Floyd Mayweather, Jr. didn’t become the highest paid American athlete in 2013 if he’s not a great salesperson. It could be one of the best, if not, in that sense.
Combine that with a cheeky and cocky personality with exceptional boxing skills and you have the ultimate villain. He is the man fans would love to hate. Mayweather plays the “heel” role to perfection and therein lies the secret to his win: The crowd patronizes him, not because of his unassailable, but not fan-friendly, defense-first style, but simply because they want to see him lose. .
To Mayweather’s credit, some of the best underweight fighters (José Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Zab Judah) at the time have tried to put a stench on his record but to no avail. It’s far from a secret to the casual fan that for the better part of two decades, no one did, and maybe no one will.
The rise of Manny Pacquiao in the mid-2000s became a beacon of hope for Mayweather’s attackers.
There’s this nice guy from the Philippines with a literal history from poverty to riches, beating people from left to right on his way to being considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world for over 300 weeks.
At last, now there is someone that fans would see as a hero, the anti-Mayweather if you will.
The whole conversation about Pacquiao possibly defeating Mayweather is not just wishful thinking. The Philippine machine has ultra-fast hands with real power behind them and most purists believe Pacman’s all-pressure, fast-paced style could pose problems for the defensive-minded wizard. Even the great Sugar Ray Leonard called him a “Tasmanian Devil” for the way he steps forward and punches in clusters.
By contrast, the game of Money is not so much about rapid-fire boxing as it is about not getting hit by any of the projectiles they call punches. But that made the possible meeting a hundred times more exciting. Styles make fights, they say.
It is a pairing that many thought was made in heaven. Or maybe not.
Years before, reports said that at least twice, the fight nearly advanced only to fall at the last minute. Drug tests Pacquiao doesn’t want to participate in, the $ 40 million guaranteed money he turned down, Bob Arum, and so on.
A lot has happened since then and Pacquiao, from being on top of the boxing world, plummeted to No. 5 on most charts and Mayweather has firmly positioned himself at that No. 1 spot.
Mayweather enjoyed the glory that his fight against Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez was listed as the highest grossing pay-per-view fight of all time (2.2 million purchases) and reportedly generated $ 150 million. Pacquiao, on the other hand, won convincingly against Brandon Rios, but the pay-per-view numbers could only muster an anemic 550,000 buys, tops.
Now that would just mean that Pacquiao has lost much, if not all, of his influence in talks of a potential showdown and Mayweather, the master that he is, will not fail to remind Pacquiao of the latter’s now inferior status.
Recently, on a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa, Mayweather chose a few words for the struggling congressman and even pointed to Pacquiao’s two previous losses and recent fiscal woes.
“I offered the fight to Manny Pacquiao before,” Mayweather said. “We didn’t agree. Years later we came back and I try to make the fight happen again. I offer him $ 40 million. He said he wanted 50-50. So we didn’t make the fight. Happen.
“Suddenly he loses to Timothy Bradley, he loses to Marquez … now he’s got tax problems. So, two losses and tax problems later, now he suddenly wants to say, ‘You know what?’ I’d do anything to make the fight happen. ‘ When he’s really saying, ‘Floyd, can you help me solve my fiscal problems, get me out of debt?’ “
Pacquiao responded by invoking his inner villain, appealing to Mayweather’s manhood in a telephone interview in a Filipino newspaper.
“I am not desperate to fight him just for money or material things. It is not me who is looking for this fight; rather it is boxing fans all over the world. I am ready to take any kind of drug test.”
“Above all, I challenge you to include in our fight contract that neither of us will receive anything from this fight. We will donate all proceeds from the guaranteed prize for the fight, if any, entry receipts, payment for -visions and sponsorships- to charities around the world. “
In addition to proposing a charity fight, Pacquiao added:
“Floyd, if you’re a real man, fight me. Let’s do it for the love of boxing and for the fans. Let’s do it not for the money. Let’s make the boxing fans happy.”
Of course, Mayweather’s allegations that Pacquiao is bankrupt are unfounded and almost ridiculous. Estimates have Pacquiao’s total earnings at more than $ 300 million and he is consistently on Forbes magazine’s list of highest paid athletes year after year.
Mayweather may have been at the top of that list for a couple of years, but Pacquiao is no easy prey. It’s also interesting to note that “Money” got all of his green exclusively from his fights and no endorsements of any kind.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has a host of local and international sponsorships including Nike, Hennessy, San Miguel Corp., among others. The numbers may not add up to Mayweather’s totals, but you get what I mean. Even with Pacquiao’s problems with the BIR and the IRS, he would still have enough money for himself and his family for a lifetime.
But did Pacquiao do more harm than good by challenging Mayweather like that? Probably, but Mayweather isn’t the type to run out of jokes. He may be quiet for now, but expect a response in the next few weeks.
Contrary to what some fans would suggest, Mayweather is not really scared as in “scared chicken” to fight the eight division world champion. But the thing is, he’s so concerned with nothing more than maintaining his undefeated record and acknowledged that Pacquiao is as legitimate a threat as ever.
What will happen if they ever turn their back on you? Now what if they take away that cloak of invincibility that he treasured for so long? Will you have props to lean on or the face to stand up to the people and the media?
Floyd is a salesman, remember, and he may be a more classy businessman than a fighter.
I am one of the millions who wanted to see a clash between two of the best of our generation. Never mind records, door attendance, and PPV purchases; Regardless of the W’s and L’s or the legacies, just watching Mayweather test his skills against Pacquiao and vice versa is enough to drive any fan crazy.
I, for one, believe that Mayweather will outlive Pacquiao if it ever could happen. I have always favored defense over offense in any sport and this time it will be no different. But there are always what-ifs and game breaks, especially at big events, and that’s what made sports exciting.
But sadly, everyone has their own reasons and agenda for not making this fight happen. Manny had his when he was at the top and Floyd Jr. always has his despite his own limits, if there ever were any.
From the looks of it, Manny Pacquiao now doesn’t care if he wins or loses; He has lost before and if he falls one more time no one will be surprised. But I can’t say the same to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Maybe you’ve reflected on these things and decided that it will be too risky to fight a daredevil like Pacquiao. With that being said, let’s put the rumor to rest until the real conversations begin and don’t keep your hopes up on a Mayweather vs Pacquiao.
But again, I would love to be proved wrong this time.