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By Damien Norman
Floyd Mayweather, JR., a fighter that in many people’s eyes is the best pound for pound fighter at welterweight. 41 fights, 41 wins, and 25 of those are by KO. An impressive record that shines even brighter when you look at some of the opponents he has fought and beaten on the way. Jesus Chavez, Juan Marquez and Ricky Hatton are just a few names that appear on Mayweather’s record with a big “W” next to them… an impressive résumé for the boxer that is also a 5 division World Champion.
With all of that said what else could there possibly be left to conquer in order to go down in history as a ‘great’? The answer is Manny Pacquiao.
The two finally getting into the ring has been a huge subject that has been widely covered and despite it looking a dead cert that they would finally meet on more than one occasion it has never materialized. The pair was scheduled to meet on November 13th and Pacquiao had allegedly signed the deal but with no word from team Mayweather the fight did not go ahead. Negotiations were denied by the Mayweather camp, and any further talks and discussions surrounding the proposed fight have fallen by the wayside.
Some blame Manny Pacquiao for this, others blame Mayweather but it doesn’t matter whose fault it is… all that matters is that in 2011 these two finally meet and settle the score once and for all. This is a long awaited battle that both Boxing and non Boxing fans all over the globe are desperate to see and with the money and publicity that it will inevitably generate you can only see this going ahead next year.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are two completely different characters but both deadly inside the ring. Mayweather, who is never short of a few word’s boasts of an inch and a half height advantage at 5’8 and a huge 5 inch reach advantage of 72” however is also two years Pacquiao’s senior at 33. Both are quick and light on their feet and lack nothing in punching power and technical ability so you could expect nothing less than a superb spectacle that would simply be something you wouldn’t want to miss.
The two getting close to fighting then stalling seems to be a feature of Boxing in its current state and we are seeing this in many different weights at world level. The most obvious example of this would be Haye and the Klitschko brothers.
These two prospected fights are almost identical and for similar reasons have always seemed to stand in the way of the fights happening. The biggest difference though would be that unlike Haye and both Klitschkos and for that matter Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather is still unbeaten.
This has been overlooked by most and many believe that taking his losses out of the equation ‘Pac man’ would prevail against Mayweather. It is hard to predict a winner with both fighters being superb on every level. If you are looking for weaknesses then I guess the only obvious one is both fighters seem to have been issued hand picked opponents of late, and with this fight not happening Pacquiao takes on Antonio Margarito in a fight that has caused frustration throughout the media and public.
Mayweather has no fight scheduled this year and his last outing was a UD victory over Shane Mosley back in May this year. After his battle with Ricky Hatton back in 2007 he announced his retirement from the sport claiming he wished to concentrate on promoting however, in September 2009 he returned to the ring with his victory over Marquez.
When you study both records it is easy to spot similarities. Both men have worked up through the ranks and weights and have significant victories over some big names. Mayweather has two wins over Jesus Chavez and more recently good wins over Ricky Hatton and Juan Marquez. Manny Pacquiao has also beaten Juan Marquez and Ricky Hatton but has the names of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya and last year a 12th Round TKO over Miguel Cotto… not a bad list of names to have wins over by any means.
You would have to say Pacquiao probably has the more significant victories to his name but he has still been beaten… 3 times in fact with 2 draws, and on two of those occasions he lost it was by KO, the biggest of these in 2005 by decision against Morales however a year later this was avenged. Moving on five years to present “PacMan” seems untouchable and although there are two or three names that you would expect to see give him a run for his money Mayweather is probably the only one you would seriously expect a close encounter with and struggle to select a winner, and until Mayweather does this he can never really sleep at night considering himself the best.
Floyd Mayweather is not without his troubles outside of the ring and has recently been involved in some serious matters involving his former girlfriend. There have been reports of violence from her previously, and the most recent charges and accusations that have been made against him involve domestic violence and harassment.
There is uncertainty as to what Mayweather’s next move will be in Boxing but one would imagine a fight early next year and then the long awaited battle with Pacquiao towards the mid/end of next year. He has to fight on and this big fight has to go ahead for so many reasons.
It is one of those fights that will never go away and the public will always be waiting for and demanding and with an ego like Mayweather’s you would expect him to want to settle this score sooner rather than later.
