(Sport) Boxing: Why Mayweather v Pacquiao Was the Best and Worst Thing to Happen to Boxing

While the history books will record that Manny Pacquiao lost his " fight of the century" bout with  Floyd "Money" Mayweather, the real loser of the disappointing bout might be the sport itself.

Part of the allure of the fight was that many saw Pacquiao posing the toughest challenge in Mayweather's career and had waited five long years for the fight to be made. Both fighter had their legacies on the line but Mayweather especially given that the fact that Mayweather's legacy by many boxing aficionados (including Mayweather himself) is solely defined by his 48-0 unbeaten record.

What we all witnessed last Saturday may not have been the greatest spectacle by anybody's standard but it was a 12 round masterclass in how to win a fight by controlling the pace and distance. In most combat sports, it's damn near impossible to win a bout without either controlling the pace and distance of a fight and Mayweather, a master at gaining a stranglehold of both, knows this better than anybody else. It's why almost all his fights get hyped to the hilt then end up being borefests as he quickly gains control of both the pace and distance then the fight is over as a spectacle.

It's also why people hate the pants off the pound for pound champ outside his brash public persona, insensitive public statements, and his extensive but shamefully under-reported history of battering women. Boxing fans across the board will praise his ability as a boxer but are left bemused when he calls himself "TBE" (shorthand for "the best ever") and lose their minds when he has the nerve to commit the blasphemous act of saying he's greater than Muhammad Ali then criticize the great man's legacy in the same breath.

All the hate Mayweather attracts and encourages is why he's the sports main draw and why many thought Mayweather would win the bout but still hoped that Pacquiao would beat him up badly enough to make him retire. Mayweather would have had to retire if he did lose because he would no longer be the sports biggest draw and his main legacy (his unbeaten record) would be in tatters.

But, in truth, it would have been difficult for Pacquiao to win the fight. Mayweather is  the bigger man, has a larger reach and is just as fast as the Filipino pugilist which means Pacquiao would have push the pace of the fight and close the distance in a sport where simply, in the words of the legendary boxing coach Emanuel Stewart, " the good big ones usually beat the good little ones".

The moment I knew the fight was over as a spectacle was when Mayweather landed a straight right in the first round, squared up in the center of the ring with Pacquiao and nothing happened. From there, Mayweather took control of the pace and distance of the fight by being elusive, throwing a ton of spoiler and stiff jabs, and landing the occasional straight right.

The only times Pacquiao found success was when Mayweather gave up the distance but was still in control of the pace of fight as Mayweather simply circled off the ropes after Manny unloaded then preceded to take over the pace and distance of the fight like nothing happened.

Because the fight was so boring to watch except among the few real boxing fans who appreciate what the sweet science is all about, boxing might have just suffered the biggest poke in the eye it's since Mike Tyson got peckish and took a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear. Never has boxing had so many people pay attention to sport expecting to see Hagler/Hearns only to get a less entertaining 12 round rehash of Duran/Lennard II.

Casual fans of the sport took to twitter to register their disgust towards the fight after they felt they were cheated out of their hard earned money to watch a 36 minute boxing exhibition.  The reaction to the fight gotten nasty as Pacuiao, HBO and Showtime are now subject to a lawsuit from angry fans less than pleased with bout they saw and incensed with the revelation that Manny went into the ring with a tear in his shoulder.

While Mayweather v Pacquiao wasn't the greatest fight to watch, I've seen worse fights and if the world was paying attention to those they probably wouldn't want to watch boxing, ever. In sum, we all expected the fight of the century but what we got was a fight the century will quickly forget which is not only a stain on the fighters involved but a black eye on boxing in general.

(Sports) Boxing: 2015 Going To Be A Great Year In Boxing

I’ve always thought 2015 was going to be a great year for boxing mostly for what happened outside the ring than in it as Golden Boy owner and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya made all the right moves in his quest to get the best fights made inluding thawing the cold war between Golden Boy and Bob Arum’s Top Rank which opens up the possibility of a number of great fights.

2014 on the whole was a dismal year for the sweet science as the Al Haymon effect was felt full force as top talent in the sport under his advisement shamelessly ducked viable opponents, fought overmatched opponents (Danny Garcia’s shameful non-title bout with thethen unranked Rod Salka the most flagrant example), or dropped belts altogether for reasons still unclear to many boxing fans across the board.

But probably his most blatant transgression in 2014 was that he made the sport more predictable with his low risk approach to matchmaking, a worrying mindset that slowly kills a niche sport like boxing that thrives on fighters taking risky or difficult fights. Even worse than that, fighters, most notably those under his advisement, seemed to have internalized this mindset to the point that they were openly bragging about avoiding stiff competition to the chagrin of boxing fans everywhere.

However in 2015, even Al Haymon , probably the most risk averse adviser in the history of the sport, seems to have made a commitment to put his already large and growing stable of fighters in more competitive fights (though largely with each other) and despite the largely negative assessments of his influence on boxing offered by members of fourth estate, he managed to put boxing back on television after a long hiatus which easily the most encouraging news so far in the world of boxing.

Add to that the impressive PPV numbers generated by the Wilder v Stiverne and Alvarado v Rios III bouts and the heavyweight division becoming more competitive with  a growing list of contenders and prospects looking to make 2015 their year’ 2015 is looking like the year boxing comes back swinging for the fences.

With these developments, 2015 looks to be one of the best years in boxing in ages but what would put 2015 over as one of the best years in the history of sport would be to see the fight just about everybody wants, the yet to be made super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. It stands as a testament to the star power of both men that sports blogs have donated thousands of articles wildly speculating about Pacquiao’s and Mayweather’s next fight.

With nothing set in stone and Showtime and HBO yet to come to an agreement, boxing fans are forced to hold their breath and hope a deal is struck. However, with both fighters at least on speaking terms and there being way too much on the table for the networks prevent the fight from happening, there is  grounds to be optimistic that a deal will be done sooner rather than later.

In sum, 2015 is to be a great year in boxing and boxing fans after the nightmare of 2014 and maybe the year that boxing reestablishes itself as the world number one combat sport.