Floyd Mayweather: Why He Should Want to Fight Manny Pacquiao Now

After watching the Manny Pacquiao-vs.-Juan Manuel Márquez debacle, Floyd Mayweather must’ve had an epiphany: “What the hell am I waiting for? Pacquiao is there for the taking.”

Two days removed from his third battle with Márquez, Pacquiao now finds himself still a champion, but to some, an unworthy one.

What was supposed to be a statement of intent to boxing naysayers and the like, in the end turned into an unmitigated PR disaster.

In the much-anticipated final installment of their trilogy, Márquez, as he has done in their previous bouts, exposed Pacquiao’s shortcomings, but still failed to eke out a victory.

Márquez was not to blame—the judges were.

Needless to say, Pacquiao’s assumed superhuman powers were nowhere to be found.

That leaves the question: “Is this the right time for Mayweather to take on the Pac-Man?”

I think it is, and these are the reasons why Mayweather should go for broke.

Mayweather’s Boxing Tricks

Pacquiao has now shown that he’s susceptible to the overhand right, more so in his last three fights with Márquez. That is a punch that Mayweather excels in.

Another aspect of Mayweather’s game is his left hook, but more importantly his “shovel hook,” which he used to dispatch Ricky Hatton when they met in December of 2007.

Pacquiao has also demonstrated his lack of know-how against counter-punchers à la Márquez.

Mayweather is adept at counter-punching whilst utilizing his overhand right and left hooks to great efficacy, which he implemented against Marquez in their 2009 bout.

The overhand right is one those punches that not only wears an opponent down, but also for some reason is one a fighter rarely sees coming.

On the other hand, the left hook is pure poetry in motion and can be executed with devastating results.

Add Mayweather’s counter-punching skill set into the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster, in this case Pacquiao’s.

Both Mayweather and Pacquiao have demonstrated that they have speed in abundance, but the former edges the latter out in this department.

I know that styles makes fight but you can do the math if you like.

Nevertheless, these attributes give Mayweather a landslide chance of upending Pacquiao, if and when they throw leather on May 5^, or any other date for that matter.

Mayweather’s Size

"Money" is bigger than both Pacquiao and Márquez and if the latter has had problems with a former lightweight way like Dinamita, then there’s a distinct possibility that the size issue will be five-fold against "Money."

In his comeback fight, Mayweather trounced Dinamita in exquisite fashion, and it’s no secret that the size differential played no small part in the eventual outcome.

Pacquiao’s Power

Pacquiao’s power has been evident, especially in his second-round demolition of Ricky Hatton back in 2009.

He more or less ended the storied career of “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya with an eighth-round TKO.

He also brutalized Miguel Ángel Cotto in their 2009 encounter, scoring a TKO in Round 12.

Be that as it may, Pacquiao has failed to record a stoppage in his last four fights—Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Márquez.

And that’s almost two years to the date of his last stoppage against “Junito.”

This might suggest that either Pacquiao’s power isn’t what it used to be or that his punching power has been overrated.

Nevertheless, in Mayweather’s 42 career wins he has never been knocked downed, let alone knocked out. (The Zab Judah knock down was ruled as a slip by the referee.)

The only person to have had the pleasure of shaking Mayweather to his boots was Shane Mosley in the second round of their 2010 bout.

What ensued was a Mayweather boxing class—he put on a clinic against Mosley for the duration of the fight.

Whatever the case may be, at this point in time Mayweather has really nothing to be apprehensive about vis-à-vis Pacquiao’s power.

Pacquiao’s Mental State

In his hotly-contested bout with Marquez, which some observers had the latter winning, Pacquiao was less than impressive for a third time.

Even though the judges unashamedly gave Pacquiao the decision, the fact that he couldn’t put away his bogeyman once and for all (his Jonah-esque opponent could be an apropos moniker as well), couldn’t have sat well with him both physically and mentally.

