OT: Pacquiao fought with a torn rotator cuff

Submitted by taistreetsmyhero on

Many people who watched the fight were angry at Mayweather's "boring" style of boxing, but if you had ever watched a fight of his before you should have known what you were getting.

I was largely disappointed at how relatively uninspiring manny was in the fight. I know he's older, but I still expected him to come out wailing.

Well, this might have contributed (a lot) to it:

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12821905/manny-pacquiao-surgery-significant-tear-rotator-cuff-right-shoulder

OccaM

May 4th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^

Mayweather would still have won. Probably would have KOd Manny 5 years ago the way Marquez did since Manny was really wreckless back then. 

The next "great" matchup will be Wlad Klitschko vs. Deontay Wilder in 2016 for the heavyweight undisputed championship. Even that fight might be meh cuz Wlad is probably going to be 40 by then... 

OccaM

May 4th, 2015 at 11:06 PM ^

It's hilarious to me the amount of criticism Floyd gets for "running" and "hugging" when Klitschko does similar shit every fight, yet everyones like meh. 

I would still pay to watch Klitschko v Wilder or Fury. But yeah... boxing divisions are kinda lean at the moment in terms of excitement... 

billybrown

May 4th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^

I watch Floyd because I'm a fan of the sport but his style is not exciting to me. I can appreciate the technique but his lack of killer instinct is boring. That said I would rather watch him than klitchsko anytime. I watch klitchsko again because I'm a fan but his fights are constantly a chore to get through.

gmoney41

May 5th, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^

Not a huge fan of boxing, it hasn't been exciting in 15+ years.  This fight was a huge letdown and so glad I didn't spend a dime to see it.  Mayweather is just a boring fighter.  He has speed and is a good boxer, but he doesn't have the charisma of a Roy Jones Jr, and lacks power to knock fools out.  The sport unfortunately has noone that is worth watching in my book.  Even if Manny was healthy, the fight would have still been a bore.

tsunami42080

May 5th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^

Havne't heard of a single one. I suspect that any casual fan also has never heard of even one of those guys. If boxing isn't dead, this last fight put a nail in the coffin of the foreseeable future. Millions of people got duped and robbed of time and money. 30 minutes of running feints, ducking, and running away are just not entertaining to anyone outside of the boxing community. Horrible product.

 

Can you imagine a casual fan spending a dime on a match in the next 5 years?

JaySoul

May 5th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^

About 4 of those fighters have had fights on HBO within the last 5 months, 2-3 have had fights on NBC with the new premier boxing in the last 2 months. If you are a fan of boxing you can look for the fights, casual fans most likely are only paying attention to "big names" pay per view type bouts. 

In reply to by ijohnb

JaySoul

May 5th, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^

Someone will not survive this saturday, most likely Kirkland because he will become to wild and get caught with a vicious shot. Definitely should be alot more in your face action 

gmoney41

May 5th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^

All those guys listed may be great fighters, but I just don't care enough about the sport to care to watch them.  For me boxing needs a charismatic fighter to either root for or against, or just a dominant force to hate or love.  That certain charismatic force has to be great also.  I was never blown away with Manny or Floyd, and it would take a ton for me to come back to the sport.  It is just not entertaining.  The Clippers San Antonio game Saturday was light years more entertaining and I dont really like the NBA.

atom evolootion

May 5th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^

I think Kirkland has a really good shot against Canelo. The guy sees blood before it even comes through the skin. I'll be all in the TV for that one...

For people who say boxing is boring, especially based on Mayweather and Klitschko fights, perhaps more aggressive technicians, like Andre Ward (when he's active), Terrance Crawford, or even this new incarnation of jab-first, body-hook-second Miguel Cotto, can shine a different light on boxing. If you like brawls, skip the big names and go for Lucas Mathysse, James Kirkland, Kid Chocolate, Gennady Golovkin, Segei Kovalev, or anyone who makes HBO's Gatti List. I assume that if Manny would've knocked Mayweather out in the twelfth round after losing the whole fight the same way it went on Saturday, the whole world would've been talking about how scintillating boxing is...

The Mad Hatter

May 5th, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^

Floyd ducked Manny for the last 8 years because he knew that Manny would have beat him.  Manny had agreed to urine tests before the fight, and a blood test immediately afterwards. Is there some drug that would have given him an advantage, and also been completely out of his system by the end of the fight?  None that I know of.

And as for the "fight", Manny wasn't himself.  If that was due to injury, age, or him just wanting a $100 million payday without caring about winning, I don't know.  But something was off.

Boxers like Floyd are bad for the sport.  Sure, you can argue that he's a great technical and strategic boxer, but his style is boring as hell to watch.  All he does is throw BS jabs to score points and avoid getting hit.

They need to change the rules if they want the sport to survive.  Allow judges to score rounds as tied.  Points only for power punches.  Maybe go back to 15 round fights.  Maybe require a KO, TKO, or throwing in the towel for a win.

ijohnb

May 5th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^

was good for the sport for a while, but he and the sport of boxing need to move on.  What he is doing now is an exercise in self-preservation, and while he has mastered it, he is really only "winning" these fights by a definition that he himself has created due to heavy reliance on compubox and punches thrown/connected as nearly the only statistics used to judge fights.  I am not saying that Pacquio won the fight, but the only stretches of the fight where either fighter was actually trying to inflict damage on the other were of Pacquio's doing.  But you can't "fight" somebody who is actively attempting to avoid fighting.  I think Floyd should fight two more times and break Marciano's record and then retire.  He should get credit for what has been an incredible career in which he reinvented himself on numerous occasions.

