Pacquiao vs Mayweather: what's not to like about it?

It's two forces that were eventually going to collide sooner or later.  The negotiations are currently taking place that if successful will match up the two best fighters on the earth. The undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr vs the pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.  There is bad blood between the camps, and that bad blood crosses over into the world of boxing fans as well.  The Manny Pacquiao fans make no bones about it, they think Mayweather is a coward, a fighter that has selectively cherry picked smaller opponents throughout his career.  They feel as if he's a paper champion, and in some eyes, they don't feel he's even worthy enough to fight Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather's fans are a lot less vocal.  Perhaps it's a nervousness? perhaps they are quietly watching and realize that Pacquiao will present their fighter with the most difficult fight he's ever had.  The bad blood also is evident between the two camps as well.  There is no love lost between Mayweather Sr and Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach.  Both men have publicly thrashed one another.  Mayweather Sr basically accuses Pacquiao of taking, "something fishy."  In other words, he is blaming Pacquiao's stunning success on steroids.  There is no basis or merit to these allegations as Pacquiao has passed all drug tests as required by the commissions. Nevertheless, you can't convince Big Floyd of it.  He's sticking by his theory, and makes no bones about it.  Big Floyd gives absolutely no respect whatsoever to boxing legend and trainer Freddie Roach.  Big Floyd has countless times, on the record, insulted Roach, calling him, "No coach joke Roach."  So needless to say, there are plenty side attractions that are involved leading up to this fight.

The two men have taken different paths in their careers.  Mayweather has beaten some big name fighters, but the ongoing wrap on him is that his opponents are smaller and selectively picked.  With that said, he still is undefeated, and has extremely good boxing skills.  His defense is excellent, his timing is excellent, and his ability to counter punch is second to none.  Mayweather will provide Manny Pacquiao with a very difficult task.

Pacquiao on his way to the top has wreaked havoc, and left a path of destruction.  He's conquered Mexican warriors like Morales, Barrera, De La Hoya.  He's wiped out guys like Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and David Diaz.  His fame has shot through the roof on an international scale.  This is a classic good guy, vs bad guy set up.  Pacquiao is loved by the masses due to his story, and his character.  Mayweather is looked at more like the villain, a guy that people love to hate.  He's brash, he throws his money around, he has a swagger about him that most people don't take too kindly to.

This fight matches up the sports two biggest names.  It matches up the sports two most recognized fighters of today.  This fight matches up Pacquiao's blinding speed and power against Maweather's superb defense, counter punching, and quickness.  The perfect good guy vs bad guy scenario, the perfect storm, with the side show attractions between Roach and Big Floyd.  Pacquiao vs Mayweather, who doesn't want to see this?
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I'm so excited to see that the two best fighter on the planet------the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.

Early Fight Odds Favor Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines - The betting lines are open for Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao even before negotiations for the richest fight in history.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, representing Pacquiao, and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, who has helped seal Mayweather’s previous fights, are just about to begin talks for the fight the whole world wants to see.

And yet, the betting lines are now open, and it should be the first time concerning a fight that may or may not happen. If it does, it should take place no sooner than June or July next year or even a little later than that.

But at the BetUs Sportsbook, the odds are out, and it’s Mayweather, the flamboyant and undefeated American who came out as the early favorite against the hard-hitting, Filipino pound-for-pound champion.

Mayweather is undefeated in 40 fights, his latest, against a smaller Juan Manuel Marquez, coming after a 21-month retirement. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has fought and beaten everyone over the last four years and eight months.

In the early bettings, Mayweather was tagged as a -165 favorite, meaning to win a hundred bucks you must shell out $165. Pacquiao is at +125, that a bet of $100 wins $125.

Except for his fight with Oscar dela Hoya last December, Pacquiao had been favored against his previous opponents, and that include Marco Antonio Barrera, Marquez, David Diaz, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao went as high as being -350 against Cotto and settled in at -280 against the Puerto Rican’s -230 on the eve of the fight that ended with a masterful 12-round TKO for the 30-year-old Filipino southpaw.

The Mayweather versus Pacquiao is a fight that could break all existing records in boxing, and one that could generate more than $150 million in pay-per-view sales and give each boxer earnings of as high as $50 million each.

But it may or may not happen, depending on the negotiations, since both sides want a bigger piece of the cake. But as experts say, there’d be so much money on the table for the two camps to call it off.