Floyd Mayweather, JR., a fighter that in many people’s eyes is the best pound for pound fighter at welterweight. 41 fights, 41 wins, and 25 of those are by KO. An impressive record that shines even brighter when you look at some of the opponents he has fought and beaten on the way. Jesus Chavez, Juan Marquez and Ricky Hatton are just a few names that appear on Mayweather’s record with a big “W” next to them… an impressive résumé for the boxer that is also a 5 division World Champion.
With all of that said what else could there possibly be left to conquer in order to go down in history as a ‘great’? The answer is Manny Pacquiao.
The two finally getting into the ring has been a huge subject that has been widely covered and despite it looking a dead cert that they would finally meet on more than one occasion it has never materialized. The pair was scheduled to meet on November 13th and Pacquiao had allegedly signed the deal but with no word from team Mayweather the fight did not go ahead. Negotiations were denied by the Mayweather camp, and any further talks and discussions surrounding the proposed fight have fallen by the wayside.
Some blame Manny Pacquiao for this, others blame Mayweather but it doesn’t matter whose fault it is… all that matters is that in 2011 these two finally meet and settle the score once and for all. This is a long awaited battle that both Boxing and non Boxing fans all over the globe are desperate to see and with the money and publicity that it will inevitably generate you can only see this going ahead next year.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are two completely different characters but both deadly inside the ring. Mayweather, who is never short of a few word’s boasts of an inch and a half height advantage at 5’8 and a huge 5 inch reach advantage of 72” however is also two years Pacquiao’s senior at 33. Both are quick and light on their feet and lack nothing in punching power and technical ability so you could expect nothing less than a superb spectacle that would simply be something you wouldn’t want to miss.
The two getting close to fighting then stalling seems to be a feature of Boxing in its current state and we are seeing this in many different weights at world level. The most obvious example of this would be Haye and the Klitschko brothers.
These two prospected fights are almost identical and for similar reasons have always seemed to stand in the way of the fights happening. The biggest difference though would be that unlike Haye and both Klitschkos and for that matter Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather is still unbeaten.
This has been overlooked by most and many believe that taking his losses out of the equation ‘Pac man’ would prevail against Mayweather. It is hard to predict a winner with both fighters being superb on every level. If you are looking for weaknesses then I guess the only obvious one is both fighters seem to have been issued hand picked opponents of late, and with this fight not happening Pacquiao takes on Antonio Margarito in a fight that has caused frustration throughout the media and public.
Mayweather has no fight scheduled this year and his last outing was a UD victory over Shane Mosley back in May this year. After his battle with Ricky Hatton back in 2007 he announced his retirement from the sport claiming he wished to concentrate on promoting however, in September 2009 he returned to the ring with his victory over Marquez.
When you study both records it is easy to spot similarities. Both men have worked up through the ranks and weights and have significant victories over some big names. Mayweather has two wins over Jesus Chavez and more recently good wins over Ricky Hatton and Juan Marquez. Manny Pacquiao has also beaten Juan Marquez and Ricky Hatton but has the names of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya and last year a 12th Round TKO over Miguel Cotto… not a bad list of names to have wins over by any means.
You would have to say Pacquiao probably has the more significant victories to his name but he has still been beaten… 3 times in fact with 2 draws, and on two of those occasions he lost it was by KO, the biggest of these in 2005 by decision against Morales however a year later this was avenged. Moving on five years to present “PacMan” seems untouchable and although there are two or three names that you would expect to see give him a run for his money Mayweather is probably the only one you would seriously expect a close encounter with and struggle to select a winner, and until Mayweather does this he can never really sleep at night considering himself the best.
Floyd Mayweather is not without his troubles outside of the ring and has recently been involved in some serious matters involving his former girlfriend. There have been reports of violence from her previously, and the most recent charges and accusations that have been made against him involve domestic violence and harassment.
There is uncertainty as to what Mayweather’s next move will be in Boxing but one would imagine a fight early next year and then the long awaited battle with Pacquiao towards the mid/end of next year. He has to fight on and this big fight has to go ahead for so many reasons.
It is one of those fights that will never go away and the public will always be waiting for and demanding and with an ego like Mayweather’s you would expect him to want to settle this score sooner rather than later.
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