Preceding the bout, Pacquiao said:

"

I have never been so motivated as I am for this fight. I almost can’t wait for the fight. I want to prove that he (Marquez) was wrong in wearing that T-shirt claiming he won the last two fights. So this is kind of a special fight, the most important fight in my boxing career, because I want this fight to be the answer to all the doubts that have been raised. Right now, outside the ring, there is nothing personal but when I get into the ring on Nov. 12 it’s going to be personal for us.

"

As is now known, that outcome never transpired.

There’s is nothing worse for a fighter than to doubt himself and his capabilities in a sport as unforgiving as boxing.

No one is privy to Pacquiao’s present state of mind, but I believe he must be now wondering whether he really has a chance of defeating  "Pretty Boy" Floyd.

If those doubts were to rear their ugly head leading up to and in their proposed bout, Mayweather, the supreme opportunist, would take full advantage of the situation.

Pacquiao Could Retire

Time waits for no one, and that includes "Money" May.

After Pacquiao’s controversial win against Marquez, he might decide to call time on his illustrious career.

He’s fought and defeated the upper-echelon fighters of his era, save for Floyd, and probably might think he has nothing to prove anymore.

He more or less said that he didn’t need May to solidify his legacy.

Ring weariness could also play its part in Pacquiao retiring—he’s been in quite a few wars, not to mention his double trilogies with Márquez and Érik Morales.

Also, Pacquiao might decide that it’s time to resume his role as congressman to his wife’s native village, Sarangani.

The time is now for May to push for a Pacquiao fight, May 5 being the date, Leonard Ellerbe suggested to ESPN under a fortnight ago.                                                                    

To be honest, any date should suffice for Mayweather, just as long as it takes place on the aforementioned date or sooner.

Money, Money, Money

Since "Money" (no pun intended) is all about the money, a fight with Pacquiao makes both dollars and sense.

Both fighters are more or less guaranteed something in the region of $75 million or more apiece, if their clash ever gets off the ground.

This is a humongous sum that neither fighter will ever accrue over the remainder of their careers.

It’s enough for both fighters to hang up their respective gloves and ride off into the sunset.

The Franklin Faces are there for Money’s taking; he shouldn’t allow a financial opportunity of that magnitude to pass him by—it’d be a travesty.

Legacy

Mayweather can’t hide the fact that his ultimate legacy rests on his potential fight with Pacquiao.

If he loses, a little bit of gloss might be taken off his legacy but it’ll still be intact—his of Hall of Famer status is certified.

On the other hand, if Mayweather were to defeat Pacquiao, his all-time greatness would be sealed and approved by even his most ardent critics (Larry Merchant comes to mind).

And a win via KO would see Mayweather gain entry into that pantheon of pugilistic paradise, alongside some of its present residents—Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali, to name a few.

16 Is Mayweather’s Magic Number

Ok! This might sound a tad superstitious, but there is substantial evidence to prove that after 15 fights Pacquiao (54-3-2) records a loss.

Which means when fight No. 16 comes along, statistically he's bound to lose.

Since Pacquiao’s first loss way back in February of 1996 to Rustic Torrecampo, the other two defeats he has suffered have happened after a spate of 15 victories on the trot.

After Torrecampo, his next defeat came at the hands of Medgoen Singsurat in September of 1999.

Pac-Man’s final loss to date was against Érik Morales in March of 2005.

And there you have it.

Now, if this is more than superstitious hogwash, then for Mayweather (42-0), the money is in the bank. It’s a bit like Pacquiao knowing he’s lost the fight even before he’s stepped foot into the ring.

The Pac-Man supporters will nevertheless hope that what I’m alluding to is total balderdash, and that I’m completely and utterly wrong.

The "Money" crew, however, might be optimistic that there’s a method in my mathematical madness.

To date Pacquiao has had two trilogy fights—Morales and Márquez.

In this case Mayweather can complete Pacquiao’s trilogy of losing after every 15 fights, although that depends solely on whether he’ll be Pacquiao’s next and 16th opponent.

Either way it’s food for thought.