By Edward Chaykovksy
Former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield left the MGM Grand feeling very unsatisfied last Saturday night. The Hall of Famer came to Las Vegas to watch the showdown pushed as the "Fight of The Century" as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally collided. Mayweather on a twelve round unanimous decision victory.
"I’ve attended the three biggest fights of the year so far: Deontay Wilder vs. Bermane Stiverne, Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings, and now Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. And you know what I’ve seen? Not much boxing. In 36 total rounds, I saw zero knockdowns. I saw a lot of holding and hugging, and a lot of running. I saw three, 12-round unanimous decisions," Holyfield told the Player's Tribune.
"What I didn’t see were punches being thrown and landed. No fighter in any of the three fights was ever threatened or even in trouble. I didn’t even see a fighter with a cut or a bruise after the fight. Everyone was just playing defense, trying not to get hit. The concept of fighting is simple: Hit the other guy and don’t let the other guy hit you. Today, there’s a whole lot of trying not to get hit and not a whole lot of hitting. How can you have a boxing match if guys aren’t throwing and landing punches? The answer is, you can’t."
Mayweather is a defensive wizard, but Holyfield is not laying the blame on him. He lays the blame on the officials who allow him to fight in the manner that he does.
"I don’t blame Mayweather. He might be the smartest fighter alive. The judges today are giving decisions to fighters who use defensive tactics, and he knows that. That’s why he’s now 48-0. He’s boxing according to the way judges are scoring the fights. He plays the system and he wins. That’s just another thing that makes him one of the all-time greats in this sport. But this is what boxing has become, I’m sad to say," Holyfield said.
"There was a time when fighters would get points for being aggressive and engaging the other fighter. There was also a time when fighters would get penalized for hugging and holding, and avoiding the opponent altogether. But that’s just not how boxing is anymore and that’s not how referees call the fights, either."
