When Floyd “Money” Mayweather (44-0) defeated Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-2-1) Saturday night via unanimous decision, there were several losers to come out of this event.
Not only was Guerrero handed a tough loss in the ring—a fact made even more bitter by the amount of trash talking his father did during the pre-fight build—but there were also huge players in the sport of boxing that were dealt a bad hand.
After the dust settled from this fight, it was clear that while Mayweather had walked away a winner, he left a wake of losers in his path.
Manny Pacquiao
The biggest loser of Saturday night was Manny Pacquiao. After two straight losses, Pac-Man’s only hope of likely ever facing Mayweather would have come if Money had taken the defeat, but that wasn’t the case.
Not only did Mayweather’s win halt any hope that Pacquiao would get a chance to fight him anytime soon, but the impressive win from Money also continues to separate the fighters in terms of their spots on the list of greatest fighters of all time (image below courtesy of Bleacher Report):
While Mayweather and Pac-Man were once considered the top two fighters in the weight class, almost all of the allure of the super fight that boxing fans all over the world wanted is gone after watching Money continue his dominance.
There is no question anymore that Mayweather is better than Pacquiao.
HBO Sports
The knockout loss by Manny Pacquiao shifted the balance of power in the pay-per-view game, and the ball is now solely in Mayweather’s court as the unquestionably most valuable boxer in the sport (h/t Forbes).
That’s bad news for HBO Sports, especially after losing Mayweather’s contract to Showtime Sports this year (per official press release). Instead of Money bringing all the PPV buys to HBO again, Mayweather’s first of six fights on Showtime was a huge success.
Showtime signing Mayweather was one of the greatest coups in televised boxing history, and with the unbridled success of All Access and the actual PPV event, the officials at HBO Sports must be devastated by their loss.
Robert Guerrero
It was obvious throughout this 12-round title fight that Guerrero was outclassed by Mayweather, and coupled with all the trash The Ghost’s camp talked in the pre-fight hype, the first loser everyone points to is the man that lost in the ring.
While there is no denying that taking a loss was not the ideal situation for Guerrero and will stifle his career temporarily, this could be a huge benefit in the long run for The Ghost and his mainstream appeal.
Boxing fans have already moved on to questions about who the next competitor for Mayweather will be, and that’s good for Guerrero. Instead of being viewed as a loser long-term, going the distance in this fight with Money could actually help his overall popularity.
As long as the veteran fighter is smart about how he handles the instant fame, this won’t be the last we hear about Guerrero in the main-event picture.
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