I have avoided this topic since it began, mostly because it was and is beaten to death. But after reading many people claim Pacquiao ducked Mayweather, I felt the need to post this and see what others thought.
First of all, I am a bigger Pacquiao fan than Mayweather. I own both career sets on DVD, and if Mayweather had of stayed with the same style he utlized at Jr. LW and LW, hands down Floyd would be my guy. Regardless, I have a lot of respect for both. They are clearly superior to the majority of their peers.
However, to claim Pacquiao is ducking Mayweather is fairly comical. Since Mayweather moved up in weight, he has hand picked nearly all of his opponents. His "fights" vs De La Hoya and Marquez were hard to watch, even for a hardcore fan. I appreciate the mastery in which he conducts his craft, shutting down opponents and not getting hit. However, his offense is horrible, and his pot shotting is also a disgrace to his talents. His performance vs Corrales (RIP) shows what he is capable of, but he would rather coast and put the audience to sleep.
From his interviews you can see he is in awe of Pacquiao's talents. Claiming he "has to be on something to be doing what he's doing" etc. shows where Floyd's head is at. Talking about the possibility of "dieing in the ring" are comments I have never, throughout Floyd's career, heard him discuss. Demanding olympic style drug tests is bull****. Not the idea itself (it would be great if olympic tests were as accurate as people think, they are not, i.e. Usain Bolt, but still are better than the commission tests). The problem with Floyd demanding that is it sets a precedent for boxers to go outside of their own sanctioning bodies and create their own rules. Hence, making the boxer bigger than the sport.
There is no way Pacquiao is ducking the test. You don't agree to 21 days and say no to 14 because you fear a fail, it's posturing over Mayweather's desire to make himself bigger than the sport. Different cultures bring different beliefs, and Pacquiao is of the age old Phillipino tradition that believes blood loss (even a small dose) makes you weak. It's mental, it's documented, and it should be respected. He was willing to do a test right after the fight as well, so to think he is somehow scared of Mayweather or the test is fairly ludicrous.
Listening to Roger and the rest of the Mayweather clan talk about Pacquiao being on some "secret drug the Phillipino military uses to walk through bullets"" etc. shows you where the true fear lies. If this fight does not get made, it is because Mayweather somewhere along the line (I think the Judah fight where he was getting it for the first 5 rounds) lost his supreme confidence. Look at his performance vs De La Hoya. Even against Hatton before the KO. I expect Floyd to walk through Mosley (a fight he conveniently takes after Mosley has been inactive for 16 months) but I don't expect Floyd to ever take on Pacquiao. As long as he can play the steroid card and make ridiculous demands outside of his own sporting sanctions he will avoid the fight. And the saddest part is the sheep that eat it up and allow him to do so.
First of all, I am a bigger Pacquiao fan than Mayweather. I own both career sets on DVD, and if Mayweather had of stayed with the same style he utlized at Jr. LW and LW, hands down Floyd would be my guy. Regardless, I have a lot of respect for both. They are clearly superior to the majority of their peers.
However, to claim Pacquiao is ducking Mayweather is fairly comical. Since Mayweather moved up in weight, he has hand picked nearly all of his opponents. His "fights" vs De La Hoya and Marquez were hard to watch, even for a hardcore fan. I appreciate the mastery in which he conducts his craft, shutting down opponents and not getting hit. However, his offense is horrible, and his pot shotting is also a disgrace to his talents. His performance vs Corrales (RIP) shows what he is capable of, but he would rather coast and put the audience to sleep.
From his interviews you can see he is in awe of Pacquiao's talents. Claiming he "has to be on something to be doing what he's doing" etc. shows where Floyd's head is at. Talking about the possibility of "dieing in the ring" are comments I have never, throughout Floyd's career, heard him discuss. Demanding olympic style drug tests is bull****. Not the idea itself (it would be great if olympic tests were as accurate as people think, they are not, i.e. Usain Bolt, but still are better than the commission tests). The problem with Floyd demanding that is it sets a precedent for boxers to go outside of their own sanctioning bodies and create their own rules. Hence, making the boxer bigger than the sport.
There is no way Pacquiao is ducking the test. You don't agree to 21 days and say no to 14 because you fear a fail, it's posturing over Mayweather's desire to make himself bigger than the sport. Different cultures bring different beliefs, and Pacquiao is of the age old Phillipino tradition that believes blood loss (even a small dose) makes you weak. It's mental, it's documented, and it should be respected. He was willing to do a test right after the fight as well, so to think he is somehow scared of Mayweather or the test is fairly ludicrous.
Listening to Roger and the rest of the Mayweather clan talk about Pacquiao being on some "secret drug the Phillipino military uses to walk through bullets"" etc. shows you where the true fear lies. If this fight does not get made, it is because Mayweather somewhere along the line (I think the Judah fight where he was getting it for the first 5 rounds) lost his supreme confidence. Look at his performance vs De La Hoya. Even against Hatton before the KO. I expect Floyd to walk through Mosley (a fight he conveniently takes after Mosley has been inactive for 16 months) but I don't expect Floyd to ever take on Pacquiao. As long as he can play the steroid card and make ridiculous demands outside of his own sporting sanctions he will avoid the fight. And the saddest part is the sheep that eat it up and allow him to do so.
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