Hyperbole behind the fight

Las Vegas, May 3

The hype around the fight was due to the absence of any really great boxers around. Floyd Mayweather is immensely talented, but most experts believe he or Manny Pacquiao could not have beaten Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran, the three best welterweights of the last 35 years.

After the fight, the crowd booed the final decision and booed Mayweather. When they exited the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there’s an audible grumble among them. It was not because the decision was unfair, but because of the visceral disappointment when a fight doesn’t end with heavy damage to either fighter.

Just 15 years into century, it was stupid — or perhaps a genius marketing ploy — to call it the ‘fight of the century’. The fight lived up to expectations: Experts had said it would be a dull fight, and it indeed was a dull fight.

The two fighters are way past their prime — Mayweather is 38 and says will fight only one more bout before retiring, while Pacquiao is 36 and has already fought for over 20 years. It was a tactical contest rather than a passionate fight, and Mayweather was at his defensive best, and Pacquiao had no plan B or C. Pacquiao knew defence is Mayweather’s strength, yet he did not go for a knockout.

Experts say that Mayweather is extremely efficient in the ring, but his legacy is marred because he cherry-picked opponents and fought for belts offered by shady sanctioning organisations.

There was a time when there were fewer sanctioning bodies and weight divisions – so only eight men could call themselves world champions. Currently, there are 68 titles (four sanctioning bodies multiplied by 17 weight classes), and there could be up to 68 world champions.

The quality of boxers has never been lower, and it was never easier than now to become a world champion.

People don’t go to see Mayweather knocking out his opponents or engaging in a toe-to-toe fight — he’s knocked out only two opponents in 48 fights. Tommy Hearns had knocked out 30 of his first 32 opponents.

There are no memorable fights by Mayweather. Most of his fights were against ageing or pedestrian fighters, yet there were only two knockouts by him. He’s a supremely skilful boxer, but his greater achievement is that he’s boxing’s greatest money-maker of all time. — Agencies