Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather Two men a study in contrasts

Mayweather father, son have been pushing the right buttons.

Floyd Mayweather Jnr describes himself as a perfectionist and inside the ring the boxer known as the “Money Man” is just that, his flawless professional record of 47- 0 a monument to perfection.

But outside the arena Mayweather’s pursuit of an equally accomplished life ended long ago in defeat, the gunman of his own character assassination.

Over the last decade, Mayweather has been accused of assaulting five different women on at least seven different occasions, including a 2010 incident that resulted in a 90-day prison sentence.

But it is the perfect fighter not the flawed man some boxing fans will pay over $100 000 to watch on Saturday when Mayweather steps into the ring at the MGM Grand Arena to face the soft-spoken but stone-fisted Manny Pacquiao in what is expected to be the biggest grossing fight of all time.

Supreme confidence and self-belief are qualities that have never been in short supply for a boxer who has not tasted defeat since a controversial loss to Bulgarian Serafim Todorov in a semifinal bout at the 1996 Olympics.

Mayweather vowed never to lose again. He turned professional and 19 years later has held true to his word, capturing 11 world titles in five weight divisions and amassed a fortune that last year put him atop Forbes’ annual rankings of the highest paid athletes.

The title of the world’s best- paid sportsman is one Mayweather is likely to maintain with a guaranteed payday of $120 million that some predict could top $180 million, depending on pay-per-view buys.

Mayweather Jr was born into a boxing-obsessed family to a drug addict mother and it was there in the rust belt that his father, Floyd Mayweather Snr, who once fought Sugar Ray Leonard, would polish and hone his son’s considerable boxing skills.

Over the years the Mayweather father/son, trainer/boxer relationship has been a stormy one, Floyd Sr once using his young son as a human shield when a relative threatened to shoot him.

For all the periods of estrangement, however, the Mayweathers have so far developed an unbeatable game plan and Floyd Snr will be in his son’s corner mapping out the strategy. – Reuters

Pacquiao, a man who is adored in his homeland.

Very few sportsmen have pursued as many career paths as boxer Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion who has also made his name outside the ring as a politician, philanthropist, lawmaker and singer.

The revered Filipino southpaw, who will take on unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand tomorrow morning, is unquestionably one of the most intriguing figures in contemporary sport.

Pacquiao has worked as an actor, he is a military reservist with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Reserve Force of the Philippine Army and in 2010 he won a seat in his country’s national congress.

He became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp, launched his own MP8 cologne fragrance in 2011 and later that year recorded the 1977 ballad Sometimes When We Touch with the song’s creator Dan Hill.

The ever-smiling Pacquiao is also a humble man of remarkable paradoxes -- a richly gifted boxer blessed with lightning-fast hand and foot speed who can unleash a withering flurry of jabs to the body and head while displaying a gentle human touch.

When he landed a world title in an unprecedented eighth weight class with a unanimous points victory over Mexican Antonio Margarito in 2010, he took pity on his bruised opponent in the late rounds and eased up on attack.

“I saw him ask Margarito: ‘Are you okay?’, and he nodded to him,” Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach recalled. “Manny became friends with Margarito through the 12 rounds and he does that in sparring too.

“I keep telling him not to be friends with these guys because one punch can change everything.”

An adored figure in the Philippines, Pacquiao featured in Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2009 and has spearheaded a drive to improve medical services in his Sarangani province.

He has also become an entertainer extraordinaire in the ring who always strives to give his legions of fans as much excitement as possible with his all-action, aggressive style. – Reuters