Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will finally come to fruition...according to Jalen Rose.
Finally. We have a soothsayer whom we can trust, right? Jalen wouldn't steer us wrong.
Imagine it. Imagine the sheer amount of money that would change hands to watch the fight. The ticket sales at the MGM Grand. The ticket sales at bars and restaurants and movie theaters across America and in the Phillippines. The pay-per-view numbers. The millions of dollars put in at betting houses and the casual bets in office pools. (Not to mention Skip Bayless' secret horror at the fact Mayweather could possibly win.)
It would be the largest gate for a boxing match since the Rumble in the Jungle, which as much anticipation as Ali vs. Foreman.
Imagine it.
For that's all you and I will be able to do.
Wishin', and hopin', and thinkin'
Floyd Mayweather is cocky. He is arrogant. Shoot, he's an asshole. He really hates Larry Merchant, too. But he is a very good fighter. He controlled Victor Ortiz through most of his last fight, and he didn't throw any low blows or cheap shots. Even the supposed cheap punch he took to stun Ortiz was not what it seemed. The gloves had touched and the referee had signaled for continuation.
Somehow, that adds to Floyd's aura as a villain. You can almost see his "Rise" commercial: "Should I really think this ruined my legacy?"
Floyd Mayweather is one of the best welterweights of all time on record alone. He's been rated as Fighter of the Year twice, almost ten years apart. Outside of that, he's a man who believes he is the best of all-time, probably no matter the weight class and is out only for himself, a fact confirmed in his post-bout interview with Merchant. I mean, come on, Floyd, you shouted out your record company?
Muhammad Ali believed he was the best and proved it by losing, coming back and winning. Floyd Mayweather says he's the best, but I don't believe he can come back from a loss; he's never had to. With Pacquiao the last and only clear test left on his horizon, Mayweather's choices are clear: pick up a pencil and take the chance to fail or take a fast powder out of the classroom.
I get the feeling Floyd didn't enjoy tests in school.
Paths diverge and converge, again
Prior to his resounding defeat over Victor Ortiz, the last solid knockout Mayweather scored was against the "Big Show" Paul Wight at Wrestlemania 24. Considering it took four chair shots and a set of brass knuckles (not to mention a "professional" wrestling match), it was somewhat less than a clean victory. It does illustrate the career path of Floyd "Money" Mayweather: entertainer.
We've gone over the shout to his record company after the Ortiz bout. We just mentioned the WWE appearance. Add to that his retirement from boxing in 2007 to focus on his promotional company, as well as his appearance on Dancing with the Stars that same year, and it's clear that "Money" Mayweather truly lives up to his nickname.
Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao is also one of the greatest fighters of the last decade, but he is not making his bread solely from boxing. His burgeoning political career has been highly publicized by Skip Bayless (I think he mentions it on "First Take" even when they're not discussing boxing), and Pacquaio has done TV work since 2005, most notably in the U.S. after appearing on Tosh.0. Not surprisingly, Tosh took a shot at Mayweather after taking a shot from Pacquiao: "See, Mayweather? That's how a man behaves."
Both these men are well-documented world-class fighters who have the records and the opponents to prove it. And the main link between both of these men is that they're lives will not be lived in the ring. For them, boxing is a means to an end and not the end itself.
That's something George Foreman realized, something Joe Frazier didn't, and something Muhammad Ali couldn't understand.
What if...
The main stumbling block is the random drug testing the Mayweather camp has demanded. What makes it more surreal is that Pacquiao accepted the testing, with the condition that random testing end two weeks before the fight—and Mayweather balked. Why Money chose to not accept Pacquiao's compromise is beyond me. He should have realized the sports world would react the way they have with calling him everything from "afraid" to "coward".
Is "Money" Mayweather afraid of Manny Pacquiao? I honestly don't think so. Would it be the lopsided affair for the Fighting Filipino everyone believes it would be? No. Floyd Mayweather would give Manny a run. Besides, no boxing fan in their right minds wants a two-round KO. They want a fight for the ages.
That, in today's boxing world, is just not possible. Gone are the days of heavyweight bouts past where kids and parents would gather around the radio a la Cinderella Man. Gone are the days when Wide World of Sports would have up-to-the-minute coverage of Ali vs. Frazier with Howard Cosell ever present at ringside. Gone are the days, even, when millions of viewers would put up hard-earned cash on a pay-per-view for Tyson vs. Holyfield and witness the moment of a lifetime.
Those days are gone for boxing. This fight might save the sport, but ultimately, I think Mayweather-Pacquiao would be the final convulsion for the sweet science's professional realm. Perhaps deep down, both of these men realize that and that is why neither will budge on their demands.
But imagine it. Next Thanksgiving, 2012, in the middle of a huge fall sports season. The NBA lockout has ended and football is full-swing, but the world will pause to watch the best in the world settle the question we've been asking for three or four years now.
The day has arrived, the stage has been set
Everyone in America has laid down a bet
The Strip is deserted, the schools were closed down
Tonight, this is the only ticket in town.
"I knew it couldn't happen, I knew he wouldn't show"
Says Skip Bayless loudly from his seat in the front row.
"He's afraid of Pacquiao—" SMACK! "You know what?"
"The fight's starting," says Jalen. "Skip, please shut up!"
And then a roar in the grandstand, a roar in the rafters
Surely there's only one thing that can come after
And yes, it's Mayweather, his posse in tow
The Pretty Boy finally decided to show
His face is a mask, he's ready to settle
They've called him a coward, it's time to prove mettle.
Larry Merchant is ringside, preparing his cards
"I wonder what Floyd will say after getting hit so hard?"
Now the time has come, they're both in the ring
It's time to determine who's really the king
And as they touch gloves and the bell rings...
We all wish this could be more than a beautiful dream.
See you in the cheap seats.
JS
No comments:
Post a Comment