Tweet
Pacquiao vs. Mayweather the ultimate hero vs villain story?
November 27, 1:24 AM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports ExaminerScott Heritage
All the greatest boxing rivalries have a story line, usually involving a hero and a villain, and Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is no different. On first inspection, the roles for each fighter seem to be ready made in this case, but whatever roles they might be playing, their true characters aren't as cut and dry as the media will portray.
The Hero
Manny Pacquiao is clearly the hero of the pound for pound greats in this case. He gives to charity, feeds the hungry and even takes in the homeless on occasion. To top all this, Manny also shares his wealth with his large and ever changing team of advisers, and even paid his cut man a reported $50,000 for his last fight against Miguel Cotto. (To put that in perspective the GDP per capita head in the Philippines is $1,845, so Manny knows this isn't small change to most people). He reportedly rarely drinks and doesn't tend to speak trash about his opponents to hype up his fights, even after provocation and not even to the media in his home country. Not to mention I have yet to meet a genuinely nasty person who lists karaoke as one of his primary hobbies.
Is Floyd listening to the right people? (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
The villain of the piece
Floyd Mayweather Jr learned early in his career that if he hypes up his fights and talks about his opponent a lot, then people will want to watch. He then unfalteringly stuck to this formula throughout his entire career, even at the stage when people would have tuned in to see him fight anyway.
His persona has now reached the point that the real Floyd has been forgotten underneath hours of rehearsed taunting and mocking of his opponents and bragging about his achievements. So much so that when he does try to be more humble and honest with people, they tend to think that the good side of Floyd is the gimmick rather than his smack talking alter ego.
Is this the real Floyd? (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
The true characters are revealed
Although the fight will be sold on the basis of having a villain and a good guy in this case, neither guy is as clear cut in their roles as the build up will no doubt suggest.
Floyd, while not on the face of things a particularly humble person, is going to be playing up the villain role to the full leading up to the fight. Expect personal insults aimed at Manny Pacquiao and his team, bragging about how he will run right through Manny and perhaps even a quip or two from the rest of the Mayweather clan. Manny and his team will no doubt play up their side of things as well, perhaps even to the extent of Freddie Roach and Michael Koncz getting along during the training camp (not that they won't be at loggerheads behind the cameras still).
Lets not forget that while Floyd seems to be the brash braggart that he puts on for interviews, behind all the bravado he's probably not a bad guy. He does a lot for charity the same as a lot of other famous athletes, but it doesn't tend to get published because of his public persona as a self centered egomaniac. Also given the fact that his father and uncle both come put with some truly puzzling statements to say the least, not to mention lengthy stays inside various prisons and police cells across the country, Floyd himself is pretty well grounded by comparison.
At the same time Manny Pacquiao also keeps Michael Koncz around to make his unpopular decisions for him. When Manny gets people turning up at his house or gym asking for money, investments in business and the like, it's Koncz who turns them away and looks like the bad guy instead of Manny. Given the amount of people that follow him around, he could be forgiven for wanting some time to himself, but many people just assume because of his way of doing things that the evil Koncz is ordering him around.
November 27, 1:24 AM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports ExaminerScott HeritageAll the greatest boxing rivalries have a story line, usually involving a hero and a villain, and Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is no different. On first inspection, the roles for each fighter seem to be ready made in this case, but whatever roles they might be playing, their true characters aren't as cut and dry as the media will portray.
The Hero
Manny Pacquiao is clearly the hero of the pound for pound greats in this case. He gives to charity, feeds the hungry and even takes in the homeless on occasion. To top all this, Manny also shares his wealth with his large and ever changing team of advisers, and even paid his cut man a reported $50,000 for his last fight against Miguel Cotto. (To put that in perspective the GDP per capita head in the Philippines is $1,845, so Manny knows this isn't small change to most people). He reportedly rarely drinks and doesn't tend to speak trash about his opponents to hype up his fights, even after provocation and not even to the media in his home country. Not to mention I have yet to meet a genuinely nasty person who lists karaoke as one of his primary hobbies.
Is Floyd listening to the right people? (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
The villain of the piece
Floyd Mayweather Jr learned early in his career that if he hypes up his fights and talks about his opponent a lot, then people will want to watch. He then unfalteringly stuck to this formula throughout his entire career, even at the stage when people would have tuned in to see him fight anyway.
His persona has now reached the point that the real Floyd has been forgotten underneath hours of rehearsed taunting and mocking of his opponents and bragging about his achievements. So much so that when he does try to be more humble and honest with people, they tend to think that the good side of Floyd is the gimmick rather than his smack talking alter ego.
Is this the real Floyd? (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
The true characters are revealed
Although the fight will be sold on the basis of having a villain and a good guy in this case, neither guy is as clear cut in their roles as the build up will no doubt suggest.
Floyd, while not on the face of things a particularly humble person, is going to be playing up the villain role to the full leading up to the fight. Expect personal insults aimed at Manny Pacquiao and his team, bragging about how he will run right through Manny and perhaps even a quip or two from the rest of the Mayweather clan. Manny and his team will no doubt play up their side of things as well, perhaps even to the extent of Freddie Roach and Michael Koncz getting along during the training camp (not that they won't be at loggerheads behind the cameras still).
Lets not forget that while Floyd seems to be the brash braggart that he puts on for interviews, behind all the bravado he's probably not a bad guy. He does a lot for charity the same as a lot of other famous athletes, but it doesn't tend to get published because of his public persona as a self centered egomaniac. Also given the fact that his father and uncle both come put with some truly puzzling statements to say the least, not to mention lengthy stays inside various prisons and police cells across the country, Floyd himself is pretty well grounded by comparison.
At the same time Manny Pacquiao also keeps Michael Koncz around to make his unpopular decisions for him. When Manny gets people turning up at his house or gym asking for money, investments in business and the like, it's Koncz who turns them away and looks like the bad guy instead of Manny. Given the amount of people that follow him around, he could be forgiven for wanting some time to himself, but many people just assume because of his way of doing things that the evil Koncz is ordering him around.
