MANILA: I feel frustrated. Very frustrated. Our fighter Manny Pacquiao lost by a unanimous decision to flamboyant Floyd Mayweather in their so-called Fight of the Century at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Losing is a sinking feeling; losing big is a capsizing feeling.
I protest: That was not a fight! Manny was invading all the while Floyd was evading. There was no clash of titans, only a clash of styles. One was to dance, the other was to pounce. He won by disengaging, not engaging.
It was a clash of wills. One willed to fight, the other willed to flee. It "was anything but a thriller," Robert Morales said (03 May 2015, dailynews.com). I say it was a chiller. "The only thrilling thing about this fight was the noise Pacquiao's fans made when they thought he was landing punches." They were landing on air.
"I outboxed him," Floyd said. No, Floyd, you outfoxed him. Pacquiao said:
It (was) a good fight. I thought I won the fight. He didn't do anything. He moved outside. I got him more times with a lot of punches and I thought I won the fight. I was never hurt. I was very surprised at the scores.
It doesn't matter if the judges stole the fight from Manny Pacquiao. It wasn't a fight. Pacquiao didn't lose a fight – there was none.
"Perhaps history will not record it as a great fight," Dan Rafael said (03 May 2015, espn.go.com). "Floyd Mayweather stands alone. Unified welterweight world champion. The pound-for-pound best. And king of the era." Yes, it was a great flight. Yes, Floyd Mayweather stands alone, Darth Evader. Winner yes, champion no. Pound-for-pound the best? No, no-pound-for-pound the best. And King of the Era of the Rope Runners.
Of the many journalists reporting on the match, only Robert Morales had it right when he wasn't paying attention; the title of his article is, "Defensive Mayweather earns unanimous decision over Pacquiao" (cited). Floyd Mayweather had made the art of turning defense as the best defense, not offense. Floyd taught Manny and the world a foxing lesson, not the boxing lesson that everyone wanted. If Floyd had fought, he would have been the boxing lesson.
David Wharton & Lance Pugmire said (03 May 2015, latimes.com):
It was a night when the science part of the sweet science prevailed. Quickness and smarts. Movement and accuracy. Floyd Mayweather Jr employed all of his trademark boxing skills to outfox a determined but ultimately frustrated Manny Pacquiao, winning the so-called "Fight of the Century" at the MGM Grand on Saturday.
You call evasive tactics science prevailing in the boxing ring? No wonder Floyd Mayweather has been undefeated – he has not been fighting, only frustrating his opponents. He is not a great fighter; he is a great flighter.
Quickness and smarts? "He's moving around," Pacquiao said. "It's not easy to throw a lot of punches." Dancing is quick and smart if you want to avoid confrontation.
Movement and accuracy? "I got him many times," Pacquiao said. "I thought I won the fight."
Did boxing science prevail? Wharton & Pugmire themselves said, "As the seconds ticked down (in the 11th round), Mayweather danced in circles, waving his fist in the air." In fact, he was dancing in circles most of the 12 rounds.
It wasn't a fight; it was a fright. I'm afraid Floyd Mayweather promised a great fight and lost his will when he finally met Manny Pacquiao. There wasn't any heavy damage to either fighter – there had been no slugging out of which would have emerged the one who was the better boxer. The braggart would not box.
Because of that, the promoters lost. How can there be a rematch when there was no match in the first place?
"The 11th round was all Mayweather as he boxed circles around Pacquiao, landing a nice stiff right uppercut, several jabs and a right cross or two. These were not vicious blows, but they were enough" (Morales as cited). In fact, boxing in circles is what Mayweather did most of the night. No engagement. You win in a running-away match and you feel proud?
After the decision was announced, ANN said, "There (was) an audible grumble in the MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd as the fans (made) their way to the exits — not so much for the decision, but for the visceral disappointment when a fight doesn't end with heavy damage to either fighter" (author not named, bostonherald.com). The Fight of the Century turned out to be The Flight of the Century. "The crowd booed the final decision." Shame on you, Floyd Mayweather!
"I outboxed him," Mayweather said. "He never figured out my jab and my right hand." No, Floyd, Manny never figured out your evasive tactics. He was no Luke Skywalker to your Darth Evader. The Force was with Manny, The Farce was with you.
"Between rounds," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said, "I asked for more combinations from Manny. I thought he fought flat-footed a little too much." Manny was frustrated that he was aggressive while Floyd was regressive.
George Willis said, "It was a compelling but not overly thrilling fight. It was more of a chess match than the brawl Pacquiao would have preferred" (03 May 2015, nypost.com). Boring. Mayweather is a great borer, not boxer.
Robert Morales said, "With all the almost unbelievable hype that went with Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao finally getting it on in the ring, it would have been terrible if the fight turned out to be a dud" (cited). It was a dud, for crying out loud! Robert, you yourself said, "with Mayweather fighting only in spurts." Just for the points. "Pacquiao was the aggressor. He wanted to throw down in a big way, but Mayweather had other ideas. This is not so surprising because Mayweather is much better defensively than offensively." Like I said, in Floyd's battle plan, the best offense is defense.
Mitch Abramson said, "The so-called Fight of the Century may have not lived up to the crazy hype that preceded it" (03 May 2015, nydailynews.com). That's putting it mildly. It was The Flight of the Century with a steal worth $180 million. It was crazy because it wasn't crazy. No knockdowns and you call it a fight? No knockout and you call it the performance of a champion? Today, Mayweather redefined a battle of champions as one side eluding the enemy and the other side never punishing him. The low show wasn't worth the high price of the tickets. Blame it on the Non-Fighter of the Century.
Isn't Floyd Mayweather the greatest? The greatest Darth Evader ever.