PHILSTAR: Experts on Pacman-M'weather: Great but too late

THE GAME OF MY LIFE By Bill Velasco (The Philippine Star)
Miguel Cotto is no Manny Pacquiao, and Timothy Bradley is not Floyd Mayweather. Once again, boxing fans are disappointed that the only megabuck fight they’re anticipating isn’t taking place. Now the question is, will it ever happen at all?

The Star contacted various boxing experts in the Philippines and in the US for their opinions on whether or not a Pacquiao-Mayweather match-up would stll happen, and if fans would still appreciate it.

“There is just too much money to be made for this fight not to happen,” declares Atty. Ed Tolentino, ABS-CBN Sports commentator for “Top Rank Boxing”. “We are talking here of enough dollars that would make Bill Gates wet his pants in envy. Both fighters are nearing the end of their careers and for sure both of them are looking for a hell of a retirement gratuity. Long after their careers have ended, people will not be talking about the eight world titles Pacquiao won or how Mayweather won titles from light welterweight to super welterweight, but how they dodged each other.”

Meanwhile, others feel the matter has been talked out too much to make the same impact it would have previously.

“The truth is, a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight isn’t as big as it would have been two years ago because the fight has been overcooked in the eyes of many,” believes Ryan Songalia, a Filipino-American writer for RingTV. “Pacquiao’s stock has dipped since the close Marquez fight and Mayweather himself hasn’t been breaking new ground. The momentum of both men has really been stagnated. Both men have engaged in other bouts that people weren’t exactly clamoring to see them in, and the reason why is because they can still make money without taking the ultimate risk, which is fighting each other.”

Others believe it may be time to move past this blockbuster and look at new talent on the horizon. The shadows that Pacman and Pretty Boy Floyd cast are so large and, as the saying goes, nothing grows in the shade.

“Pacquiao and Mayweather may currently be the top dogs in the game, but it would be unfair for the sport to cast a shadow on the potential great match-ups that can be made,” adds “fight doctor” JV Tuazon, a Filipino-American boxer, boxing writer and physical therapist based in New Jersey. “How can a sport grow if we don’t cultivate new talent and bring them into the public’s eye? If we let this continue, we will need Pacquiao-Mayweather even more because the unrecognizable names will remain in obscurity.”

“I believe it has to happen! Manny and Mayweather will never be able to call themselves the best of their time if they don’t,” affirms Talk N Text center Ali Peek, a devout boxing fan for decades. “There has to be a fight to determine the best! It will haunt them the rest of their careers and even after. When the critics, you and me, the people worldwide that are diehard boxing fans, people in barber shops, particularly in the inner cities of the United States will have continuous arguments and debates. We will all wonder what could have been.”

There are so many side issues and distractions keeping both fighters from signing on the dotted line. There’s the animosity between Mayweather and Arum, his former promoter who is now Pacquiao’s. There’s the greed that causes each camp to ask for the bigger share of the purse. And of course, there’s the fear that each may actually lose the fight.

“Regarding the negotiations, it’s not as clear as black and white as to who is at fault for the fight not happening,” Songalia continues. “I feel that Pacquiao has always wanted the fight, and Mayweather as well. But both men want it on their own terms and neither is willing to back down on principle. The only losers there are the fans.”

Tolentino adds a humorous analogy to how crazy things have gotten.

“Imagine collapsing from hunger amid the abundance of food on the table. The food is on the table but nobody wants to touch it because Pacquiao, Mayweather and Arum all want the biggest slice of the pie!” Tolentino exclaims. “On the other hand, Mayweather’s paranoia – the thought of placing his unbeaten mark at serious risk – will also keep the fight from happening. Mayweather’s demands have ranged from strange to downright ridiculous. Next thing you know, he’ll demand that Pacquiao shave his moustache for the fight to happen – in the belief that it is the source of Pacman’s power.”

And if the fight never happens, it just may be the death of boxing as we know it. The increasing popularity of other contact sports such as mixed martial arts, the lack of commercially viable champions and confusion over boxing organizations has left fans confused and disillusioned. Boxing is taking too many hits and is barely on its feet.

“Honestly, I was a major fight fan in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, but boxing is dead without these two. There are so many belts and so many champions,” says an exasperated Peek. “It’s gotten to the point that no one knows or cares who holds belts! When I was growing up, Tyson had three belts: IBF, WBC, WBA. Now there’s IBO, WBO, I can’t even follow it anymore!”

Then again, there may be other, more diabolical reasons why the fight isn’t pushing through, and they point to Mayweather taking advantage of the march of time and manipulating public opinion against the naturally smaller Filipino champion.

“The only other negotiation I can think of that was this difficult was the one that preceded the Hagler-Leonard fight in 1987,” recalls Songalia. “That is of note because Leonard eventually faced Hagler after seeing signs of slippage in the highly favored Hagler. I think Pacquiao is entering that territory now.”

“I am worried that Pacquiao, whose native tongue is obviously not English, will be vilified in the eyes of Westerners because Mayweather speaks good, albeit not proper, English,” worries Tuazon, who works in the boxing community in the East Coast. “We all know what happened to the late, great Joe Frazier who, although he was a great man and a phenomenal fighter, was vilified in the eyes of the masses due to the oratory prowess of Ali. With Mayweather taking his comments, tweets, video posts etc., to the public, he is attempting to swing the popular vote towards him. History is not necessarily about the truth but who is believed.”

In the end, the consensus is the fight is already too late, but fans would watch it to settle all the issues between the two giants of the ring.