How Floyd Bad Weather frustrated Manny’s Gathering Storm

How Floyd Bad Weather frustrated Manny’s Gathering Storm

Screengrab from CTV newscast

Will the Disappointment of the Century redeem itself in a rematch?

By Derek de Vera

There is an old saying that goes, “It takes two to tango”. Unfortunately for the millions of fight fans around the world, there was only one fighter who wanted to put on a show while the other was content with showing up and collecting his 9-figure paycheck.

To set the record straight Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has never really engaged in toe-to-toe action fights, did enough in the eyes of the judges to bring his undefeated record to 48 wins. It did appear that he tamed Manny Pacquiao’s aggressiveness with his counter punching, a pop shot here and there but not throwing enough punches to make the decision definitive. There are even boxing pundits including former Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield and ESPN reporter Skip Bayless who insist that Manny Pacquiao should have been declared the winner. All the same, Floyd boxed in typical Mayweather fashion by boring the paying public who was craving the excitement that a $99 CAD pay-per-view tab should provide.

The fact is Manny Pacquiao was the aggressor for the entire fight. He started off being so from the opening bell but became tentative after being caught with a counter right hand in that opening stanza. However, the more pressure Pacquiao put on Mayweather, the more holding, headlocks, pushing and even elbowing was given in return. The referee, Kenny Bayliss did give Mayweather verbal warnings but did not follow through with any point deductions.

Watching closely it seemed that Manny Pacquiao was not his regular self. He wasn’t bouncing on his toes as much as was the norm, which would provide the awkward punching angles but most importantly he wasn’t throwing his right jabs and hooks with enough frequency. There had to be something wrong with the game plan that his trainer Freddie Roach had devised but the true revelation came after the fight when it was revealed that Pacquiao had a torn right rotator cuff suffered in early April and was even denied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to get an anti-inflammatory shot before entering the ring.

Mayweather claims that he was aware of everything that was going on in Pacquiao’s training camp, including his training schedule, sparring sessions and leg cramps but did not go as far as saying he knew about the shoulder injury. Floyd claims, “It’s the art of war. I always have to be steps ahead of you.” With regard to Mayweather’s knowledge of Pacquiao’s bum shoulder, it would be hard to deny as there was a specific incident in which the two fighters were tangled with Manny’s right arm under Floyd’s left in which the American fighter clamped the Filipino’s arm and tugged on it.

Pacquiao did land a few stunning blows throughout the bout in which Mayweather retreated to the ropes and was swarmed by Manny’s flurry of punches. However, the Silver medalist in the 1996 Olympic Games would go in full out defensive mode covering both head and body neutralizing any further damage from the aggressive southpaw’s attack.

Since the fight, there have been civil lawsuits filed against Pacquiao claiming that the injury should have been disclosed. There were millions of dollars wagered for the Filipino to win and those bettors are incensed with the withheld information. Many are in agreement that the fight should have been postponed until both fighters were in optimal health.

There are now soft discussions of a potential rematch when Pacquiao is fully recovered from his shoulder surgery, which he underwent on May 6th. If it does transpire I am sure there will be a huge fallout of interest from the worldwide buzz surrounding this first fight but for the boxing world it would be relevant and fair to see these two pound-for-pound greats fight again with both being healthy and injury-free.