Pacquiao and Boxing Loses Without Mayweather

 

                                                                        by Kevin Smith

Over the past year it has been hard to refute that the hottest topic in boxing has been the debate over a possible Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather, Jr. title fight. It has been a discussion heavy on the boos and short on the cheers. Everyone has heard the screaming, the arguments, and read the polarized comments from both ends of the spectrum. 

Technically speaking, Manny Pacquiao doesn’t need a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. to determine or create his boxing legacy. His legacy is already written both in and out of the ring. However, for Pacquiao, a fight with Mayweather still represents the most direct and ultimate statement to his few remaining critics and for his final penning into the history books as “Undisputed Champion.”

Like him or boo him, agree or not on how it was obtained, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has earned the title in boxing as the “ultimate fight” for Pacquiao. It would be a match-up that without a question, would proclaim the winner as the best “pound-for-pound boxer” in the world. No other fight on the horizon could do that with such finality.

Pacquiao’s continued fighting after the level of success he’s obtained, seems to confirm that he too believes until a fight with Mayweather is realized, the final piece to his career puzzle—a chance to leave boxing more gloriously than if he had just fought “valid opponents” - remains elusive.

Even larger for Pacquiao, an ultimate fight with Mayweather, like no other, would provide him the exit victory from boxing that would allowed him to pursue other desired avenues, like politics in his home country of the Philippines, with the title of "the greatest boxer in history."

Realizing the ramifications of a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, it seems likely that Manny Pacquiao may be cheering the loudest for Mayweather to survive his latest round of legal troubles. For no one brings what Floyd can to a bout. No one has to like Mayweather, how he came to be in his position, or how boxing promotion has made his situation what it is. But it would be difficult to argue Mayweather isn’t the current most polarizing Pacquiao opponent - hence the most significant.

It’s easy to cheer on Manny Pacquiao. What may be hard for many in boxing circles, including Pacquiao fans, to do is to cease their booing and to cheer for Floyd Mayweather, Jr., in hopes that he will overcome his current legal problems.

Lance Armstrong, the great American cyclist, explained much about the realities of professional sport and life when he remarked, "A boo is a lot louder than a cheer. If you have ten people cheering and one person booing, all you hear is the booing." It is a sentiment and reality known well by those who wear the fabled gloves of boxing and choose to seek their legacy in the world of the squared circle. The boos are always remembered. Never forgotten. For a boo is the most powerful and lasting sound in sports. It is the sound that athletes never forget. It would be a shame if the last sound heard in the storied career of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was the sound of booing. No one wins if that occurs, not Mayweather, not Pacquiao and his legacy, nor the sport of boxing.