By Mark Klimaszewski, Eastside Boxing
Over the years, the pugilistic art has given us some big, high expectation bouts that are dubbed ‘super fights’. Although there’s no real clear definition of what constitutes a super fight, generally something on a magnitude that transcends the sport and spills into the mainstream consciousness is given the hallowed title.
In the 70’s a large number of high profile bouts took place, among them were the more popular (and most referenced) fights like Ali v Frazier (all three contests were excellent, but the third in particular became a monstrously huge fight publicity-wise and more than delivered on the action front). Ali v Foreman’s historic meeting in Zaire was undoubtedly massive and also lived up to all the expectations. These fights were big on hype and delivered all the action, drama and satisfaction that the fans had hoped for. All went down in the history books as classics to be talked about and re-watched for years to come.
In the 80’s you had another rich line of classics and the more popular (and hugely publicised) matches we remember include Ray Leonard v Duran, Ray Leaonard v Hearns, Hagler v Hearns and so on. Again, all classics that more than delivered on all the hype surrounding them. All superb examples of how good boxing can be and all a pleasure to re-watch all these years later.
Of course the late 80’s was the Mike Tyson era, and nigh on all his fights (up until his first upset loss) were hugely publicised and, although all one-sided, delivered plenty of excitement due to his fierce and ferocious punching power. Into the 90’s and we had another list of massive bouts that delivered on the action front, including Chavez v Taylor, Holyfield v Bowe, Tyson v Holyfield and more.
Around the turn of the century however, the so-called super fights began a pattern that has more or less stayed the same since. Bearing in mind I’m not talking about huge matchups for BOXING FANS (we’ve had plenty of those) but more the kind of massive events that mainstream media catch hold of and have the casual fans tuning in. De La Hoya v Trinidad was hyped as the “Fight of The Millenium” with two undefeated and highly exciting warriors squaring off in what – on paper - was sure to be a classic. The fight was a disappointment, and whilst a lot better than some of the other letdowns I’ll go on to mention, didn’t deliver on the stratospheric hype surrounding it. Lewis v Tyson was a hugely anticipated bout that had been fantasized for years, yet by the time they met, Tyson was way past it and suffered a one sided, unexciting beating. De La Hoya v Mayweather was another match that caught the attention of many fans not normally interested in the sport, and probably served to switch them off. A boring fight of huge magnitude that had Oscar chasing Mayweather for the whole fight and hardly any good, two way action.
More recently, another massive anti climax manifested itself in Hamburg, Germany, as offensive trash talker David Haye failed to deliver on his many promises to de-throne Wladimir Klitschko from the top of the heavyweight division. This fight was as big as any I can remember (when my wife and her friends get together to watch boxing, that is as much proof of ‘the fight transcending the sport’ as I need). As we all know, Haye talked himself into the fight with pantomime villainy and grossly immature behaviour. He talked and talked (and talked) of how he was the adrenaline boost the heavyweight ranks needed; how everyone who’d faced Wladimir before was useless (he can now proudly add himself to that list); how he was going to “decapitate” the unified champ and have his brother jumping into the ambulance whilst he was rushed to hospital. Refusing to shake his opponent’s hand and having the look of a petulant teenager, smirking and rolling his eyes whilst Klitschko talked at the HBO face-off. All deplorable actions that only heightened all the expectations on his shoulders.
During the fight he failed to “get his man out of there early”, failed to “get inside the jab” and land his bombs, failed to do anything he had previously promised in fact.
The robot didn’t malfunction. It carried out it’s combat routine to the letter and silenced the large mouth before it, in an efficient yet unspectacular display. As I told someone just this morning; I may not be a fan of Klitschko’s style but I respect his craft. He’s just too skilled for his own good.
Now in the cold light of day, the buzz of the occasion has simmered down and we can safely say another super fight has left us high and dry. Another uneventful bout to sink without trace and another body blow for heavyweight boxing.
And meanwhile, another yet to be made match up (and probably the only other potential bout genuinely deserving of the ‘super fight’ tag) is smouldering behind the scenes. Another fight that has had people talking for years and which still ignites passionate debate whenever it is mentioned. A fight that would dwarf the hype surrounding the aforementioned ‘super fights’ and make more money for the fighters than any other fight in history. Pacquiao v Mayweather is another massive disappointment waiting to happen (and no guarantee that it will), so talked about and built up that anything other than a total war just wouldn’t meet the fans’ expectations.
Pretty Boy Floyd is far too skilled and defensive to let it turn into the war that everyone dreams it will be. If (and a big IF) it ever does happen, expect a similar play out to the De La Hoya v Mayweather fight. Albeit with a little more aggression on Pacquiao’s part. The result will be the same. And another ‘super fight’ will bite the dust……
Source:
eastsideboxing.com
His frustration was well justified during the conference because of the slew of questions circling around the potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Questions about how Mayweather (41-0) was going to handle his southpaw style were replaced with questions about whether Mayweather was willing to fight Pacquiao next year. 
Mayweather, on the other hand, was content on playing Rocky Balboa in Rocky VI (or “Rocky Balboa”). He was thankful for the support and sounded at peace while reflecting on his career. I'm not questioning the sincerity of his sudden epiphany, but it's possible it could be just a show of character sympathy given the legal mess he's in right now. 