“The money will be unprecedented so they should figure it out (how to make the deal),” said Emmanuel Steward.

And while the bets are on, Hatton, six months after his devastating second-round loss to Pacquiao, is putting his money on Mayweather even if he admitted that the ex-pound-for-pound king is a bore to watch.

“I think Mayweather would win because he’s just so good defensively and hard to hit. (But) Pacquiao gets better with every fight. I didn’t fancy him against Miguel Cotto earlier this month but he smashed him to bits. I was blown away,” Hatton told the UK press.

“If I had to put money on it I’d tip Mayweather though. He has the style and shuts up shop so you can’t nail him. Mayweather is so good he doesn’t let you get any punches off. If he makes Pacquiao miss he’ll take the sting out of him.

“But I’d rather watch Pacquiao though. Mayweather will go down as one of the all time greats but I wouldn’t get up at four o’clock in the morning to watch him. He bores the s*** out of me. He should have knocked Juan Manuel Marquez out in September but didn’t, it was safety first all the time,” he added.

    * Philstar
    * Philippine Sports Central
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Mayweather was favored to win because of his style in boxing.

Pacquiao Will Beat Mayweather

While I always try to be subjective with my write ups, please indulge me to be a fan for just once and say what I really think would be the outcome of the coming bout between pound-for-pound top dog Manny Pacquiao and the former holder that mantle Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Pacquiao will knock out Mayweather in the later rounds.

Before I rant about my views and why Pacquiao will win, allow me to tell you that I am no boxing guru and have never laced boxing gloves professionally. These are pure views from a casual boxing fan.

To start off, Pacquiao is an anomaly, a rare boxing specimen who has been successful in scaling multiple weight categories and has punctuated such campaigns with impressive, totally dominating wins over elite boxers and top contenders.

What makes him a scary prospect for any opponent is that he improves every fight. The fight with Oscar dela Hoya shows he can fight at welterweight without losing his speed; his bout with Ricky Hatton proves he packs power in both hands; and the Miguel Cotto fight only revealed that the Filipino can take powerful blows from a powerful welterweight – and still sing at a concert right after.

Those are frightening facts if I were Mayweather. Of course, he could easily slide into the Juan Manuel Marquez factor. Mayweather totally dominated Marquez while Pacquiao was having hell with the warrior from Mexico.

As I have stated in a previous article, Marquez fought Pacquiao at featherweight and super featherweight divisions. Marquez was still young then and his counterpunching style was pretty much effective against Pacquiao’s offensive-cored mindset. But that was ages ago and Pacquiao has greatly improved since then.

One thing I forgot to mention in that article is that the Mayweather-Marquez matchup showcased two counterpunchers. Marquez, being the smaller man, was forced to undress his counterpunching persona and switched to being an aggressor, which doesn’t really favors him well.

Here’s another thought why Pacquiao will win – volume punching that are coupled with speed and power and are coming from weird angles. I admit that Mayweather has got to be one of the all-time greats when it comes to defense, but he can’t duck and slip all what the Pacman can dish out. He may be able to evade three punches but can he avoid the four that will come right after?

Pacquiao’s iron chin is also a factor here. Logic says that if he can take a punch from Cotto, he will be able to absorb a punch from Mayweather. While many (writer included) feel that Mayweather’s power is underrated because he is more focused in defense rather than trade, Cotto is certainly the harder puncher by comparison.

I also see that Pacquiao will be the busy fighter and that should give him an edge if the bout goes the distance. Expect him to really pressure Mayweather and make the former champion fight every second. Trading is something Pacquiao loves and Mayweather doesn’t.

Mayweather is not invincible and his defense can be penetrated as shown in his fights against Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, and Demarcus Corley. He can be hurt. Once he gets hurt, Mayweather automatically goes inside his shell. Pacquiao can certainly hurt Mayweather and he can certainly knock him down… or out.

But perhaps my best reason why Pacquiao will win against Mayweather is the genius in Pacquiao’s corner. Freddie Roach’s mind should never be underestimated as he will definitely have a blueprint for the slick Mayweather.

Come March 13, 2010, Mayweather's 0 will go.

Read More about this fearless forecast.
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Mayweather is also a tough boxer, although this article is a bit one-sided even though I am also a Filipino. I can say that Pacquiao will win but not a way like his match with Ricky Hatton.