Mayweather-Pacquiao Anticipated Fight

The super fight that everyone wants to see happen, from hardcore boxing fans to the general sports fan, will hopefully take place before the end of this year.

The fight everyone is talking about is the one between Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather jnr. and Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao.

Hopefully the disagreements over the drug testing protocol to be followed for the fight will be resolved. Mayweather demanded that Pacquiao be tested according to the United States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) rules, and not the medical testing procedures undertaken by state athletic commissions, which usually only include urine tests and rarely any blood testing.

Floyd’s father even accused Manny of using performance-enhancing drugs, such as erypoietin (epo), and anabolic steroids.

Pacquiao never tested positive for any illegal drug, just like Mayweather. The Mayweather camp may have been referring to Pacquiao successfully moving up in weight from flyweight to welterweight and maintaining, even increasing his punching power.

Of course, Mayweather demanded that both he and ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley take the blood and urine tests at any random time, before their big fight, which Mosley agreed to. It was not an unfair request for the Mayweather camp to make, as Mosley tested positive in 2002 for taking advanced anabolic steroids prior to his bout with Oscar De La Hoya.



Awaited Superfight

The main sticking point to the Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight not being made in March 2010 was because Pacquiao did not want blood tests done on him less than 21 days before the fight. Mayweather’s camp asked for a 14-day cutoff time for blood and urine tests prior to the fight. It is sincerely hoped that Golden Boy Promotions, Mayweather Promotions, and Top Rank Inc. will come to an agreement on the testing issue.

Mayweather’s recent impressive victory over Mosley via a unanimous points decision victory has only increased the demand for Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight.

Some may have criticized Mosley’s performance saying that he was tired by the third round or that he aged badly in the ring, showing his 38 years of age and the 15-month layoff since his last fight. However, even though Mosley stunned and momentarily hurt Mayweather with two big right hands in the second round, Floyd weathered the storm and recovered very quickly to dominate rounds 3 to 12.

Mayweather showed he can take a hard punch, and it can be argued that Mosley punches at least as hard as Pacquiao, if not harder. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, has said that Mayweather looked slower and fought flatfooted for most of the fight because he cannot move around the way he used to. This could be a very flawed perception as Mayweather said he chose to fight Mosley rather ran box and circle the ring keeping on his toes as in his many previous bouts.

Regarding Pacquiao’s recent impressive victory over Ghanaian Joshua Clottey, his opponent certainly did not look like he wanted to fight, content with being defensive and surviving the 12 rounds distance. It was certainly not a fight worthy of a main event at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium where about 51 000 people watched the fight.

Regarding common opponents; namely Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Juan Manuel Marquez, it can be said that Pacquiao has the edge because he disposed of De La Hoya and Hatton more impressively and in less rounds than Mayweather did. However, when De La Hoya fought Mayweather, he had more of his fighting prime left, and was not as weight drained and weakened as when he fought Pacquiao. Also, when Hatton fought Mayweather, he was undefeated and in better shape. By the time Hatton fought Pacquiao, he had already absorbed a beating in the Mayweather fight and another one against Juan Laszcano.

Against Marquez, Manny fought him twice and won two highly controversial decisions, Although he knocked down Marquez 3 times in the first fight and once in the rematch, most observers though Marquez won at least one of those fights. Mayweather returned after over two years out of boxing to easily outbox Marquez and pitch a shutout victory. He also knocked down Marquez once.

Their hand speed is about the same, with both being very quick. Pacquiao definitely has the edge in work rate over Mayweather as he averages around 100 punches a round. Manny also has an advantage in punching power, although Floyd can certainly punch with reasonable power that can hurt any welterweight.

Defense

Mayweather has a sizeable advantage and has no equal in this aspect in professional boxing.

Both fighters certainly know how to punch from different angles. Mayweather, is of course undefeated, but many will say he lost the first fight to Jose Luis Castillo, and perhaps, also to De La Hoya.

Pacquiao has lost three times, but two defeats were early on in his career and his last defeat, against Erik Morales, he avenged twice by knocking out Morales in two subsequent fights.

Both have exceptional trainers in Roger Mayweather, Floyd’s uncle, and Freddie Roach, three-time trainer of the year winner and master tactician.

It should be a great fight which should really be scheduled for 15 rounds like in the past, not 12 rounds, which seems too short a time for both to show who is the best over the real championship distance.

Let’s hope they can come to an agreement on the drug testing, and get the fight made that every boxing fan wants to see. I would give a slight edge to Mayweather to outbox Pacquiao, but anything can happen.

Hopefully the winner fights a bigger man in either Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez, but for now, Mayweather vs Pacquaio is the fight to determine who is the best boxer in the world pound for pound.