Pacquiao-Mayweather

[Matthean]

Sources: Floyd Mayweather Jr. agrees to Manny Pacquiao fight - ESPN

Getting closer...

[timmae]

Sounds like we could be close to actually seeing this. Floyd was interviewed after one of the Shobox matches on Friday night and basically said "Let's do this". I didn't think we would actually see this match so I am super excited that it could happen next year. For far too long promoters have dodged great matches. This one could be epic!

[kingfc22]

This event will likely have a huge buy-rate, but the fight itself is 5 years too late.

[SegRat]

I agree this fight needed to happen years ago.

[BYU 14]

If it had happened at the time of the original post, I would be excited. Now, not so much, the luster has kind of dimmed.

Now if he and Golovkin could do a catchweight bout at 154....

Edit Mayweather/Golovkin, not Pac

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

This event will likely have a huge buy-rate, but the fight itself is 5 years too late.

Agreed....its boxing being corporate boxing...

[Blackadar]

I think Mayweather has realized that he's never going to get his due unless he actually fights someone good. He's been coasting for years fighting guys who have big names but were past their peaks.

* De La Hoya had already lost to Trinidad, Mosley and Hopkins before facing Floyd. Two fights later he retired.

* Hatton was probably on paper the best name "in his prime" fighter, but was already on the downside with a drinking and drug problem. He fought only 4 times after taking on Floyd.

* Baldomir was already 33 when he fought Floyd and lost 3 of his next 4 after Floyd.

* Judah had already been KO'd by Kostya Tszyu and beaten by Spinks and Baldomir before taking on Floyd. Cotto KO'd him shortly thereafter.

* Gatti was long washed up before fighting Floyd, having been through the wars with Ward and beaten by Oscar. He went 1-2 his post-Floyd fights.

* Mosley had already been beaten by Vernon Forrest (twice), Winky Wright (twice) and Cotto before taking on Floyd. He went 1-3-1 in his 5 fights post-Floyd.

* Victor Ortiz had been beaten by Maidana, drawn against Lamont Peterson and barely squeaked by Berto before taking on Floyd. He's gone 1-2 in his post-Floyd fights.

* Cotto was trying to revive his career when taking on Floyd, having lost against Manny and Margarito. Lost against Austin Trout after the Floyd fight.

* His last opponent, Maidana, lost against Khan and Devon Alexander and is over 30.

Big names all, but not one in their prime. Manny has made it a habit of fighting big names only on the downside of their career. They all suffered recent losses, are over 30 and are vulnerable but haven't spoiled their name yet. And they generally do nothing after the Floyd fight either. He's been ducking Manny for years, demanding an unreasonable split of the money (generally 2/3rds of the proceeds) and then tries to make drug testing the issue (when Manny has repeatedly agreed to get tested). He's scared to get in the ring with someone who can actually challenge him.

Of course, Manny may be no different in this sense. He's still good, but he's not the force of nature he was 5 years ago. And there's no way Mayweather will step into the ring with a guy in his prime like GGG, who I think would wipe the ring up with him.

Can you tell I'm not a Floyd Mayweather fan? O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D

[timmae]

I hear ya black but there are a few notable fights I think. Canelo Alvarez and Guerrero recently, although time may show those to be similar to the others you mention. I'd argue Marquez was a tough test and Corrales was in his prime.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by timmae

I hear ya black but there are a few notable fights I think. Canelo Alvarez and Guerrero recently, although time may show those to be similar to the others you mention. I'd argue Marquez was a tough test and Corrales was in his prime.

I can't figure out Alvarez. He's looked good in some fights and horrible in others. He looked bad against Mayweather and also Lara, while looking very good against Trout. I almost wonder if there's some doping going on there.

Guerrero is a 2nd rate fighter. His best wins are against a washed up Katsdis (who had lost 3 times in 7 fights before Guerrero) and Casamayor (who was nearing 40 years old). He has yet to prove he's anything but being 2nd rate.

Corrales was over a dozen years ago and Floyd was over the weight limit when he fought Marquez (who already had to move up and was at a disadvantage).

I'm not saying that Floyd hasn't fought anyone good. He's had some good opponents and he's certainly an excellent fighter. But when you start really pouring through his record, there's almost always something "wrong" with his supposedly major fights. Most of his opponents were already over the hill. Against smaller guys he was over the weight limit. Other guys just weren't in his class. The guys are cherry-picked.

Floyd's not the only guy who does this, of course. I think he's just probably the most obvious at this stage. I'd love to see a GGG / Floyd fight, but I do really think that Golovkin would knock Floyd out of the ring. KO of the year right here - I've never seen anything like it:

[timmae]

GGG is unreal... I was in Florida when he fought in October otherwise I was thinking about attending the fight. I'd pay buckets to see a Mayweather/Golovkin fight... I'd even like to see a Khan/Mayweather matchup.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by timmae

GGG is unreal... I was in Florida when he fought in October otherwise I was thinking about attending the fight. I'd pay buckets to see a Mayweather/Golovkin fight... I'd even like to see a Khan/Mayweather matchup.

