floyd winning a points victory but having some scary moment’s along the way. -Olafur
Olafur,
Pacquiao’s surprising ability to take Cotto’s punches so effortlessly was what made that fight incredible. You are right, Cotto landed a lot of good shots, especially but not limited to the early rounds. My brain still cannot completely understand how that happened. Manny has a good chin, and like his power, it has followed him as he has moved up in weight, and perhaps has even improved at the higher weight classes. The Cotto fight is when I finally conceded that Pacquiao is a freak of nature and that standard laws do not apply. As for his defense, it used to be a liability, especially because he was so offensive-minded and one-dimensional.
However as he has moved up in weight he has improved his game in almost every aspect. His defense is very solid now, as was displayed in the Oscar De La Hoya and David Diaz fights. I knew that Cotto was going to be able to land some shots against Manny. Miguel is an elite offensive fighter and can land against any defense. His specialty is breaking down defenses with his fast, accurate, and educated power punches to both the body and the head. Cotto can land against anyone, and he did against Pacquiao, which is why I thought he had a real shot at upsetting the Pacquiao bandwagon. When Manny shrugged off Cotto’s best punch I knew the fight was over.
When I say that I knew that Cotto would be able to land against Pacquiao, that is not a knock on Manny’s defense, that is a compliment to Miguel Cotto’s prowess as an upper echelon prize fighter. Pacquiao does have above average defense, which is mostly based off of his footwork and ability to move out of punching range. He is difficult to tag cleanly as well due to the strange angles that he uses. In fights where he does not respect the punching power of his opponent, Pacquiao will make his offense his defense. In his bout with Joshua Clottey, Clottey was in a defensive shell so he went nuts, taking whatever opening was available.
Pacquiao would also stand right in front of Clottey, wait for him to throw, and then counter punch to put him back into his defensive shell. A fighter who throws as many punches as Pacquiao is not known for their defense even if they have a good one. Mayweather is always thinking defense first, which is why he rarely gets hit cleanly, and also why his fights are sometimes boring. Pacquiao is always thinking knockout, so he gets hit with punches that he would not get his with if he had a more defensive mentality like Mayweather.
Pacquiao’s chin is better than Floyd’s so he is able to use his aggressive fighting style. Floyd’s edge in defense and technical boxing is not as big as you might think. However even with that said, imagining a Mayweather decision win is not hard to do, and that could possibly be my prediction if the fight were signed.
Pacquiao Movie Idea
Brian,
Tim Burton of old was a master of the sinister and the occult. The Tim Burton of late is still quite laudable but seems to have taken the air of Joel Schumacher’s two Batman films (Batman & Robin especially) with all the disco-like colors he’s been incorporating in his recent movies. Although, he has yet to submit to the proverbial nipples of Schumacher, that’s what Charlie and The Chocolate Factory felt like. Burton’s last bad-ass flick was Sleepy Hollow… his headless horseman simply kicked ass. I have a solid plot for Pacquiao vs. Godzilla (Seriously I have written a script).
For the hell of it, I will let a brief summary grace your mailbag! Pacquiao vs. Godzilla Synopsis: Following his conquest over the best boxing champions of his era, 7-world-titlist Manny Pacquiao has run out of battles to fight. There is simply no one out there who is worthy of his fists. But when talks arise about a great Asian warrior awakening after years of slumber, Pacquiao’s esteemed promoter Bob Arum, wasting no time in jumping the pond for another potential moneymaker, decided to tap into the root of it all and found himself in the heart of Japan, face-to-face with the said warrior’s promoters.
After much talk with the Japanese and the rumors of the warrior who is apparently capable of squashing Pacquiao with one shot have spread across the globe like an unstoppable plague, Bob Arum is convinced that he has found one last goldmine to squeeze out of his ward, Pacquiao. There is just one underlying aspect that’s making Bob extremely uneasy about the whole thing – the Japanese won’t say who this great warrior is and will not reveal his identity until fight night! But with all the hype and blockbuster appeal this rumored match-up have hauled in worldwide, and with money in his eyes along with Pacquiao’s trust and permission, plus seeing that to let a fight of this scale would be a tremendous business error on his part, Bob signed on to every clause the Japanese have laid out for them.
After 3 months of heated press between team Pacquiao and the Japanese, the time for fighting is at last up and Pacquiao and Arum set their eyes wide on this great Japanese warrior: Godzilla! Cool? I’m retarded… but I think my entire draft, dialogue and stuff, makes it work! Lol 🙂 -SJ
SJ,
Good luck selling that script to Hollywood! I’d pay for a movie ticket to see that. Well…I’d at least rent it. That’s all ladies and gents. Thanks for reading, come back next time, and send in your emails!