Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: 5 Reasons This Fight Is No Longer Avoidable

If boxers were referred to as pride-fighters instead of prize-fighters, the proposed Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight would have happened a couple of years ago.

While you cannot fault a fighter for making business decisions, the strangest thing about this proposed mega-fight is that it is in the best economic interest of both men.

Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs), 35, and Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs), 33, are the two biggest draws in the sport, and the event of their proposed bout has the ability to transcend boxing.

I hesitate to use the often adopted axiom that this fight will “save boxing,” but this matchup could come as close as any to restoring the sport to its former luster.

I have compiled a list of why this fight is no longer avoidable in the purest sense. Let us allow ourselves to forget the complications of money, drug testing, and Bob Arum for a moment—those roadblocks have been exhausted and well documented.

In focusing on boxing itself and the compelling personal narrative both fighters bring to the ring, it becomes clear that discussing any other opponent for either Mayweather or Pacquiao is pointless.

No other series of match-ups, tournaments, or title fights carry the mystique of Mayweather-Pacquiao, and whether they realize it or not, these two transcendent boxers have the ability to put on not only a fascinating fight, but a cultural event.

Let us now find out why this fight is, theoretically, unavoidable.

Complimentary Styles

There is an old adage that styles make fights. While this is a somewhat tired cliché, it certainly holds true for Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Excluding his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), Pacquiao’s run through the higher weight classes has been devastating. He has brutalized the likes of Hatton, Cotto, Clottey, Margarito, and Mosley with a varied attack that includes six-plus punch combinations that come from all angles.

Pacquiao’s willingness to engage and fight moving forward always makes for exciting fights, and his use of leg movement to attack from unsuspected angles makes his southpaw stance even more difficult to prepare for.

Pacquiao's willingness to come forward will force Mayweather to stand and fight. Pacquiao is one of the few fighters with swift enough lateral movement to cut off the ring effectively enough to make Mayweather engage him. This alone will lead to fierce exchanges as Pacquiao’s multitude of punches will test Mayweather’s unparalleled defense and supreme counter punching.

A good thing for Mayweather is that his lead and counter straight right hand, which is thrown with impeccable timing and perfect balance, is the best punch against a southpaw. 

There will be no posturing here. Pacquiao will come forward, and Mayweather will be there to meet him.

Recent Form

This section obviously hinges on Pacquiao defeating Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) in their upcoming fight. Should he do so, both Pacquiao and Mayweather will be coming off excellent wins against live opponents.

Miguel Cotto was highly motivated in his fight against Mayweather, and the Puerto Rican star was able to pin “Money” on the ropes with effective body punching. While he ultimately did not do enough to win, Cotto perhaps revealed a blueprint for how to hit and challenge Mayweather.

Despite this, Mayweather showed commendable composure under fire, and his willingness to engage Cotto was evident in his large punch output and the fight’s overall excitement.

If Mayweather did show signs of slowing down, it might have had something to do with health issues and did nothing to threaten his status as the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. If anything, his style against Cotto will simply make for more entertaining fights, as opposed to appealing most fully to boxing purists.

In fighting Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao will be in with a hungry, young, undefeated fighter who can be relentless (often with his head) and has quality hand speed. Bradley has shown evidence of a workable, clubbing right hand, though his overall balance and technique seem on the sloppy side for defeating Pacquiao.

After facing a superior counter-puncher in Marquez, Pacquiao has a chance to look excellent in this fight. If he returns to his old form and is properly focused, the cries for him to fight Mayweather will only increase. Bradley is the perfect opponent for Pacquiao to impress against in the build-up to fighting Mayweather. 

Age

It goes without saying that Mayweather and Pacquiao are getting up there. At 35, Floyd, despite innate, super-human boxing skills, is quickly approaching the age where defensive fighters who rely on reflexes and timed counter-punching start to slip. While Mayweather has, up to this point, defied Father Time, we have seen countless occasions where a fighter can age overnight.

At 33, Pacquiao is the slightly younger man, but with maturity have come a multitude of other interests. As a public figure and congressman, Pacquiao holds the demanding jobs of politician and professional athlete, and the tension between the two professions might have clashed in the Marquez fight.

