Pacquiao Says He Will “Insist That The Fight With Mayweather Be Given Preference”

[bhatmasterson]

Pacquiao Says He Will “Insist That The Fight With Mayweather Be Given Preference”

http://www.eastsideb...?p=30300&more=1

http://www.fighthype...ntent11516.html

http://philboxing.co...tory-65006.html

[chicagogato]

I say it will happen in the fall if not in May.

January 12, 2012

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR: IS HE BEATABLE?

By Rob Soucy

In my opinion, there should be no debate as to who the most talented boxer in the world is. Love him or hate him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. holds that mantle in my eyes. Some favor Manny Pacquiao to beat Mayweather if the two men eventually agree to fight. Others feel that middleweight Sergio Martinez is the biggest threat to the unbeaten Mayweather. Pacquiao has had questions raised over the legitimacy of his increased explosiveness as his career progressed. For example, Mayweather, along with his team, have stated publicly that Pacquiao’s recent display of explosive power seems unnatural. Pacquiao’s third fight with Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez was void of one circumstance that the first two had produced, a Pacquiao knockdown. Not only did the Filipino star not record a knockdown, but he failed to hurt Marquez in a fight that Pacquiao officially won but many believe he should have lost. The debate will continue as to whether Pacquiao is or was using performance enhancers, but if he did come off them for the Marquez fight, it showed.

Mayweather is on a different level, talent wise, from every other fighter on the planet, including Pacquiao. The defensive wizardry that Mayweather possesses is almost impenetrable. His reflexes and hand speed are astounding, even as he is about to turn 34. Almost as mind boggling as his defensive skills is his accuracy, as it is almost common to see Floyd land 40% of his power shots in any given round against any opponent. He is also one of, if not the smartest fighter in the world over the duration of a three minute round. His conditioning is second to none, quite possibly the most superbly conditioned athlete in the world come fight night.

So is Mayweather beatable? The short answer is NO, surely not by any fighter currently campaigning at 154 lbs or below. Especially not if contract demands for random blood testing throughout training camp are met. All indications are that Floyd will require such of all potential opponents.

Then what will it take to beat Mayweather, you ask? I say…..

1. The jab of a prime Oscar De La Hoya.

2. The fast hands of Amir Khan.

3. The ring savvy of Bernard Hopkins.

4. The explosive two-fisted power of Felix Trinidad.

5. The body attack of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

6. Last but not least, the conditioning of well, Floyd himself!

The opinion here is that blending the skills of at least four future Hall of Fame fighters might provide the ingredients for a Mayweather defeat! Until then, Floyd will rule the sport from 154 lbs down and should grace the top of P4P lists. Other than Pacquaio, the name most mentioned as an opponent for Floyd on May 5th is Saul ”Canelo” Alvarez. The young Mexican 154 lb title holder is a good fighter but is Golden Boy willing to potentially ruin is career by feeding him to Mayweather? The build up to the fight would undoubtedly generate a ton of excitement. However, it would be a complete mismatch from the opening bell to whenever the Alvarez corner were to throw in the towel.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to put an exclamation point on his already brilliant career by facing and defeating Manny Pacquiao. This soap opera of who is calling out who, and who really wants the fight needs to stop. Mayweather, Leonard Ellerbe, and Al Haymon saw what they needed to see in Pacquiao’s last fight. The lackluster performance has convinced the “Money” team that a “clean” Manny Pacquiao poses little threat to what seems to be most important to Floyd, his perfect record. For Mayweather, the reward has now exceeded the risk. The Pacquiao side may or may not have a secret that they are keeping from the rest of boxing. For Top Rank and Bob Arum, matching Pacquiao with one more fighter that poses much less risk to the Pacman than Floyd is probably in the cards. For the fight to keep it’s mega status it will need to happen in 2012. If not on May 5th, November is a must.

Whether in the spring or in the fall, Floyd Mayweather will soundly defeat Manny Pacquiao. At that point, the only fight left for Floyd, is a 155 lb challenge of Sergio Martinez for the Middleweight Championship of the world. Once successful, Floyd will retire undefeated, as well as the linear middleweight champion of the world, and one of the sports all time greats!

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