Floyd Mayweather cannot beat Manny Pacquiao. He can win the boxing match, everyone knows that. In fact he’s early favourite with the bookies, and fairly so.
However when it comes to winning in this situation, this step will be a bridge too far for Floyd.
To explain, I will explore both situations – Mayweather losing the fight, and Mayweather winning the fight.
Let’s start off with him losing.
What’s at stake for Mayweather? For starters, a lot of belts. To be precise, his WBA, WBC, and The Ring Magazine welterweight titles.
He will also lose the Transnational Rankings welterweight champion status – Floyd is currently champion, with Manny sitting behind him in second, as well as the lineal championship.
As we all know, a hell of a lot of history is also on the line – the winner of this bout will be the first fighter to conquer five lineal championship crowns.
Not only this, but historical separation is of course heavily on the line for these two fighters. With the two close to retirement, this will probably be the only time they fight in their careers, and neither man wants to lose this fight.
And of course, what we all keep hearing about is that Mayweather is in serious jeopardy of ruining his unblemished 47-0 record. Forty-eight is not much bigger a number than 47, but in boxing, one is an infinitely larger number than zero.
Basically said, Floyd is putting his career legacy on the line. Yes, of course he is doing the same every time he steps out to fight, but this time, it’s seriously at risk.
For a lot of people, Mayweather may even be putting his self-appointed nickname, ‘TBE’ – the best ever – on the line.
And if he wins the fight?
First of all, the formalities. Floyd wins Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight crown – one extra belt in a sport with far too many of them. Winning this fight is much more about prestige and legacy than belts and crowns for Mayweather, this much is obvious.
Floyd’s greatest prize for winning this fight will be achieving something that many thought for so long that he could not do, and that is beating Manny Pacquiao. He will finally be able to silence the doubters, convert the unconverted and convince some that it is he who is the greatest fighter of his generation, perhaps of all time.
But as long as there is fame, there will be haters, and as long as there is infamy, there will be even more.
Floyd Mayweather is one of the most polarising athletes of all time. Either hated or loved by the general public, his fans have no troubles crowning him the greatest boxer to have ever fought, while his haters find issue with everything he does, from the way he lives his life to the way he goes about his boxing.
And while Mayweather seems to gain the world by winning this fight, there is one pressing issue that he will not be able to conquer.
For years, not only Floyd’s haters, but also the wider boxing world have pointed to one fact about the man’s greatest victories. He waits until they’re too old, too slow and too far from their prime to face them.
Arturo Gatti was 33, Oscar de la Hoya 34, Juan Manuel Marquez 35 and Shane Moseley 38, when he beat them all. Miguel Cotto was also in his 30s, and Manny will be 36 when he steps in the ring.
As we all know, negotiations between Mayweather and Pac have been dragging on since god knows when. 2009 to be perfectly accurate. While it is fair that politics should make for long-winded negotiations for the biggest fight in the history of the sport, six years worth of discussions is ludicrous.
Both camp Floyd and camp Pacquiao will have you believe the other is playing subtle games in order to gain the mental and social edge over their opponent. Are they both right? They probably are. Is there something else going on here? More than likely there is.
Does Mayweather stall and dodge for as long as possible to wait until his best opponents are older? It’s not out of the realms of possibility.
Will people still suggest this if he beats Manny?
You bet they will.
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