Age is the biggest prejudice in all of professional sports. It is commonly accepted that once an athlete reached a certain age his or her performance begins to decline as it manifests in how the body reacts to the rigors of competition and how it recuperates from the sport’s grueling physical demands. This is perhaps true for the general mold of athletes, but as in any generally accepted truth in life there are always exceptions to that rule.
We all know who is calling the shots in this fight. Yet the Network split was the crucial factor in this being one of history’s modern mega fight’s and the division was managed in the professional manner it has been in the past for an such occasion.
Michael Buffer’s silky tones came on the mic to ignite the waiting crowd to the first undercard fight, yet it emerged the officials were initially all tied up with “other fighters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKW7Z9WXFI
Floyd Mayweather 146 vs. Manny Pacquiao 145
Leo Santa Cruz 124.5 vs. Jose Cayetano 125
Vasyl Lomachenko 125.5 vs. Gamalier Rodriguez 126
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao tip the scale at the weigh-in one day before they clash in one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history. Contact your PPV provider to order Mayweather vs. Pacquiao live on Saturday, May 2nd..
Marquez, who hasn’t boxed since May of last year when he beat Mike Alvarado said to Kugan Cassius of Pacquiao;
“Manny Pacquiao is a very, very good fighter. He will have prepared very well for this fight. I think the people will want to see (him in) a good fight.”
This Saturday night Floyd Mayweather meets Manny Pacquiao in a legacy fight for the ages. Only a select number of privileged people will take in the fight live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, broadcasted by both Showtime and HBO on PPV for 100 smack-a-roos including HD. With an estimated 100,000 fans heading for Sin City the stakes are as high as they come for both of these 1st-ballot Hall of Famers. Can Pacman apply the type of pressure that’s needed in order to breakdown Floyd’s defensive wall? Or will Money Mayweather add another notch to his resume that will probably be more respect as time passes?
Instead of hashing out all of the details that got us to this place lets jump right into the deep-end. When the boxer vs. puncher style-clash is presented to the boxing public at an elite level it generally creates a debate. If truth be told it’s one of the oldest arguments on the books and the back and forth never truly goes away.
Good day class, today we are going to test your knowledge of, and dispel a few rumors about, the most highly anticipated fight since Jesus and Satan battled it out for dominion over the earth. By now you have been inundated with more than enough analysis of this fight from newbies and experts alike, so lets see what you have learned by taking the official True or False exam of the fight of the century. In order to save you any test related anxiety, the answers to all questions will be provided.
1) True or False: This is a 50/50 fight.
Floyd Mayweather has promised that there will be no slow start from him when he finally steps between the ropes to face Filipino fighting machine Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night.
Boxing’s P4P #1 has spoken to US basketball show TNT about his gameplan, saying the usually cautious start he adopts to figure out his opponents rhythm is not a part of his plans for this fight. He said;
“I am going to approach it in a very, very aggressive way and go out there and press the attack early.”
“Of course I would love to win by knockout. I am pretty sure he is going to try come at me extremely strong. I am facing one of the best fighters I have faced.”
The big punching American, who has been out of action since winning the title in January against Canada-based Haitian Bermane Stiverne, broke his hand in that fight yet has promised his fans he is now more than ready to return.
“I will be back in the ring June 13th. Back in the state of Alabama, in Birmingham. And that’s my next fight. No opponent has been announced yet – we still gotta lot of ironing out to do – but June 13th I’ll be back.”
It feels long overdue for boxing fans, who for five years have had to wait through negotiations, trash talk, and allegations of everything from steroids to fight-ducking.
Now with less than 24 hours before the anticipated matchup between Floyd “Money” Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao , the fans are left wondering if the hype is real. Fans may have to wait one more day to see if the blows will be exchanged with the same ferocity as the words, but the speed with which the cash is being exchanged is already unanimous.
The mega-bout is estimated to bring in around 400 million from Pay-per-view sales, ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandising.
As the hours draw closer to the most eagerly anticipated fight of most boxing fan’s lives, the experience couldn’t be more surreal. At the stark risk of disappearing up my own purist arse – the broadcaster hype that follows fights of this magnitude is comparable to people offering you free canapés after you just ate a your favourite home cooked meal.
It’s nice to see others enjoying it, but you’re good. Thanks though.
Much of what is being offered out through glossy lenses is knowledge boxing fans already have. We know Floyd has not lost since he was robbed in the ‘96 Olympics, we know Manny hasn’t had a knockout since the 12th round catch weight bludgeoning of Miguel Cotto in ‘09, we know Floyd had more trouble than honest folk anticipated in two fights against Marcos Madiana last year, we know Manny’s journey from squalor to riches, we know arguably more than any other sound bite – that this fight has been 7 long years in the making.