The Devil’s Advocate: Mayweather vs Pacquiao wasn’t all that bad!

The Devil's Advocate: Mayweather vs Pacquiao wasn’t all that bad!

After re-watching Mayweather vs Pacquiao, I have to say it really wasn’t a bad fight. It was certainly no worse than most of Mayweather’s recent high profile bouts. I found it far more watchable than Mayweather’s fights against Saul Alvarez, Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and the second Marcos Maidana affair. The early rounds were filled with tension and the fight was close enough at the mid-way point that a win for either fighter was still on the table. Technically, as Max Kellerman pointed out on Saturday night, even at the start of round 11 Pacquiao was still in a position to pull out a draw, and so it wasn’t completely one sided. It was hardly the stinker that the media has made it out to be. The problem seems to be a combination of unrealistic expectations along with the high price tag. Add to that the fanciful notion that the public had that this was a pick ‘em fight and you have a recipe for disappointment. Manny was a solid underdog coming into the fight and that’s how the fight played out. That hardly means it was a bad fight. The fact is that it held my interest during a second watching, and I am sure I am not alone in that.

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Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Generates 4.4 Million Plus Domestic Pay-Per-View Buys

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Generates 4.4 Million Plus Domestic Pay-Per-View Buys

The boxing blockbuster event, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, shattered the previous record for total pay-per-view buys and now ranks as the highest-grossing pay-per-view of all time. Initial reports from distributors indicate that the event generated more than 4.4 million U.S. buys and more than $400 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue alone. With additional revenue from the live gate at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, international television distribution, sponsorships, closed circuit and merchandise sales, the event is expected to generate in excess of $500 million in gross worldwide receipts. The news was announced jointly by Showtime Networks Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, and HBO in conjunction with event promoters Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank, Inc.

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Floyd Mayweather Says He’d Beat Manny Pacquiao “100 out of 100 Times” | Full Interview

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Sports Emmy® Award winning reporter Jim Gray of SHOWTIME Sports® sat down with pound-for-pound champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather for an exclusive and candid interview late Tuesday night, just days after Mayweather dominated Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao en route to a 12-round unanimous decision victory last Saturday night in Las Vegas. The interview will premiere this Saturday, May 9, on SHOWTIME immediately following the network’s premiere of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao (9 p.m. ET/PT).

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Blinded by Money: The Mayweather-Pacquiao Illusion

Blinded by Money: The Mayweather-Pacquiao Illusion

The bookmakers predicted the fight would go the distance and that Floyd Mayweather would be the victor. Floyd was a 1/2 odds on favourite and he didn’t disappoint, frustrating and befuddling his Filipino foe to win a unanimous points decision. One of the three judges had it 118/110, the other two had it 116/112. Case closed, the defensive magician had done it again. At least that’s how the story goes.

Amidst the feverish emotions that intoxicate the minds fight fans prior to the ringing of the first bell, it is almost impossible to detach yourself from the combatants involved, in order to assess the bout objectively, accurately, and free of bias.

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Fans Slam “Money-Hungry” Mayweather

Fans Slam "Money-Hungry" Mayweather

It would seem that the fall-out from last Saturday’s fight that never caught light shows little sign of abating and those frustrated at shelling out $100 dollars for a PPV have now aimed pot-shots at Floyd Mayweather – the man who earned himself $2.7 million a minute at the weekend for his efforts.

On social media a link to a story from NYPost.com that shows a picture of Mayweather alongside the following quote, has sparked outrage. “F*** Africa. I don’t need to help nobody but myself. How the f*** I look giving to causes? I want to spend MY money on ME. Not on feeding no damn African’s or anybody else. If you are homeless that’s YOUR problem.”

Its is misleading and sensationalist journalism at it’s very worst. Reading the “quote” and the tone it gives off one could be forgiven for thinking Mayweather is the biggest ahole walking the face of the earth. It implies the “quote” was following the fight too – when it actual fact it WASN’T.

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Mayweather “open to a rematch with Pacquiao”

Mayweather “open to a rematch with Pacquiao”

The fans may have had too much of Mayweather and Pacquiao for the last several months but the saga continues. Mayweather has stated, or rather texted his wish to have another go with Manny Pacquiao. He sent a text message to Stephen A. Smith from ESPN expressing his interest in a sequel. Pacman cried rematch right after the final bell and the fighters seem unanimous in their decision to finalize their careers with forging a rivalry. The rivalry used to be intriguing before it materialized into “the fight of the century” which failed to meet even the most conservative expectations of aficionados while it satisfied most of the naysayers’ warnings. The numbers have not been released yet but it looks like the fight may have met at least one high expectation that the fans care little about – a grossing pay-per-view record.

Pacquiao announced a shoulder injury after the fight which got him into several kinds of trouble. He did not need an excuse as he did well and even his opponent complimented him, saying “I take my hat off to him”. Team Pacquiao behaved erratically after the fight, they were in denial and showed little class in reconciling with the verdict, fair or not and maintaining dignity.

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Only In America! Pacquiao Sued For Injury

Only In America! Pacquiao Sued For Injury

I’m a Brit so please forgive me if you DON’T find the American legal system slightly farcical at times, yet the BBC is reporting that two “people” have filed a lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao in Nevada for “defrauding ticket buyers, television viewers and gamblers” after the fight on Saturday.

The litigation culture in America is something foreign in the extreme to us and all this mess has stemmed from Pacquiao’s post fight insistence that a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder was to blame for his underwhelming, yet spirited performance that resulted in a UD defeat.

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Pacquiao and Top Rank make statement about Manny’s shoulder injury

Pacquiao and Top Rank make statement about Manny's shoulder injury

During training, Manny Pacquiao suffered a right shoulder injury. Manny went to see world-class doctors, partners in the prestigious Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic, who performed tests and, in consultation with Manny, his promoter, and his advisors, concluded that with short rest, treatments, and close monitoring, Manny could train and, on May 2, step into the ring against Floyd Mayweather.

Manny’s advisors notified the United States Anti-Doping Agency (“USADA”) of the shoulder injury and the treatments being proposed by the doctors during training and on fight night. USADA spoke to Manny’s doctors twice, investigated, and confirmed in writing that the proposed treatments, if used, were completely allowed. The medication approved for fight night was a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Toradol).

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Manny Pacquaio – The truth behind that shoulder

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I think it’s safe to say that one of the greatest conspiracy comedies of all time is the Robert De Niro/Dustin Hoffman collaboration ‘Wag the Dog’. The film depicts the lengths that unscrupulous spin-doctors will go to in pursuit of a politician’s re-election. The movie is hilarious at times but it is a clever movie throughout and it certainly makes you wonder if you should ever believe more than 50% of what you are fed through the media. I worked in a job for many years where you were advised ‘to believe half of what you saw and absolutely nothing of what you heard’. Having worked there over three decades, I fully concur with that wisdom. People will believe what best suits their interests and, sometimes, the emperor’s new clothes will pass as high fashion if the end result is the one you really want.

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