Floyd Mayweather Jr. : Afraid of Pacquiao?

Once again, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. has proven his slickness not only inside the ring but also outside of it as well.

What did Mayweather accomplish last Saturday? Well for starters, he did what he was supposed to do and that was to beat a smaller aging fighter that he cherry-picked for his so-called comeback fight.

Sure, it was a dominating win and many might marvel at the technical brilliance of Floyd’s defensive boxing. Personally, however, I have done that a long time ago and in his last fight dubbed as, “Number One vs Numero Uno”, I expected a blowout, a knockout even.

The fight was a sham. It was an attempt to make Mayweather gain back his credibility as a pound-for-pound power player. I’ve been a fan of his technical superiority and he is indeed a great student of the fight game. He could be the best boxer that ever lived but we may never fully know because “Pretty Boy” constantly refuses to take risks and prove to the world that he is supreme.

Let’s disregard the fact that Floyd had managed to talk and squirm his way out of fighting guys his size. Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto, and even Margarito would’ve liked to take a crack at that “Philly Shell” of his.

Yes, this self-proclaimed #1 P4P fighter has managed to convince the public to exhibit his skills among lighter weights. Luckily for him, the number one and two positions were occupied by two rivals whom Floyd originally outweighed by more or less 20 pounds.

Marquez and Pacquiao could barely even reach the median of Welterweight limit without stuffing their mouths with fastfood. Mayweather, however, had fought comfortably at welterweight for more than two years. Floyd was recognized as the best pound for pound fighter when he was in welterweight while the recognized number one and two fighters of today had just jumped to lightweight only a year ago.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather may have defeated 36 year old Marquez soundly but he could not put the old Dinamita away. Aside from the second round knockdown and the methodical beatdown, Marquez is far from getting stopped; a thing that should’ve transpired given the considerable advantages Mayweather had in the fight. He could not finish a significantly smaller opponent.

Floyd, which refused to get weighed on fight night, obviously far outweighed the competition; probably, a 20 pound difference. Mayweather chose an easy fight and he made it even easier by going over the catchweight limit of 144. On the official weigh-ins, he weighed in at 146 against the Marquez’s 142, paying a measly fine of 600,000 USD in contrast to his 10 million paycheck plus PPV.

On fight night, the weight and strength difference was enormous. Marquez could not hurt Mayweather. Floyd even let Marquez throw free swings at him but seemingly, the dynamite was more like a firecracker. The 36 year old body of Marquez could not handle the weight gain. The power was just not there and the only thing that was apparent was the diminished speed of Dinamita which was exaggerated by the quickness of Mayweather.

Marquez was getting slower as he got heavier. For me, he was quite sluggish even at lightweight. Casamayor and Diaz gave Marquez something to handle. It was the ring brilliance of Marquez that won him those fights; not the power and much less the speed. It was all brains.

After those two fights, Marquez risked everything to chase greatness (and money, of course) by trying to defeat a very good boxer in Mayweather, a fighter two notches above his weight category.

In contrast, Mayweather chose a fight he deemed easy to deceptively reestablish his pound-for-pound image while earning tons of money. In a financial sense, it seemed pretty smart but he didn’t get mad props from true boxing fans. He was still avoiding the difficult fights.

On the other hand, Pacquiao had barely won the last war he had against Marquez while the first one was a draw brought about by the brilliance of the Mexican. However, it should be noted that Pacquiao fought Marquez at his optimum weight and peak condition. And I strongly believe that Pacman will knockout Marquez if they were to meet again especially at higher weights.

Pacquiao has bulked up much more effectively than Marquez has. The Filipino icon managed to retain his speed while still having tremendous power. Age is the primary factor. Boxers tend to handle weight adjustment more easily when young and Marquez’s old body just won’t metabolize well.
Manny Pacquiao’s last two fights in heavier weights were impressive. He looked fearsome; knocking out two heavier guys to retirement. One quit on his stool and the other out cold. Now, he will be fighting another natural Welterweight, the Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto, which is another big risk for the Filipino.

Every time Pacman fights a heavier opponent, he is putting his reputation and consciousness at risk. And Miguel Cotto is more than capable of knocking Manny out! This made Pacquiao a big draw. He takes an even risk to reward ratio. He gambles and he surprises people by dominating. The Cotto and Pacquiao fight is another opportunity for him to wow fans. However, it can go a totally different route; he may just go down in flames.

In my opinion, Mayweather is afraid of Pacquiao. Even more, if Pacquiao disposes Cotto out of the way. The risks are real for Floyd if he elects to fight Manny. Pacquiao has a big chance of beating Mayweather. If that happens, Floyd will be beaten by a smaller man. Floyd fears that scenario.

Don’t be mistaken, Mayweather can very well dominate Pacquiao like he did to Marquez. The problem is that Floyd always plays it safe. He loves his unblemished record too much. He would rather fight Mosley. For me, the post fight exchange between him and Mosely was a ruse. It was a charade, hoping the public will divert its attention away from Mayweather vs Pacquiao. I think Mayweather will do anything to prevent the fight from happening.

Ultimately, I hope the fight will materialize. If it won’t happen after the highly probable Pacquiao win over Cotto, it may never happen because of Pacquiao’s political aspirations. Boxing fans deserve that fight and when that happens, I just hope Mayweather will make it a fair fight by making weight.

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