Mayweather vs Pacquiao - The World Waits -- Eastside Boxing

By Jamie Savin, Eastside Boxing

Perhaps there is no match in Boxing right now which is needed more, or more widely anticipated by boxing purists and casual fans alike. Everywhere you read about Boxing the only question is when will these two greats arguably the best of their generation get it on, and who will win? So many people are split down the middle questioning the respective records of both gladiators, De La Hoya was washed up, weight drained, Hatton was nothing etc... All just adding to the spice of these two needing to fight, there was the well publicised drama over the drug tests which is a separate article in its own right, but has this very key issue made us want the fight more, has it made us ask more questions about who is ducking who, who is the better man?

Perhaps it has added to the spectacle people debating the two respective fighters even more, excuses being made for both fighters, there has not been this much debate about a prospective fight in recent memory but for the sake of Boxing the fight must happen this year or early 2011 at the latest. The promoters and fighters seem to realise this, with Arum even stating the fight must happen, Pacquiao himself has been quoted as saying he will take blood tests up to 14 days, this was later denied but if this is indeed true the stumbling blocks are out of the way. If Mayweather is true to his word on genuinely wanting to fight Pacquiao then around November 2010 the fight the whole world is waiting to see can happen.

The fight would be a true classic in terms of style, Pacquiao the aggressive southpaw versus Mayweather the defensive genius the fight does not necessarily need building up apart from telling the people when it is. So many people have theorised how the fight would go down, judging from previous fights Mayweather and Pacquiao have had against mutual opponents such as Marquez, Hatton and De La Hoya. The fights can be compared and contrasted in so many ways, Mayweather outclassed Marquez who gave Pacquiao his toughest nights, but had no business at Welterweight. Pacquiao destroyed Hatton inside two rounds, who pushed Mayweather hard at Welterweight for a few rounds before being figured out and knocked out but at the time had that air of invincibility around him. Mayweather won a split decision over De La Hoya at Light Middleweight giving into every demand of De La Hoya’s to make the fight, whilst De La Hoya was made to quit against Pacquiao after eight rounds at Welterweight where De La Hoya looked drained. We have all read the analysis such as above and this has led on to many people saying Pacquiao will spark Mayweather out, especially if he gets Mayweather into trouble such as Mosely did in the second round of their contest. The other popular theory is Mayweather will school Pacquiao over 12 rounds counter punching his way to a simple point’s victory. Whichever way the fight goes it will be met with awe and anticipation, the skill level of the two is simply put a level above anyone else in and around them and for once they have beat pretty much all around them, Williams and Martinez would be good fights but they are not the fight(s) we need to see. Williams and Martinez are great fighters, and maybe an option for the winner to further cement their legacy.

The winner of the fight is not necessarily important, but the fight itself is a necessity for the sport, MMA has risen in popularity over the last few years and one of the drawing points of MMA is the big fights do happen. Boxing was saved from a massive hiccup by Mayweather fighting Mosely as despite him not fighting Pacquiao, Mosely was a more then acceptable substitute if only to whet the appetite even more. A basic rule of any business and Boxing is a business is you must give the people what they want, it doesn’t matter if you are a supermarket, a software company or even a sport like Boxing and the world is waiting for the powers that run Boxing, Top Rank and Golden Boy to give us the fight we want, the fight we need. The fight makes so much sense financially, for all parties involved, it would without a doubt be the highest grossing fight in the history of PPV Boxing, it brings in the American audience be it if they are backing their man in Mayweather or want to see him get beat, the foreign audience comes from all over the world, as these two are icons of the sport.

The world is waiting for this fight, it is waiting for the debate to be settled who the best is? Regardless of the outcome it is guaranteed that excuses will be made by supporters of either fighter, if Mayweather pulls of the win people will say he was too big for Pacquiao. If Pacquiao wins then there will be accusations of Performance Enhancers regardless of how many test’s he passed to make the fight. The main is though that these two do need to fight, the Boxing world needs it, like it needed Hagler v Leonard, like it need Ali v Frazier these are the fights that define a generation, the fights that transcend the sport, the fights that are talked about for years to come by both purists and casual fans. After the fight both fighters still have options, if the fight is a close fought classic then a rematch could be on the cards, for Pacquiao a win could lead to another belt in another weight class, a rematch with Cotto at Light Middleweight, or Yuri Foreman, or even Margarito. For Mayweather a move to even Middleweight to fight Martinez or Paul Williams the latter less likely but intriguing and exciting pure Boxing match ups.

The world is waiting for the elections to be over, so that Pacquiao can get back to his true business of fighting, the world is waiting for it to be seen if Mayweather is as good as he thinks or just a fighter who carefully picks his opponents at the right time. The world is waiting for the answer to the question on every Boxing fans lips, who would win Mayweather of Pacquiao?

Purposely my own theory and prediction has been left out of this article as I would love to hear peoples thoughts on how it would go down, and who would come out the victor. If you would like to contact me regarding this article my email is Jamie_savin@hotmail.com

Source: eastsideboxing.com