If you followed the hype leading up to the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao super-fight, then you probably remember hearing that this was going to be a battle for the ages. It was supposed to instantly become the brawl of the century for fight fans where the undisputed pound for pound best fighter in boxing was crowned, but somehow that’s not what we ended up with.
In fact, there was truly only one winner during the main event last Saturday night and it certainly wasn’t Mayweather or the millions of boxing fans who tuned in- it was the promoters who put this fight together in the first place and made sure that they hyped it for three long years as ridiculous terms were debated.
Let’s face it- we all knew that Mayweather was the better fighter in this contest. Mayweather knew it. Freddie Roach knew it and Manny Pacquiao likely did as well. We didn’t have to tune in to see the results
And before you say, “…but poor Manny was hurt and they wouldn’t give him an injection in the lock room before the fight,” let me ask a quick question- when have you EVER seen a prominent fighter lose without coming out with some kind of excuse? Don’t get me wrong, I was rooting for Pacquiao 100% here, and I do believe that he had a legitimate injury. But that raises an even bigger question- why did he fight at all if he knew he was at a severe disadvantage?
If you look closely, he had well over $100 million reasons to step into the ring anyway, just like Mayweather had almost $200 million reasons not to knock Manny out early in the 2nd or 3rd round. This fight was destined for a decision before the first bell even rang.
Then out of nowhere, here comes the excuses exactly as they were scripted. Manny Pacquiao was forced to fight hurt and denied medical attention, Mayweather couldn’t seem to find his offense. And you’d better believe that the marketing geniuses in Las Vegas are already crafting the story lines for Mayweather-Pacquiao II, the revenge.
By the time all is said and done, who wants to place a friendly wager that these two square off again in about 18 months, with an even bigger Pay-Per-View ticket price and a whole lot more slugging? Because the way I see it, we’ve only seen about 1/3 of the total action for the biggest marketing con of the century. Stay tuned for parts two and three; because I guarantee that they’ll be here soon enough…