While Mayweather is clearly in love with his own image and fame, which leads me to believe he can be coaxed into a fight under the right circumstances, Pacquiao has something more concrete to walk away to. I would never question either fighter’s commitment to the sport, but Pacquiao seems to have his post-boxing and public life well established. It is time to make this fight before Pacquiao’s passion for public office supplants his love of being a prize-fighter.

The window to make this fight is in the next 6-8 months, not when Mayweather is 37 and Pacquiao is 35. As we saw on a much smaller scale with Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, if you let something germinate too long, it will blow up in your face, or people will stop caring.

No One Left to Fight

There have been a slew of interesting articles since Mayweather beat Cotto speculating about Floyd’s next opponent should the fight with Pacquiao not materialize. While the selections have been interesting and prompted spirited debates, running through the list of logical opponents only reveals how they are ultimately unappealing or unrealistic.

Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs):

Martinez is the best middleweight in the world and falls just behind Mayweather and Pacquiao in the pound-for-pound rankings. That said, he has had trouble securing a dance partner for a mega-fight and is desperate to move down in weight to lure Floyd or Manny into a bout. The problem is that Martinez is simply too big and powerful for either fighter, and so it is unlikely that Mayweather or Pacquiao will take the plunge and agree to the fight. Martinez represents a danger to both men, and since they can make as much or more money fighting others closer to their natural weights, Martinez is not a realistic option.   

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KOs):

Canelo battered a brave and game Shane Mosley on the Mayweather-Cotto undercard to defend his WBC strap for the fourth time. It was an impressive performance where the young Mexican champion showed poise, explosiveness, and a varied attack. He did well to fight through a bothersome cut caused by an accidental clash of heads, and he has admirable maturity for a 21-year-old. That said, Canelo was fighting a shot fighter in Mosley. Despite his determination and world-class chin, Mosley has lost the explosiveness that made him such a feared fighter and future hall-of-famer. It seems unlikely that Golden Boy will want to match Canelo with Mayweather or Pacquiao just yet, and it would be nice to see Alvarez continue to defend his title against increasingly better opposition.

Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KOs):

Khan has an intriguing rematch looming against Lamont Peterson and is looking to settle the score after his controversial loss in Peterson’s hometown of Washington DC. Khan brings unique drawing power as he has made inroads with American audiences and is an absolutely massive draw in Britain. It seems unlikely that Khan would face Pacquiao given that they both fight in the same stable, and a matchup with Mayweather would, to be frank, not pose much of a challenge to “Money.” Khan has blazing speed and solid technique, but he gets hit far too easily and would be easy pickings for Mayweather’s precise counters.

Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs):

This is an unenthusiastic but plausible selection if Berto wins his rematch against Victor Ortiz. Berto has grown up on HBO, and the network has desperately tried to groom him for exactly this kind of fight. Berto has solid power and a good frame. He is a sound boxer and has a good amateur pedigree. But so what? The bottom line is that Berto, while world class in his own right, is simply inferior to Mayweather and Pacquiao across the board.

The options for Mayweather and Pacquiao are either unrealistic or underwhelming, and they are certainly few and far between.

Legacy and Promotion

Big time boxing used to be a cultural event. Ali vs. Foreman transcended the sport and led to the wonderful documentary, When We Were Kings. Writers like Norman Mailer and George Plimpton covered the fight, and the attention it received was on a global scale.

If done properly, Mayweather and Pacquiao could come close to this. 

Of course, fights in the 1970s had a different political and social backdrop to them, but there was a sense of importance and magnitude. For instance, National Book Award nominated author Leonard Gardner (Fat City) covered George Foreman against Ken Norton for Esquire.

A Mayweather versus Pacquiao fight has the ability to transcend conventional boxing media outlets and work its way into the mainstream.

This is the type of fight where HBO could do an extended run of 24/7, or even a feature-length documentary. The natural dichotomies—humility vs. arrogance; public servant vs. criminal; offensive wizard vs. defensive master etc.—allow the promotion to take care of itself. Still, the framework of this fight allows the media to do more—to make it as massive and transcendent as creativity will allow.

What Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would ultimately be fighting for is legacy. Their fight, if it happens, would determine who is the pound-for-pound king of their generation. This is a tantalizing prospect that we rarely get to see, and it is for this reason that “prize” needs to give way to “pride” so that this fight can happen.