By JULIAN TURNER, Bangkok Post
Floyd Mayweather re-established himself as the best boxer on the planet at the weekend and main rival Manny Pacquiao will have to make some concessions to prove otherwise.
Mayweather looked superb beating Shane Mosley with a wide points victory in Las Vegas. He was hurt badly in the second round but reacted intelligently to ride out the storm and then took control of the fight until the final bell.
Shane looked a beaten man by the halfway mark as Mayweather went on the attack with an uncharacteristically aggressive display.
Floyd showed another dimension to his talent and must surely start favourite to beat Pacquiao should they ever get in the ring together.
There was a chance of the fight happening earlier this year but Manny refused to agree to Mayweather's demands for Olympic standard blood tests, which are designed to detect all kinds of performance-enhancing substances.
Pacquiao, who has never failed a drug test, said the random tests would disrupt his training and could affect him mentally as he does not like having blood taken.
He agreed to a 14-day cut-off point before the fight but that concession was rejected by Floyd.
But I think the time has come for Pacquiao to agree to the tests and get the fight on with Mayweather.
Although Pacquiao is correct that Floyd's demands are above what is required by boxing commissions, I doubt many people are sympathetic to what amounts to being content with tests that fail to uncover certain substances.
Clearly the boxing commissions need to bring the sport up-to-date and demand that these tests are in place for every fight, as they are for most sports these days.
Boxing suffers because it is not governed by one independent body, like Fifa in football, making it difficult to impose any kind of order.
But this fight needs to be made because everyone wants to see who is number one.
When the two camps couldn't work things out before, Pacquiao signed to box Joshua Clottey.
It turned out to be a boring fight because Clottey covered up for most of the contest and was content to try and complete 12 rounds rather than win.
Before that, Pacquiao had been the main man after brilliant victories over Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya while Mayweather had returned from a long lay-off with an easy win over too-small Juan Manuel Marquez.
Now, though, the pendulum has swung in Mayweather's favour.
His victory over Mosley was sublime and it came against an accomplished and dangerous opponent.
Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to the Olympic-style testing for their bout while Clottey didn't push the issue for his fight with Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is a humble and respectful man, and a great ambassador for boxing, while Mayweather is often brash and obnoxious. Manny is much more popular than Mayweather (although I'm sure Floyd would disagree) but boxing is not a popularity contest. We need to see who can beat the other in a fight and it's time Pacquiao swallowed his pride and agreed to Mayweather's terms for the good of the sport.
Another interesting point from Mayweather v Mosley was that Shane's WBA welterweight title wasn't on the line because Floyd didn't want to pay the sanctioning fee.
The WBC, sensing an opportunity, offered to provide something called a ''Diamond'' belt for free, probably hoping for exposure on such a big show.
Thankfully, that spurious trinket wasn't anywhere to be seen on the night, although it had been presented to Pacquiao after his win over Clottey in March. There are far too many belts cheapening the sport and we don't need another one.
Julian Turner is the Bangkok Post's Deputy Sports Editor.
juliant@bangkokpost.co.th
Source: bangkokpost.com
''it's time Pacquiao swallowed his pride and agreed to Mayweather's terms for the good of the sport.''
ReplyDeleteYou joking right? the man(Manny) clearly feels in his beliefs(his superstitious) that when blood taken from him will make him feel weak. Now, why would go to a fight when your are not 100% mentally prepared? obviously you have no chance of winning..boxing is more than about how physical you are. It is also mental. You guys been looking at this at one angle only...saying that o..he should just step up n fight him cuz it's a huge payday.No. If a fighter feels a little disadvantaged mentally, then there is no way in hell a fight can take a win in the ring. Put yourself on his shoes for a moment. Altho, this indeed the biggest payday both fight will ever get...truly Pacman isn't concern about the money..but as a champion..going 100% in the ring giving it his all, win or lose.