By Chevy Jackson
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao held their media workouts this week in front of hundreds of reporters, and both events were live streamed online for fight fans to see.
I watched both of these media workout events for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and what I took away from this was that one fighter was more serious and focused than the other. Mayweather was zoned in while Pacquiao barely did a few minutes of weak punch mitts with Freddie Roach, looking old an slow on them.
The Mayweather we are used to seeing is the brash and confident one, who trash talks his opponent but this one was a more serious and focused one showing his opponent nothing but respect. Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach seem to be taking Mayweather lightly, taking days off from sparring, goofing around and giggling like they are going to put a whooping on the best defensive fighter of our time.
I strongly believe Team Pacquiao knows they are going to lose the fight and is just accepting his fate before hand. When a reporter asked Manny if he was going to continue fighting or retire after this fight, he hinted at retirement. From Pacquiao’s demeanor and his history of money woes he looks to be content with landing the biggest paycheck of his career and could care less if he wins or loses.
You have to understand that Pacquiao really has no shot against Mayweather in terms of boxing ability the two are in different leagues. The Pacquiao from 2009-2010 would’ve given Mayweather a tougher fight, this older and slower version really needs a miracle to win.
Mayweather’s media day showed a display of how impressive he is heading into this fight. He is hitting harder, training harder and from the talk around town beating up sparring partners like never before. He was all business on media day and showed nothing but respect for his opponent. I wrote a couple articles one suggesting that Juan Manuel Marquez could knockout Pacquiao because his iron chin is a myth, and posted videos of his past KO losses to prove this (The Myth of Manny Pacquiao’s Iron Chin and Why Marquez Can Knock Him Out) and another article saying Mayweather didn’t want to fight Pacquiao because he didn’t want to hurt him and respected him (Mayweather hasn’t fought Pacquiao because he doesn’t want to hurt him).
The reality is Mayweather wasn’t forced into this fight, he just didn’t want to beat up someone he respects in Manny Pacquiao. I don’t see an ounce of fear in Mayweather’s face. The only person who seems nervous and unsure is Freddie Roach, he is talking so much trash because he has no game plan to crack the MayVinci code, he is desperate and his only hope is to get into Floyd’s head with insults. Roach knows the truth will come out that Pacquiao, his greatest pupil, will be no match for Mayweather on May 2.
When they step into the squared circle don’t expect much of a fight from Manny Pacquiao, just expect a showcase of just how amazing Floyd Mayweather’s skills are. The performance will be comparable to an artist painting a masterpiece, he will paint Pacquiao’s face with jabs and straight right hands, and just like an artist, he won’t receive admiration until after he is gone and retired from his craft.
I know casual fans will order the fight in hopes of seeing Pacquiao pull off the upset against Mayweather, but the likelihood of that happening is very slim, instead order the fight to witness and respect Mayweather at his finest hour, so you can tell your grand children that you saw one of the greatest boxers of all time fight live.
Anything can happen in boxing and there is always that small chance Floyd can lose against Manny, but if Mayweather wins, which is likely, will the naysayers finally give him credit or will they continue to find excuses to disrespect and discredit the legendary boxing artist?
