Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather: Why Boxing Purists Should Favor Money May

Manny Pacquiao is great, and it is hardly deniable. Sadly for him, Floyd Mayweather is better than great. Still, talent is a debatable subject.

However, if you are a boxing purist and not influenced by emotions, you have no choice but to favor Money May over Pac-Man.

Las Vegas Favors Floyd Mayweather

In 2009 when the first negotiations started, Manny Pacquiao was established as a +150 underdog while Floyd Mayweather was set as a -160 favorite. In brief, you would win $150 for each $100 bet on Pacquiao. On the other hand, you needed to place $160 to win $100 by betting on the undefeated American champion.

A few weeks ago when negotiations started again, the Filipino boxing icon was still set as the underdog. He is now established as a +110 underdog while Mayweather is the favorite with -140 odds.

Las Vegas isn’t always right. They often use the public perception to set lines. However, they are right about this one—Mayweather should be the favorite.

Floyd Mayweather Is Undefeated

Mayweather has never been defeated in 42 fights. Since 1996, only two fights have been close. The first one was in 2002 against Jose Luis Castillo, and the second one happened in 2007 versus Oscar De La Hoya.

Only one judge ever had a losing card for Mayweather. It was the 2007 bout against De La Hoya; one of the three cards showed that Mayweather lost 115-113.

That is how dominant Mayweather is. He destroyed Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Zab Judah and others.

On the other end, Manny Pacquiao lost three times on the official cards.  Morales defeated him by unanimous decision back in 2005. However, let’s be honest here, Manny Pacquiao lost a few more fights in an unofficial way.

Juan Manuel Marquez dominated him in three straight fights. Manny Pacquiao won all these fights, but didn’t deserve every win. Juan Manuel Marquez proved that a good counterpuncher can dominate Pac-Man.

Pacquiao is beatable—many boxers proved it before. You have to give the edge to the undefeated Money May, who never got close to losing.

Manny Pacquiao Is Always Second

Floyd Mayweather defeated De La Hoya in 2007. One year later, Pac-Man defeated him as well. Also in 2007, Mayweather destroyed Ricky Hatton. Two years later, the Filipino boxer faced him and beat him.

Money May out-boxed Mosley in 2010. A year later, Pac-Man did the same thing.  Why does Pacquiao always face opponents once they have lost to Mayweather?

Pac-Man faced the same opponents, but they were all older, which matters for De La Hoya and Mosley. Also, anyone knows that a boxer coming from a recent loss doesn’t have the same confidence in the ring. Pac-Man wisely chose his boxers once they were weakened by Money May. Wise, but he doesn’t deserve as much credit!

The Weight Class Favors Money May

Floyd Mayweather made his last fight at 129 pounds in 2001. Three years later, the American champion was fighting at 140 pounds. In 2007, Mayweather was even fighting at 154 pounds.

However, Manny Pacquiao was still fighting at 130 pounds three years ago. Definitely, Mayweather will be the bigger man in the ring and much more comfortable in this weight class.

A few years ago, Ricky Hatton was badly beaten for 10 rounds. The aggressive boxer got counterpunched constantly.

A few weeks ago, Manny Pacquiao was being out-duelled by Juan Manuel Marquez, an efficient counterpuncher.

Should we see it as a preview of what will happen if these two legends meet in the ring?