I'm not so keen on Khan. Suspect chin and limited power. He hasn't had a real KO in some time now. Molina quit on his stool and Judah was a low blow that the referee missed. He has the hand speed to tag Mayweather on occasion, but I don't think he can do any real damage.

[stevew]

I'll believe it when I chip in at a friend's house to watch the PPV.

[timmae]

Originally Posted by stevew

I'll believe it when I chip in at a friend's house to watch the PPV.

And you'll probably need more friends to attend to make it worth your while... In the understatement of the year you can be certain that it will be the most expensive boxing match ever sold on PPV.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by timmae

And you'll probably need more friends to attend to make it worth your while... In the understatement of the year you can be certain that it will be the most expensive boxing match ever sold on PPV.

I'm in for like $20 and some beers but that's about it

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by stevew

I'm in for like $20 and some beers but that's about it

Just bring the beer and I will use my streaming skills

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Just bring the beer and I will use my streaming skills

+1 to this

[Chief Rum]

I find that generally where guys drink beer, streaming skills will eventually surface.

[Chief Rum]

And it's FINALLY on.

May 2nd at the MGM in Vegas.

[Neon_Chaos]

HERE WE GO.

[IlliniCub]

Wow the ESPN article says the ppv price is expected to be $99 bucks for High Def and 89 without.

[Edward64]

I'm rooting for Manny.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

Wow the ESPN article says the ppv price is expected to be $99 bucks for High Def and 89 without.

$99!!!! We could almost buy our own ship for that.

[timmae]

Biggest fight ever? This will test Mayweather no doubt.

[Klinglerware]

Just saw this random story on ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12...manny-pacquiao

So, Pacquiao is a Professional Boxer/Congressman, and now also a Professional Basketball Player and Coach?

Granted, I don't know much about the guy and how much work it actually takes to be good at all of these jobs, but it seems like he's spreading himself a little thin.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Just saw this random story on ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12...manny-pacquiao

So, Pacquiao is a Professional Boxer/Congressman, and now also a Professional Basketball Player and Coach?

Granted, I don't know much about the guy and how much work it actually takes to be good at all of these jobs, but it seems like he's spreading himself a little thin.

Yep.

[sovereignstar v2]

Who?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Who?

Ask your grandfather, he knows 'em.

[Groundhog]

Neon, Semi-unrelated, but how is Orton playing in the PBA? I thought there was a height restriction in the league, or has that changed?

Judging by that pic of Manny taking a jumper, I don't think Orton was too far off with his comments, either..

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Neon, Semi-unrelated, but how is Orton playing in the PBA? I thought there was a height restriction in the league, or has that changed?

Judging by that pic of Manny taking a jumper, I don't think Orton was too far off with his comments, either..

There are height restrictions for players who don't have Philippine ancestry, for those parts of the PBA season (which is divided up into 3 or so mini-seasons) that are open to imports. Rafe Bartholemew's book "Pacific Rims" was a fun read that details some of the intricacies of the PBA and gives a great overview about basketball in the Philippines.

If I remember the book, trying to sneak an import under the height limit is an art form. I'm guessing that they somehow manged to "shrink" Orton to 6' 9" or whatever the limit was.

Speaking of Bartholomew (who taught himself to speak Tagalog fluently and deeply integrated himself in the PBA for his book), he has a good analysis of what probably really went down with Orton:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/da...star-hotshots/

Basically, part of it was cultural--it's a no-no to call people out publically, especially if you are new to the society. Also part of it is that Orton probably wasn't playing as well as the ownership hoped, and the twitter comment was an excuse to get rid of him. A theme in Bartholomew's book is that imports are essentially replaceable at the drop of a hat, and you basically have to produce like an all star to stick around (simplifying things quite a bit).


Edit to add the answer to my question about Pacquiao spreading himself too thin:

Originally Posted by from the article

"Here, we should note that because of Pacquiao’s boxing schedule and numerous other obligations, he shows up for Kia games about as rarely as he shows up for Congress. Last week’s game was only the third time he had suited up for Kia, even though the PBA season is about halfway done."

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Neon, Semi-unrelated, but how is Orton playing in the PBA? I thought there was a height restriction in the league, or has that changed?

Judging by that pic of Manny taking a jumper, I don't think Orton was too far off with his comments, either..

No height restrictions in this year's Commissioner's Cup. One of the teams has a 7'3" behemoth.

Orton's played horribly. He doesn't understand the triangle offense (being employed by Tim Cone, arguably the best coach in PBA history, who copied the late 90's Bulls triangle by taping them using broadcasts from nearby military bases).

EVERYONE knows that Manny really doesn't deserve to be playing in the PBA. But are you really going to speak up against the most popular and powerful Filipino in the world, while playing in the Philippines, in front of Philippine media?

Funny thing about Rafe, we were acquainted through love of the same Filipino band. I've actually bumped into him several times while he was still writing his book and we've had beers over in Katipunan Street. He did a stint on one of the TV telenovelas too. (Warning: Horrible acting ahead.)

