The Floyd Mayweather JR – Manny Pacquiao Story: The Pound for Pound King Crowned
By Geno McGahee
On October 3rd, 1998, a 130 pound Floyd Mayweather, JR., stepped into the ring with the tough veteran and holder of the WBC Super Featherweight Title, Genaro Hernandez, 38-1-1, 17 KO’s. Hernandez’s only defeat on his record was to a prime Oscar De La Hoya, where he quit in the 6th round due to a severely broken nose. It was nothing to be ashamed of.
After De La Hoya, Hernandez put together six straight victories, including a win over the great Azumah Nelson, leading into a defense against the 17-0 Mayweather, JR. HBO showed the fight to the fans and it was a great moment for Floyd, but despite the great exposure and outstanding performance, not too many heads would turn. He was far from a household name.
Floyd made 8 successful title defenses before moving up to 135 pounds, the lightweight division, and took the WBC Title from another very tough and aggressive veteran of 51 fights, Jose Luis Castillo. Due to the controversy and the contention that Castillo won the fight, the two would rematch immediately and it would lead to another unanimous decision for Floyd.
After three defenses, Floyd made the smartest move of his career and it would forever change his image. He went after one of the most popular fighters in recent history, the then WBC Light Welterweight Champion, Arturo “Thunder” Gatti.
It would be a pay per view event, based mostly on the appeal of the “blood and guts” warrior, Gatti. Gatti would pick up the title with a second round stoppage of the unknown Leonard Dorin, and have five straight victories leading into the Mayweather fight, but the three bouts with Micky Ward, two of which were won by Gatti, made him a household name. It was a perfect picture of what Gatti was. He was a warrior. He would never give up, but even with his warrior’s heart, Mayweather targeting him was no accident and there was no intention to go to war.
Mayweather, JR., learned the business of boxing. He could fight Jose Luis Castillo a million times and people would not blink an eye, but if he had a popular mediocrity that captured the hearts of the public, he could face very little risk for a boatload of reward.
The fight took place on June 25th, 2005, and it was what most with any boxing knowledge knew it would be. It was a one-sided beating of an overmatched and gutsy fighter. Floyd easily captured the title and moved on to a pay per view attraction, using the Gatti name to make the leap.
Floyd would take on popular rival Zab Judah in another high profile PPV showdown and have a bumpy road en route to a decision win and then, after a terrible fight with a no-hoper by the name of Carlos Baldomir, he made another great business decision. He targeted Oscar De La Hoya.
De La Hoya was far past his prime, but Floyd saw what he could do with the name, much like he did with Gatti. A familiar face with a proven track record of selling pay per views would launch Floyd all that much more, and it would be very low risk. De La Hoya was 2-2 going into the Floyd fight, and really should have been 1-3, considering that most believe that he lost to Felix Sturm and got the gift decision. His one victory was over the wild-swinging Ricardo Mayorga, but it was enough and high profile enough to get him into this fight. The name alone: “De La Hoya” was enough to pack the stadium.
The “world awaited” the fight, which was really a mismatch at this point. The reflexes of De La Hoya weren’t what they once were and he would not be able to be crisp enough to find Floyd behind his defense. The fight would end up in the favor of Floyd by split decision, although there is no question that he won it, and he would pick up the WBC Light Middleweight title as well.
After the fight, there was the rampant rumor that Floyd and Oscar had a closed door deal that they would fight a close fight and lead to a bigger payday in a rematch. When a rematch was materializing, those making this contention quickly pointed to it as evidence of their claim.
In 2007, Floyd would take on Ricky Hatton, the limited British brawler and stop him inside of 10 rounds to take the WBC Welterweight Title. He would then negotiate a rematch with De La Hoya, but then shock the boxing world when he announced his retirement. With Floyd Mayweather, SR., training De La Hoya for the rematch, it was reported that Floyd would not be able to mentally handle his dad being across the ring from him and that prompted his removal from boxing.
During his retirement, a star emerged: Manny Pacquiao.
On November 15th, 2003, a 125 pound Manny Pacquiao stepped into the ring with pound for pound top 10 fighter and Mexican warrior, Marco Antonio Barrera, on HBO. Barrera brought in a record of 57-3, and was highly favored to defeat the Filipino fighter, but to the shock of many, he was beaten convincingly, stopped in the 10th round.
In 2005, Manny would move up to take on Erik Morales at the super featherweight level, 130 pounds. Morales would use his experience and ring smarts to control Pacquiao, and take the unanimous decision. Manny would not lose again.
Two more bouts would take place between the two and Morales would be punished, stopped twice in 2006, once in the 10th round and the other time in the 3rd round. Under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, Manny developed into a more complete fighter, and it was showing.
In the absence of Mayweather, JR., Manny became the biggest draw in boxing, having memorable showdowns with Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz, Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch, along with knockout wins over Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya. The comparison was made to Floyd and the showdown had to happen, but the businessman Mayweather tried to find a way around it.
Out of all the Pacquiao opponents, Juan Manuel Marquez gave Manny the most trouble. He would fight to a draw in their first fight, barely lose a split decision in their second, and be avoided afterwards. Floyd knew that Marquez was too small to put a dent in him and quickly chose him to face for his comeback fight.
Marquez was a mismatch size-wise and style-wise and anyone with any boxing knowledge didn’t draw the conclusion that “Floyd beat Marquez easy and Marquez gave Manny trouble, so Floyd is better than Manny…they don’t even need to fight.” The fight between Manny and Floyd was hotter than ever and the two began negotiating, but then the mud began to sling.
Pacquiao started his career at 106 pounds and was a solid muscular fighter with incredible power at 140 pounds, leading to the speculation that he is on steroids and this was formally alleged by team Mayweather, leading to the collapse in negotiations and a lawsuit for slander. ESPN’s Teddy Atlas noted of a rumored email from Team Pacquiao, asking what penalty there would be for a positive test for steroids during the preparation for the fight, which has been categorically denied by everyone on the Manny side, but it still plants the seed of doubt in the head of many boxing fans.
With so much money to be made, why not just take the tests? That sort of logic has led to many leaning toward the Mayweather, JR., argument, but whether it is right or it is wrong, the two fighters moved on without each other. Manny defeated Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, and Antonio Margarito, while Floyd feasted on the over the hill Sugar Shane Mosley in another business move…a big name with very little risk…we’re beginning to see a pattern here.
Floyd Mayweather JR – Manny Pacquiao take three has not gone any better than the first two negotiations attempts. Mayweather, JR., now has a new ridiculous demand: 100 million dollars….yes, he wants 100 million dollars to take on Pacquiao, which translates into…and I hate to say this, fear of Pacquiao. There is no other way to look at this. When Roy Jones, JR., was offered Mike Tyson, he wanted the same exact amount…pricing himself out of the fight, and that is what happened here. Floyd will fight again, but not against Manny. He wants zero part of him.
Now, Pacquiao has apparently taken a page out of the Floyd playbook, taking on two no-hopers in Margarito and Shane Mosley in May, business decisions, but he has earned his spot at the top of the game by beating the best available opponents. Floyd, if he is the pound for pound best, must defend it against the most logical contender. When Pernell Whitaker held that crown, he fought often against the best available opponents, and so do most of the men that have that distinction. It’s not only about being the best, but by continuing to prove it. Floyd has lost his fighter’s heart and is strictly going for the best business move rather then what is good for his legacy and what’s good for boxing.
This fight between the two superstars of today will not happen. Give it up people. Floyd doesn’t want it and nobody is going to pay him 100 million and even if they did, Floyd would come up with other demands. It is time to crown Pacquiao the pound for pound king by forfeit.