Unlike knockout scenarios, or sports with entirely definitive results, the points–based system in world championship boxing is fraught with the challenges of ensuring both fairness and justice for both fighters.
– #360view: Misplaced sense of anti-climax a disservice to Floyd’s genius
– #360debate: Should defeated Manny now retire from boxing?
– Khan, Thurman or Crawford? Who’s next for Floyd and Manny?
After a sparkling contest that delivered the goods given the career stages of both these fighters, it’s hard to shake off the notion that Manny Pacquaio was somewhat hard done by.
In fact, in three decades of following the fight game, it’s hard to think of a match where ringside sentiment – and post-fight exit interviews – were so at odds with the judge’s verdict.
If indeed it was a clear and unanimous win for Mayweather, for me it’s a victory for a cynical style that has no major place in the boxing I admire.
It is victory based on the premise of optics and defence, versus the art of creating victory by actually winning.
Other commentators show Mayweather winning because of a greater frequency of blows, however ineffective – perhaps displaying greater accuracy also.
The Pacquiao injury is real, and you’ll hear about it this coming week. This is where the “rematch” talk will start. You’ve been warned.
— FightNights.com™ (@boxing) May 3, 2015
The reality is that Pacquaio came significantly closer to winning this bout than the scorecards suggest, especially that of one judge, Dave Moretti, who gave Floyd victory by 118-110, thereby awarding only two rounds to Pacquaio.
I wonder whether Mr Moretti was actually at the MGM Grand last night and which fight he was scoring.
Such ludicrously biased judging only brings ill-repute to the game – and especially from a judge who is usually reliable.
Had the fight been on overseas soil, the result may well have been way closer, if not in Pacquaio’s favour.
Whilst the finer details of the noble art require some expertise and surprisingly fine judgement – otherwise we’d all be ring experts simply by attending a fight – the discordance between the final outcome and sentiment in the arena make this fight one that the 16,507 attending at the MGM Grand will remember for a while yet.
The crowd were in Manny’s corner from the moment his face flashed on the video screen before the bout.
Given that the fight took place on home turf and in his adopted home city, the venom that greeted Mayweather’s video appearance and walk-in made one think hard as to where his fan base actually lies.
“I thought I won, but I have to review it.” – Manny Pacquiao following fight #LIVEonSC. pic.twitter.com/iQhYtPGi3R
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 3, 2015
It certainly wasn’t there amongst the ticket-holders at the MGM Grand.
If nothing else, Pacquaio has built a new following, one that can only support his future political aspirations back in the Philippines.
Round 1 started evenly, both fighters telegraphing but not scoring and I had the round quite even.
Round 2 saw Manny making some effective charges and the pattern began of Floyd allowing himself to be pinned into a corner, both into the ropes and the ring corners themselves, in a kind of rope-a-dope that never resulted in much action from Mayweather even at the end of the rounds.
Floyd was never too comfortable with Pacquaio’s southpaw flurries and Round 4 was a very clear Pacquaio round. By now, Mayweather was clearly being told by his corner to take the fight to Pacquaio.
In my view, he boxed effectively in the centre of the ring and took Round 5, but at best had two rounds of those first five.
What Pacquaio lacked in pin-point accuracy, he made up for in consistent energy and tempo in those early rounds.
It was easy to see why the public sensed an upset in the making and why Floyd was being pushed harder by his corner.
Round 6 was another clear one for Pacquaio and again, whilst the fast flurries inflicted no clear damage, he led through rapid-fire combinations that certainly looked effective and put Mayweather under pressure.
Rounds 9 and 10 saw the same pressure, Floyd again pinned into the corner, taking a low, defensive posture and simply defaulting to his trademark style.
From here, perhaps Pacquaio let Mayweather off the hook somewhat and Rounds 10 and 11, saw a subtle shift as Floyd began to take control of the fight.
I had the fight slightly in Manny’s favour until the end. Post-fight, Pacquaio says that he was fighting with a damaged right arm as a result of muscle injury during training.
Perhaps that held him back, but he should have mounted a full-on assault all the way through and not have let Floyd off the hook in those later rounds.
Facing a formidable and ultimately in my book, a highly-defensive fighter, Manny and Freddie Roach should have thought harder – and done more.
So, Mayweather again proved himself a victor, one with a razor-sharp and cynical mind that’s made him rich beyond the dreams of any other fighter in history.
But his image has surely now passed its sell-by-date and whilst one can applaud his longevity and blemish-free career record, it is hard to rank him up there with the all-time greats given the protective politics with which his career has been cloaked – and I suspect history will remember him likewise.