The Ballad of Brad and Bakekang Part III - YouTube

[Klinglerware]

Fascinating stuff, especially about Rafe.

I've also read (probably in the book) that Cone didn't actually know that the triangle offense was called the triangle offense. He just wanted to emulate what the Bulls were doing, and amazingly he managed to reverse-engineer the system from those videotapes.

[Groundhog]

Pacific Rims has been on my Amazon wishlist for years now, I really need to get around to purchasing it.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Sources: Floyd Mayweather Jr. agrees to Manny Pacquiao fight - ESPN

Getting closer...

That weekend is going to be nuts for me. Friday, May 1st is my best man's birthday, the fight is Saturday, May 2nd, then I get married (for the first, and hopefully only time) on Sunday, May 3rd. Gonna be exhausted that Monday before the honeymoon.

[NobodyHere]

Isn't the NFL draft that weekend too?

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Isn't the NFL draft that weekend too?

Yup....Thursday is night one. The day of my final fitting. This is what happens when you just pick a day without vetting it haha. It'll be hectic but amazing

[stevew]

confirmed at $89 for SD and $99 for HD. Wow. $21 times the legal occupancy for bars, etc.

[Neon_Chaos]

$45 for HD PPV here in the Philippines. I'll be holding a PPV victory party or a funeral, depending on the outcome.

[Butter]

Not to take away from this big fight, but I happened upon HBO Saturday night and decided to watch their fight card, including a heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and some guy named Bryant Jennings.

My question is, what the hell happened to heavyweight boxing?

The announcers were praising this Jennings like he was fighting the match of his life, but in the end he lost an easy decision in a bout that never saw either guy in trouble and frankly saw less than a good shot per round on average. It was boring. They said Klitschko hadn't had a fight this competitive in something like 7 years.

7 years?!?!? Apparently, he's been champion for 11 years.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I was surprised Klitschko left Russia. He hasn't taken a fight outside of Russia in several years.

[JPhillips]

I hope Pacquiao beats the shit out out that serial batterer.

[A-Husker-4-Life]

I watched that same fight and it appeared that Klitschko was bored, not taking it serious. Jennings was undersized and didn't have much power, he caught Klitschko acouple of times late but couldn't do anything with it.

As for Heavweight boxing, they need to split it up into super heavy and heavy. These super heavy weights have ruined that division.

[Butter]

What killed me is that it was clear to me that Jennings needed to go all out in the final 2 rounds or so, and those were maybe his worst of the bout. He got caught by a good shot with about a minute to go that maybe took his fight away, but I was expecting a lot more of a "caution to the wind" approach than what I saw.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I hope Pacquiao beats the shit out out that serial batterer.

I'm no boxing guru but I'm pretty sure the only chance of this happening is if Mayweather basically loses focus for a moment and Manny catches him, or similarly if he actually goes for a big shot and Manny counters perfectly. Am I wrong there?

I just have no idea why people think this will actually be a good fight to watch, but it would be nice to be proven wrong. This has to be the greatest marketing job of all time.

[Edward64]

Manny with a Scottish accent!

Help ma boab! Manny Pacquiao nails brilliant Scottish accent | Daily Mail Online

Rooting for the underdog

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'm no boxing guru but I'm pretty sure the only chance of this happening is if Mayweather basically loses focus for a moment and Manny catches him, or similarly if he actually goes for a big shot and Manny counters perfectly. Am I wrong there?

I just have no idea why people think this will actually be a good fight to watch, but it would be nice to be proven wrong. This has to be the greatest marketing job of all time.

It's the names. That's all. Mayweather should win this easily. Though, at least for the money you'll get the full 12 rounds. No one is going down, unless Manny gets hurt bad or something. It's a fight 5 years too late.

[sabotai]

I'm really hoping for a Pacquaio win tonight, but I'm not optimistic.

But like GD said, 5 years too late. IMO Pacquaio would have beaten Mayweather had they fought 5 years ago. Tonight's result, whatever happens, won't change my mind on that.

[PilotMan]

Yeah, I don't see anything out of this except a 12 round decision for Mayweather. If Manny can get something going and really execute effectively I'll put it all on Freddie Roach for getting him there. I'd love to see something really historic, but I still think Mayweather is just too big, and he still might be the best pure boxer of his generation.

[Izulde]

Tried watching on firstrow UK's site but the stream keeps cutting out on me. Oh well. Guess I'll have to follow on FB.

[PineTar]

Cynical prediction: Undeserved split decision for Pacquaio resulting in the big money rematch this fall.

Also, this event proves to be the last gasp of a dying sport, with no future boxing match coming anywhere near the hype and revenue of tonight's event.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Tried watching on firstrow UK's site but the stream keeps cutting out on me. Oh well. Guess I'll have to follow on FB.

http://livetv.sx/en/eventinfo/311451_floyd_mayweather_jr_manny_pacquiao/#webplayer_ifr|239587|311451|239587|13|6|en