So, ‘The Fight of the Century’ has come and gone. Normally after a fight of this magnitude, the loser is left wondering what might have been. He has to pick himself up, dust himself off and go back to the drawing board. But, in this case, it was the poor fans that wondered what could have been. Some, especially the non-boxing fans who were caught up in the hype, asked, “Is that it?”
Was that really the fight of the century?
What is a fight of the century anyway? To the hardcore boxing fan, such a fight is one where there are knockouts and knock downs; where there’s blood and tears, where there is drama. Fights that deserve that label are: Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman in 1974; Ali vs Joe Frazier in 1975; Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran in 1980; Leonard vs Thomas Hearns in 1981; and Marvin Hagler vs Hearns in 1985.
With the much-awaited Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao fight, it was always going to depend on what the Filipino was going to bring to the table. In other words, it was up to Pacquiao to make or break the fight. As the famous ring announcer, Michael Buffer, said before the fight, “Pacman is going to have to come out like a Tasmanian devil if he hopes to upset Mayweather.” After Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said that his fighter was ready to go 25 rounds, expectation was high, despite many believing the fight happened five years too late. When the fight started, fans were on the edge of their seats. Not because of what was happening in the ring, because of what they hoped could happen.
What was happening was that Pacquiao, a slugger, was trying to outbox a boxer in Mayweather. After 12 not so exciting rounds, Mayweather ran away with a unanimous decision. The result seemed to surprise Pacquiao who said after the fight that he thought he did enough to be awarded a decision. Mayweather will march into his reported 49th and final bout in September still undefeated. When the dust settles, this fight will only be remembered for its financial records. It became the highest selling pay-per-view sporting event of all time with a staggering 5.65 million buys. The previous record in terms of pure sales was the 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya at 2.48 million.
The fight generated well in excess of $400 million, much more than the Super Bowl.
The big question on everybody’s lips is whether there will be a rematch? Given that Pacquiao revealed he fought with an injured shoulder, chances are that a rematch could be on the cards. But it is doubtful that a second fight will generate even half as much interest.
Fans will remember the principle of once bitten twice shy. Simply put, most in the boxing fraternity were left underwhelmed.
Rich But Disappointing
The so-called Fight of the Century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao was indeed the most expensive, but fell short of the high expectations.
“Mayweather did what he usually does – running away from his opponent. I expected a lot from them but they didn’t live up to my expectations. It was not a fight of the century; it could be one of the popular fights in the last 15 years. Mayweather should have knocked out Pacquiao but he fought like a coward,” says Alan Toweel, a boxing trainer in South Africa.
Toweel says what happened in Las Vegas was not good for boxing. He believes the knockout Pacquiaa suffered at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 finished him.
Ron Jackson, a boxing historian and journalist, agrees the fight was not a classic.
“I thought Pacquiao won the fight. It was very disappointing to see Mayweather running around. At least it could have been a draw,” he says.
A few days after Mayweather won his 48th fight and kept his unbeaten record, the American announced that his next fight will be in September and will be his last. Amir Khan, from Britain, is being touted as his next opponent. But this is yet to be confirmed.
“Hopefully it does happen. If it does, it will be an interesting fight because Khan is very good boxer. I don’t look forward to another Mayweather’s fight. He past his time,” says Toweel.