It may be true that the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fisticuffs amount to the fight of the century. It is, after all, the 15th year of a century that forgot the sport exists.
If the much-hyped clinch turns out to be boxing's death rattle, its Battle of the Bulge, then it might be the sport's pinnacle, in the same way that Yakutsk is the warmest city in Siberia.
What's been lost in the run-up to this spectacle is that, at ages 38 and 36, neither fighter is in his prime. Pacquiao particularly, now with five losses and two draws in his career, got himself slobberknocked by Juan Manuel Marquez three fights ago and is a nearly 2-1 underdog in this contest.
Consider that: in no game on tonight's baseball schedule is any team such a prohibitive underdog. The Houston Rockets were roughly a 2-1 favorite to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Did that matchup intrigue you? Were you on the edge of your seat wondering who would emerge victorious?
The Rockets crushed the Mavs in five games. That's Mayweather-Pacquiao.
When undefeated heavyweights Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier tangled the first time, they were the world's two greatest fighters. The first Leonard-Hearns duel unified the welterweight title and established a clash of styles. We couldn't wait to see who won, and neither could the sanctioning bodies. Mayweather-Paquiao? It's a big payday.
Enjoy the fight. I'll watch the Red Sox and Yankees.
No comments:
Post a Comment