Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2015: Fighters Must Produce Exciting Fight to Match Hype

Controversy is not unfamiliar to Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. They've felt the heat of the boxing public for the last five years as their camps bickered back and forth about purse splits, drug testing and other stuff better served as plot points in a Mean Girls sequel.

They're feeling the heat of the general public now. Some fans have become disenchanted with the high-cost production. From record-setting ticket and pay-per-view prices to charging an entry fee to the weigh-in for the first time in boxing history, the two camps appear dead set on milking every last dollar.

Media members have also taken an increased interest in the lives of the two fighters outside the ring, most notably with ESPN's Outside the Lines examining Mayweather's history of domestic violence.

The fervor has created a mushroom crowd of intrigue. Part excitement, part fear, part anger. The boxing world as a whole has been waiting on this fight—the one that would supposedly save their sport—for more than a half decade.

The sports world as a whole will be looking for Mayweather and Pacquiao to provide a one-off extravaganza, properly capping a day that also includes NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, the Kentucky Derby and the NFL draft.

The question is whether either fighter is equipped to do it.

"For a hundred bucks, I need Pacquiao to knock out Mayweather, then come over and spackle the cracks in my rec-room wall before preparing some crunchy almond-crusted duck breasts with chanterelle salad for me and Toni," longtime sports analyst Norman Chad wrote in the Washington Post. 

In 2010, there wouldn't have been any hesitation. Not only were Pacquiao and Mayweather at the top of their games, but their presence in the sports landscape was far less polarizing. They were largely viewed as the two remaining pillars of the sport—the only two boxers good enough to draw a massive crowd on their own. Imagine what they could do together, the general thought went.

Imagine is all we wound up doing. For five years. It was long enough for a yokel like me to get a college diploma and a job scribing about sports, long enough for a fourth grader to become a high schooler, long enough for two aging fighters to become aged.

Mayweather can point to his flawless record and impeccable defensive philosophy all he wants, but he's not the same fighter he was five years ago. He's two steps slower, a little less crisp with his jabs and arguably a little happy with himself.

Last May, I thought Mayweather looked unprepared for the first time in his professional career in his win over Marcos Maidana. He fought a bout with fewer loose ends in September, but there never should have been any to begin with.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

While Maidana certainly deserves respect for pushing Mayweather, the two are not on the same wavelength from a talent standpoint. Mayweather took more power blows than he ever had in the first fight and still came away the clear winner and in the second laid waste to his young opponent early. 

With Pacquiao, the decline has been far more obvious. There was his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley in June 2012, which set the stage for his career-altering knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez four months later. Marquez's knockout will forever be a black mark on Pacquiao's career; it's perhaps the most recent thing most casual fans remember about him.

Pacquiao has earned three straight victories since that loss, but he's been downright Mayweatherian in picking his opponents. Neither Brandon Rios nor Chris Algieri had any real shot at beating him, and the Bradley rematch merely atoned for a loss that never should have been on his resume. 

“I hope that it lives up to the event, to the expectations, to the hype. Unfortunately, too many of Mayweather’s fights don’t live up to the hype,” boxing broadcaster Larry Merchant said, per Joseph Santoliquito of CBS Philly.

“The excitement ends when the first bell rings. That said, Mayweather’s type of fighter has a longer shelf life than Pacquiao’s style of a fighter. So Mayweather will be the favorite — a strong favorite – to win."

Who wins, ultimately, is immaterial. One could argue Mayweather's legacy is on the line, but $100-plus million can do a whole lot of ego soothing. One could argue Pacquiao would atone for his loss to Marquez and establish himself as the best fighter of this generation, but that would be a lie; that ship sailed long ago. 

What does matter, however, is that these two put on a show. Are we really so naive to think it's a coincidence Mayweather and Pacquiao finally got together when there are two fights remaining on Mayweather's contract with Showtime? The odds of a rematch are as good as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are—smartly, I might add—putting together one last hurrah for what could be their final paydays as boxers. The only thing more profitable than a major prizefight is the sequel to an exciting major prizefight.

It's now up to Mayweather and Pacquiao to prove they're worth the price of admission. Good luck.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter