Camp Floyd's ploy: engineer a decision win

Camp Floyd's ploy: engineer a decision win December 17, 8:59 PMHouston Boxing ExaminerMarv Dumon Intro: Nearly 2,500 years ago, Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu declared in his timeless treatise The Art of War: "The battle is won before it is fought." The actual battle itself is but the fourth and last element - not the first - in the four variables that decide a contest. The four factors that decide an outcome are: 1. Psychological / Mental State 2. Arsenal / Tools / Miscellaneous Variables 3. Environment / Weather / Landscape Conditions 4. Actual Battle According to Sun Tzu, a military commander wins the Actual Battle ( no. 4 ) by first creating favorable conditions. We attribute these conditions as: (1) the psychological / mental state, (2) arsenal / tools / miscellaneous variables, and (3) environment / weather / landscape conditions. Collectively, we label numbers 1 to 3 as "Pre-Fight Ploys." As "Master" Freddie Roach has employed techniques that utilized pre-fight ploys to secure favorable conditions for his fighter, so too now does Camp Mayweather attempt to use these factors to sway the battle in their favor. They are attempting to engineer a decision win on behalf of their client. These pre-fight efforts will lead to a win or loss on March 13th. Behind the Scenes: The First Ploy ( Psychological / Mental State ): require Olympic drug-testing. The Mayweathers are already aware that the Pacman has passed all of his tests, and therefore, he has been clean. The requirement of more stringent tests is a psychological / mental attack at their opponent. They want Manny to enter the fight angry. When a boxer is emotional, he thinks less. Floyd's strategy for winning this fight is by way of his mental prowess: real-time adjustments and surgical jabs or counters. Pacquiao is angry at the steroids accusation. Ploy # 1 has succeeded. The Second Ploy ( Arsenal / Tools / Miscellaneous ): In an interview with Sky Sports, Freddie Roach stated that Camp Mayweather had wanted a 154 lb. junior welterweight limit. Reportedly, Manny has agreed to a more natural 147 lb limit. On fight night, Manny will likely weigh 149 lbs. Floyd will likely weigh around 156 lbs. Now, Floyd is allegedly demanding leeway and wiggle room as to the contracted weight, meaning he can come in heavier. Camp Mayweather appears to have also secured the right for each fighter to wear their own preferred gloves. Manny will wear the 8 oz. Cleto Reyes "puncher's" gloves, which has much less padding and better grip. Mayweather gets to wear the Japanese Winning gloves. These have more padding, and thus, enhances the blocking ability of the user. It also diminishes one's punching power. That tells you Floyd will not go for a KO. He wants a decision win. Which supports the various plots for engineering a decision win. The Third Ploy ( Environment / Weather / Landscape Conditions ): There is talk of the venue between Las Vegas or Dallas. By all indications, Cowboys Stadium owner Jerry Jones is giving the best offer on the table: $25 million. For a one night event, that is a huge fee! He can absorb the cost. Mr. Jones has several value drivers. He wants his new $1.2 billion stadium to be favored as a multi-sport mega-center where the NFL, Super Bowl, college football, basketball, extreme sports, boxing / MMA, conventions and other recreational or business events can be hosted. Plus, he has not been successful in selling the naming rights for his new stadium (i.e., Ebay Stadium or McDonald's Stadium, instead of just Cowboys Stadium), which will cost any company several hundred million dollars. Mr. Jones stadium may be impressive, but it is also riddled with debt. Mr. Jones may be a billionaire, but his wonder stadium is nothing but a giant negative cash flow. He is desperate for the mega fight. Desperation gives high bids. But Camp Floyd is rejecting the most lucrative (and desperate) offer. Why? Because holding the fight in Dallas sabotages their decision win engineering efforts. Second, Camp Floyd knows that 90% of the attendees will be loudly chanting Manny! Manny! Manny! Team Mayweather knows that whatever the venue or city is, they will face a hostile environment. Therefore, they want to minimize this level of hostility. They want the fight in Las Vegas because the hosting casino will have less than 18,000 fans inside the arena. That is much less of a hostile crowd than 100,000-plus fans in Cowboys Stadium. Do you want 16,000 Pacquiao fans or 90,000 Pacquiao fans cheering for your downfall? They want less hostile fans. Camp Floyd wants the fight in Vegas. Additionally, if you have the fight in Dallas, the 90,000 Pacquiao fans (Filipinos, Filipino-Americans, Mexicans, Latinos, Caucasians, etc.), that would place tremendous pressure on the judges to vote for Pacquiao in the late championship rounds should the bout be a close fight. A smaller arena places less pressure on judges should the bout be a close one. Boxing is a sport / entertainment venue without standardization. Judges, referees, officials, and ringside physicians come from all walks of life. They have to work a regular-full-time job somewhere else in order to support their pugilistic passion. This year, we saw several horrendous scores. Texas judge Gale Van Hoy scored 118-110 in favor of Juan Diaz over Paulie Malignaggi in Houston in August 2009. That was a very close fight. Judges are not certified like how accountants or financial analysts are certified. To become a Texas judge, the standards are not as high. In accounting and finance, there are several difficult-to-achieve certifications: Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - 25% pass rate, Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) - 10% pass rate, Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) - 50% pass rate, and on and on. Camp Floyd wants to get a decision win over Manny through a friendly referee, judges, favorable gloves, weight, and venue. The battle is won before it is fought. Military commanders around the world would applaud. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4514-Houston-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m12d17-Camp-Floyds-ploy--engineer-a-decision-win