Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao: Boxing's Fight of the Century

About two years ago, most boxing fans believed Manny Pacquiao wasn’t big enough for most prize fighters in the welterweight division. Only a few had faith in him. The Filipino star was already considered one of the best in the lightweight division.

But like any true champion, he still had some doubters.

Pacquiao always wanted a chance to prove his doubters wrong, and he got that chance on December 6, 2008. When Pacquiao demolished Oscar De La Hoya, who many thought it was going to be an easy fight for the Golden Boy.

If you were to look at Manny Pacquiao’s career now, it’s quite difficult to describe. He has accomplished a lot and has gain so many fans around the world, becoming a great role model. Pacquiao is the type of fighter that would wish there were more seconds in a minute, more minutes in an hour or more hours in a day, just so he can train longer and get better to win another title.

The Pac-Man is a stranger to the word impossible, but extremely familiar with failure.

Although the Filipino superstar has failed before against fighters like Erik Morales, I believe that Pacquiao has one win that is not written in the books and that would be a win over failure.

Since Manny is one of the few boxers to fail failure. He didn’t let failure get in his way and now he has won eight word titles, which is never been done before.

Manny Pacquiao is an inspiration to his country and people all around the world.

After the Filipino warrior defeated the Golden Boy, a lot of fight fans were saying De La Hoya was old and dehydrated, so Pacquiao fought other top welterweight fighters like Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito to prove to the world that he belongs in the welterweight division.

The question everyone has in mind is, will “The Fight of the Century” Mayweather vs. Pacquiao become reality in 2011? Does Pacquiao have a chance?

We may never know—hopefully, the fight happens.

Although it sounds fictional at this moment, it would be good for the sport.

The majority of the people believe that Manny Pacquiao has nothing to prove anymore. His only test is whether he can defeat the undefeated champ and conquer his confidence like he has done to most fighters.

I personally believe that the fight could happen on November or next May of 2012.

There are few reasons why I believe "The Fight of the Century" could most likely become reality next May.

First of all, Floyd Mayweather hasn't battled in the ring since last May when he fought Shane Mosley. Also, there has been rumors that Amir Khan could possibly step in the ring against Mayweather in 12 months. If that rumor becomes reality, that means Amir Khan will possibly face the undefeated champ in November or December.

It wouldn't be a dumb idea for Floyd to fight British champ Amir Khan before facing Pacquiao, since Amir Khan is a smart fighter with very quick hands. However, if Mayweather vs. Khan ever takes place, I believe Freddie Roach will take advantage of that fight to study Mayweather better and look for those simple mistakes that could make a difference in the future. 

Mayweather will also have a good amount of time to rest if he wants to fight Pacquiao next May.

Last but not least, both fighters are superstars and it will take more than just a few promoters to make the fight happen. Mayweather and Pacquiao will have to agree with each other and work something out. Since Manny Pacquiao is willing to take the test now, the fight may have a bigger chance of happening. T

he only question that’s still floating in the air is, will Pacquiao and Mayweather ever agree on the 50/50 split? Last time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. wanted 60/40. It will take a few months to put the puzzle together and work it out and a year could possibly be plenty of time to put a big fight together.

Hopefully, the fight will happen next May; we would be extremely lucky if it happened early in the year.

If the fight happens next May who would win? I give Pacquiao all the credit for beating up fighters like: Margarito, Clottey, Hatton and Miguel Cotto. But Floyd Mayweather Jr. is far more talented and smarter than any fighter Pacquiao has fought.

Just remember when most fans thought “Sugar” Shane Mosley had a chance against Mayweather. Floyd ended up making Mosley look like an amateur fighter and embarrassed him in front of millions. Mayweather can fight against any style. Yeah, he may have problems with southpaws, but for Mayweather that only means he might struggle in the 1st three rounds.

If Mayweather and Pacquiao ever step in the ring, I believe Mayweather will most likely pull off the victory.

There are four reasons why:

1) Mayweather is obviously bigger than Pacquiao. Not just in size, but Floyd’s defensive style makes him bigger and harder to hit.

With Floyd’s famous old school shoulder roll defense, he may be able to take control of the fight and be the bigger man. Pacquiao hasn’t fought a welterweight with the confidence and speed of Mayweather.

Think about it: Most fighters that Pacquiao has fought were mentally damaged with broken souls. I don’t blame Pacquiao for fighting those fighters, since there’s no one else to fight in the welterweight division.

His job is to fight whoever is in front of him, and put a good show for the fight fans around the world as Manny Pacquiao has stated before.

2) When I was watching the Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight, I noticed that Clottey’s defense was pretty good. Pacquiao had trouble landing shots, while Clottey was landing good uppercuts.

It’s true that Clottey only threw few punches and was a punching bag in that fight. But if I were to compare Mayweather’s speed to clottey’s. Clottey would look extremely slow. If slow Clottey was able to land good punches against the Filipino superstar, then how will Pacquiao react to Mayweather’s speed and defensive style?

Mayweather, unlike Clottey, will not just have great offense, but will have good footwork as well—something Clottey didn’t have when he fought the Pac-Man. It also seemed like Pacquiao didn’t hurt Clottey at all, so it makes fans wonder if Manny has the perfect style to hurt Mayweather.

I do think that Pacquiao has a good chance against Mayweather in the early rounds, but he will need more than a game plan to defeat Floyd. Pacquiao will have to rely on his speed and skills to at least try to win a split decision or maybe even a KO.

3) Everyone was talking about that second round of the Mosley vs. Mayweather fight. Most people were and still might be saying that if Pacquiao were in that position, he would have knocked Mayweather out.

Well, Mosley has great punching power at 146 lbs. He’s known for knocking guys out with that hook. He’s done it to Mayorga and Margarito. The way Mayweather took that hook and recovered quickly tells me that Floyd can take a punch.

If you think about it Pacquiao won’t have a big chance landing a punch like that on Mayweather anymore. I’m pretty sure Mayweather learned from that massive hook and will not make the same mistake twice.

Those type of mistakes are what makes you a better and smarter fighter.

4) Manny Pacquiao has problems with counter punchers and Mayweather will take advantage of that.

It’s true that styles make fights, and Mayweather’s style is not going to be easy for Freddie Roach or Pacquiao to figure out.

Pacquiao’s last fight’s have been against brawlers or fighters that rely on their physical strength. Mayweather will most likely be mentally and physically strong. He can adjust to any style and especially against brawlers. 

There's one problem with Pacquiao that worries me a lot, that convinces me that Mayweather will be able to pull of the victory by unanimous.

What's Pacquiao's problem? Manny Pacquiao has had tremendous cuts in his right eye before, when facing good counter punchers or warriors that have challenged him. 

It reminds me of the Mayweather vs. Hatton fight, when Mayweather opened Ricky Hatton's eye in the third round. Hatton's eye wouldn't stop bleeding and caused few problems and made it harder for him to fight.

If Floyd opens that cut against Pacquiao, the Pac-Man may struggle in the later rounds. Making it hard for the Filipino champ to land good combinations or see Mayweather's movement.

I'm not saying Pacquiao has no chance against Mayweather—they're both obviously great fighters. However, I respectfully believe defense always defeats offense.

My question is how would a fighter like Pacquiao look against a fighter who’s never lost a fight and confidence before? A fighter who’s always 110% ready and considers himself as one of the greatest of all time.

The ugly truth is we may never know.

Although this fight may never happen, there’s still hope. Hopefully both of this true warriors will step in the ring some day. They are the two best welterweights in the planet.

But there can only be one champion. So who would it be?