May 2, 2015
THAT DAY...................Undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr wins what is billed as the Fight of the Century against the eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision
2nd may 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, a fight took place between the two best boxer of their generation,. A fight everybody was waiting fo years between a highlight-reel dynamo and a genious of strategy. Pacquiao has a kamikaze mindset, Mayweather grinds victims down, Pacquiao could send them to sleep.. Pacquiao has entered as an outsider against gifted, dangerous and frequently bigger foes such as Lehlo Ledwaba, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya... Pacquiao hoovered up world titles in eight divisions.
Floyd Mayweather Jr is a technically brilliant fighter and certainly one of the best fighters in recent years. He was raised by a champion father and uncle, so had a head start on almost any other fighter, and he was blessed with good physical talent. Mayweather is arguably the greatest defensive fighter ever. Mayweather is among the smartest pure boxers in the sport.
The fight almost happened several times before but the main disagreement was that the American fighter's camp demanded that both fighters be subjected to Olympic-type drug-testing in the weeks leading up to the bout.
This fight, billed as The Fight of the Century, was a major point to decide who’s the best of this generation: The fight was the most lucrative in the history of professional boxing and broke PPV viewership records in the United States, generating somewhere between $300 million and $400 million.
THE Fight
In round one, both boxers were aggressive, Mayweather unusually so. Pacquiao attempted to score early points from body shots. However, Mayweather escaped his attack . All three judges gave the threefirst rounds to Mayweather.
In the fourth round, Pacquiao took the round and remained on the offensive in the fifth round, but was unable to land any big punches. Pacquiao came out aggressive in the sixth, forcing Mayweather to the ropes. Pacquiao successfully landed a couple of combinations, but Mayweather appeared to be unfazed. All the judges gave the round to Pacquiao.
Mayweather changed tactics at the start of the seventh round, becoming the aggressor for a second and forcing Pacquiao on to the ropes. Pacquiao counterattacked with an unsuccessful combo. Mayweather stayed aggressive in the eighth round end the ninth. Pacquiao landed several punches in the 10th round but Mayweather also landed on his counters. Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao in 12 rounds by unanimous decision, 118–110, 116–112, 116–112, to remain undefeated in his career. According to CompuBox, Mayweather landed 67 more punches throughout the match.
it's clear that Mayweather was by far the better boxer. Mayweather exposed Pacquiao's biggest weakness with his jab. Mayweather was able to use his lead right as a jab the entire night to prevent Pacquiao from rushing in as he normally does, and throw lots of punches.
Once he won that fight there’s no really discussion between him and pacquiao about who’s the greatest boxer of this generation, Mayweather, has transcended the sport of boxing in every way –he equaled other sports athletes/icons such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in money earned. now comes the other and most interesting subject: Where Floyd mayweather ranks among all time greats?
A lot of boxing experts do not consider him as the best boxer ever- there are still a number of names above him. because these boxersfought all comers from lightweight to light heavyweight, and took risks to not only prove himself, but also entertain his audience. It’s a great argument. Floyd was more strategic. the legendary Rocky Marciano, at 49-0, faced the same critique.
The first and obvious argument for mayweather as one of the best is ‘indeed the 49 and 0 even if “Superman vs Batman ” is not better than “the godfather” because it made more money. The real ...if not the best argument…is the fact that he fought most of his career at 50 or 60% because of his fragile hands. Knowing that, his perfect record in a brutal sport is UNREAL. Floyd Mayweather has had brittle hands which are more susceptible to breaking or chipping off. His Father was plagued with the same affliction. Rafael Garcia who works as a cutman for mayweather says. “They didn’t have enough calcium as babies. Their bones did not grow strong.” He was forced to change his style and took a lot of offense out of it due to bone problems. He did this slowly after the first Castillo bout. You can see how Floyd was boxing in the first half of his career and then look at the second. Night and day difference. Despite that Floyd fought 23 world champions and never lost.
Mayweather had to perfect the art to hit and not be hit. Floyd Mayweather Jr has still displayed his ability to make championship fighters look ordinary.
To know more about the subject:
Arnaud Coudry, « Mayweather-Pacquiao : revanche en avril 2016 ? », sport24.lefigaro.fr, 6 mai 2015
Bob Arum calls Pacquiao-Mayweather fight dead". GMA Network. December 25, 2009. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012
Okamoto, Brett (May 3, 2009). "Mayweather-Pacquiao seems inevitable". Las Vegas Sun.
Rafael, Dan (January 28, 2015). "Mayweather, Pacquiao talk at game". ESPN. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
Brian Goff (May 4, 2015). "Floyd Mayweather Is A Boring Boxer But May Be The Best Businessman In Sports". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2015.[unreliable source?]
Mayweather-Pacquiao fight: Floyd Mayweather wins by unanimous decision". WashingtonPost. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
James Montgomery (May 3, 2015). "Mayweather Defeats Pacquiao, KOs Pay-Per-View Providers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
