A MASTERCLASS FROM THE TOP ILLUSIONIST IN VEGAS
No magic, but Mayweather is undisputed king
FLOYD MAYWEATHER will stand taller than Manny Pacquiao not only i n the ring but i n the pantheon of boxing’s all-time greats. Yet the fight which put beyond all argument that he is the finest boxer of his generation will not rank even close to the epic encounters of the ring’s golden age.
None other than Sugar Ray Leonard himself was among the many hoping that the Money Man versus the PacMan would put the sport back atop the glorious pedestal it once occupied thanks to the efforts of himself, Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran. No such luck. Not that Mayweather needed any to fend off a challenge from Pacquiao which was spirited but not relentless, willing but not thrilling, adequate but not eye-catching for the judges.
All he had to do was fight his usual, masterly, defend-and- counter, hit-and-run, adapt-as-he-goes fight. That is not to deny the brilliance of his craftsmanship.
This is a very clever act indeed. Never mind David Copperfield, who also performs at the MGM Grand, Mayweather is probably the best illusionist in Las Vegas. He has just made up to $200million disappear into his well-stuffed bank account by putting on a show in which he expended only the necessary minimum of effort and which failed to bring the house down.
Here was an admirable example of an intelligent, orderly, disciplined exposition of the noble art of self-defence.
Yet as a Saturday night out at the theatre it was neither dramatic nor exciting.
This was chess in a boxing ring, which caught the intellect without entertaining t he audience. It was not, as had been hoped, the fight to ignite the sport.
It was sufficient for Mayweather to preserve his cherished unbeaten record, now 48-0, after adding Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight belt to the WBCC and WBA titles he already owned.
But through no real fault of hiss own it does not put the final seal on his claim to be The Best Ever..
In part this was becausee Pacquiao did not obligee Mayweather.
The principal hope that this event might live up to the hype, the heat of the media and the high expectation was that Pacquiao would force Mayweather into a pitched battle.
When he failed to do so he lost the attention of not only much of the crowd but the judges.
There was revelation after the defeat of a shoulder injury which almost persuaded Pacquiao to seek a postponement. Evidently, the financial cost of that did not bear thinking about.
And perhaps his right hand was hampered to some extent. But although the speed still blurred the eye, the boundless energy and non-stop combinations were less in evidence than usual. Not that I agree with the margins by which the officials garlanded Mayweather with his latest victory.
The judge who called it 118-110 was as out of kilter as many Mayweather admirers think I was in scoring it a draw.
Even the other two officials, at 116- 112, were ungenerous to Pacquiao. But in a fight with so many close rounds the assessment frequently comes down to a preference for a style.
And never discount that this is Mayweather fighting at home, in the city to which, on night like this, he is worth a fortune bigger than his own. In my view, Pacquiao’s aggression kept him on level terms when weighed against Mayweather’s runni ng, holding and s poradic accuracy.
For what it’s worth, Pacquiao honestly believed he won.
Where Mayweather definitely outscored the idol of the Philippines was with this retort to the shoulder injury claim: ‘We all carry injuries. I had both hands injured tonight. But if he’d won I would just have congratulated him and told him that he was the better man on the night.’
Ouch. This is a hard old game and that one hurt. What we do know for certain is that not even Mayweather The Magician will be able to conjure up another half a billion dollars for a rematch. As one-night stands go this was anything but sexy and few in Sin City or out there in pay-perview country would want to watch it again.
The buzz which 16,507 fans had brought in with them from the overflowing Strip evaporated in the Grand Garden.
As they filed back out, they told the thousands left outside, the many who could not afford the exorbitant tickets but just wanted to be around on the big night, that i t wasn’t worth the money — anything from $1,750 to $350,000 a seat. For most of us, the overall experience has been greater than the actual event. Pacquiao will regret keeping something in reserve on the defining night of his career.
The animated Filipinos present were still lionising him later but neither the result nor the performance will have boosted his eventual campaign to become president of his country.
Mayweather, criticised as he is for his spending extravagance and domestic conduct outside the ring, has simpler choices to make.
Money, and plenty of it, is the primary objective. He also craves to be recognised as The Greatest, although Muhammad Ali reminded him last week that that title is taken.
The one last fight, back here in September, will not take care of either ambition.
There will not be a financial bonanza to approach this Fight of the Century, whoever the opponent.
But assuming he wins, he will
But assuming he wins, he will draw level with Rocky Marciano, who retired undefeated with a 49-0 record.
Why wouldn’t he want to go again just once more and force open those doors to the Halls of Valhallah where the immortal fighters reside?
‘No, it’s time to hang up the gloves,’ he insists. Then he says: ‘But I do contradict myself. I’m not perfect.’
That last sentence referred to his life — not his boxing— and he clarified that by adding: ‘I do not give account to all the bad things that are said and written about me. For one thing I’m a good father to my four kids and I try to do my best in all things’.
No, the contradiction refers to the historic Marciano record and he adds: ‘I didn’t come into this game to try to overtake what other great boxers before have achieved. I just wanted to be me. But who knows if I do get to 49-0.’
Floyd baby knows but he’s just not telling us. Not just yet.