Mayweather – Pacquiao negotiations
All of this is being blamed on Mayweather, the notion being he does not want the fight. Maybe he does not want to risk losing. We’ve had Pacquiao appear on camera saying he’s agreed to every stipulation the Mayweather camp asked for and goading Mayweather to sign, saying he’s holding things up, implying Floyd does not want to fight him.
Rubbish.
It’s hard for this pundit, for anyone writing about this great sport, to know what’s going on behind closed doors in negotiations. We all rely on the boxing writers who have the best sources, on the sites that get the interviews with the players that matter.
And all of the noise coming out of boxing right now says that the contract is almost there but there are still negotiations going on. In other words, Pacquiao is full of hot air, both sides are at the table and Mayweather is no more responsible for holding things up than is Pacquiao.
Indeed, last week, Pacquiao’s own agent, Fred Sternburg, told the BBC in the U.K. that negotiations were ongoing and that there was still “a long ways to go” before the deal would be signed. Simply put: the deal ain’t done and the fighters can’t fight until the contract is delivered.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.: boxing legend
Mayweather afraid to fight Pacquiao? Are you kidding? He’s a machine. The greatest tactician in boxing and his punches carry weight. Maybe not always the most exciting fighter but truly a machine; he waits, he waits, he pounces. He owns the highest percentage of punches thrown and connected than any other boxer.
He’s been accused of taking too many punches at times, but you know what? Floyd Mayweather Jr. also has the highest plus/minus record in boxing, the number of punches thrown and landed on his opponents, subtracted from the amount thrown and landed on him. He’s a +24.
Pacquiao’s a great fighter, no question he is right behind Mayweather as the number two pound for pound fighter in boxing. He is arguably more exciting, yes, though for my money watching the strategy of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. play out, much of it learned from his trainer/father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., is fascinating. Seeing how patient he is, knowing he’ll find an opening and strike quickly and hard.
Manny Pacquiao, at 36, has slowed down more than Mayweather at 37. Sure, flashes of his old self when he beat Chris Algieri in November, but consider who he beat. A feel good story, Algieri, but not an elite boxer. Meanwhile, the Pac Man’s recent losses to Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley showed he’s no longer the same fighter.
Mayweather fights, Mayweather wins
You can’t run up a professional record of 47-0 without deserving it. That is a lot of fights. And yes, as I and others have noted, there are some fighters Mayweather hooked up with that weren’t of his calibre, but he’s not unlike the great actor Michael Caine in that regard.
Caine is famous for taking on any and all film offers and has appeared in 150 movies. Why the bad along with the good? He said if he just waited for the good movies to come along he’d be rusty when they did, so he kept working in order to be at the top of his game when that great part was offered.
Look, you don’t get to be undefeated, just two fights shy of Rocky Marciano’s 49-0, without being a great, great fighter. And you don’t get there by ducking fighters, even the great ones like Manny Pacquiao. They will fight and Floyd Mayweather will win.
Mark my words — Marcus my words — it’s a done deal.