As for the fight this Saturday, as I said a little below this, that presentation had bigger problems than the main event.  If boxing wants to remain a pay per view based sport in needs to stack fights on same card.  I would not have cared that MayPac was a dud if Cotto and Alverez had fights against worthy competition the same night.  This one "main event" with joke undercards needs to go.  If you charge $100 for an event, you need to give the fans their moneys worth. 

The Mad Hatter

May 5th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^

The undercard was just awful.  The sport of boxing blew a huge opportunity with that undercard.  A lot of casual fans ordered the fight just to be able to say they saw it around the water cooler on Monday morning.  Some great undercard fights might have created some new boxing fans.

Instead, we got a 3 hour long snooze fest.

ijohnb

May 5th, 2015 at 9:48 AM ^

HBO did not advertise, at all, that Alverez v. Kirkland was this weekend, for free with subscription, while playing the MayPac fight immediately before it.

I got fleeced.  I knew there was a substantial chance that it was happening when I clicked "order" so I have nobody to blame but myself.  That being said, really?  Two major cable network along with Floyd F-ing Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya's check books could not create a better experience than that for a $100 pay per view fee. 

$100.  That is 20 Hot and Readys.  God I could have had so much pizza.

Yum, Pizza.

robbyt003

May 5th, 2015 at 9:36 AM ^

That does not make sense, because Floyd has beaten guys that have knocked out Manny.  You can hate Floyd all that you want, but he is a smart boxer.  He knows what it takes to pad the stat sheets.  He plays excellent defense and he gets his jabs in.  He is not a power boxer by any means and will not knock many of the good boxers out. 

The Mad Hatter

May 5th, 2015 at 9:44 AM ^

Knocked Manny out in their 4th fight.  He had spent more time in the ring with Manny than anyone other than Freddie Roach.  He waited years for that specific opening and finally took his shot.

You said it yourself, Floyd knows how to pad his stat sheets.  Which is a cowards way of winning.  None of the greats ever had to pad their stat sheets.

Go back and watch some of Manny's fights from the 08-10 time period.  He would have beaten Floyd, easily.

Cronan the Barbarian

May 5th, 2015 at 10:32 AM ^

I am a huge fan of boxing and had been looking forward to this fight for years. While I agree that Manny has lost a bit, so has Mayweather. You should go back and watch some of his fights from his younger days when his right straight actually had power. 

I can tell you are a big Manny fan, but to say he would have won easily is absurd, though I guess if you take a hard stance on something that objective you can try and back it up without facts.

Floyd is and was a better technical boxer, as boring as that may be, beat all of the same opponents as Manny, and has held the #1 pound for pound title per experts basically the entire time the two of them have been boxing. 

Not really a fan of either, just hate when people take historic stances like that and ignore all facts. 

ijohnb

May 5th, 2015 at 10:38 AM ^

Manny would have beat him on points around the time he fought Cotto, I think it was 2009.  He was an absolutely machine around that time and Mayweather had already begun to lose a step, maybe a half a step, but he had lost something.

 

Eastside Maize

May 5th, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^

I don't know about Pac beating Money easily. All those wild and awkward combos Pac Man used to throw would've been neutralized by Floyd's defense. Not to mention that Floyd might be the best counterpuncher I've seen since Hagler. It's kinda fishy to me that all of the knockout power Manny had is gone. 

MayOhioEatTurds

May 5th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^

climb from flyweight (112 lbs) to welterweight (147 lbs) you lose knockout power relative to your competition. 

This phenomenon should be expected.  It has also been observed across many boxing careers, and over far fewer weight classes.  

Manny should never have fought above lightweight (135 lbs).  But it's harder to cut weight as you age.  Especially if you cut weight to the point you look like a cadaver. 

MGlobules

May 5th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^

announce that he is relinquishing all of his belts? Dunno whether this rotator cuff news, which has been bubbling for a while, puts new juice in the idea of a rematch. . . of what proved to be a pretty boring fight. (Don't think it was really that boring if you were in the know, taking in the human drama and the character of the blow-by-blow.)

It's the prospect of blood that brings the "fans," so. . . While I get this, I find it ironic that people who call themselves aficionados claim the sport needs to change to accommodate the bloodlust.

Don't think there's any "saving" boxing anyway. People who want savagery have long since drifted in other directions. By the mid 70s Muhammed Ali had both overcome and demolished every athletic, symbolic, or political caricature or nuance that remained to the whole tawdry business, anyway. Someone show me what there is really left to do in the sport, how some transcendance can be achieved. I didn't think so.

I actually learned how to box a little as a young man--people still had fights by boxing in Red Bank, New Jersey when I was coming up. I developed some appreciation of styles, the rigor required, adored Ali. But this sh*t is played.  

 

ijohnb

May 5th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^

is relinquishing the belts because he has to pay licensing and sanctioning fees to the organizations when ever he fights with their belts on the line, sometimes near a million dollars per fight.  I trust Lord Baelish more than I trust Floyd Mayweather.  I don't think he is leaving the sport anytime soon.

Nobody need or wants transcendence, they want the sport to care about the fan, just a little bit.  If you are going to have a "mega fight," make it a "mega-event," bring the 6 or 8 biggest names in the sport and have them fight at one place on one card.

And yes, it was boring, unbelievably boring even my Mayweather's standards.  Walking out with The Burger King was pretty funny.  I will give him that. 

OccaM

May 5th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^

Dude Manny arguably lost 3 times to JMM over that span. I don't get this argument Manny fans make. It's like you guys are comparing a 38 year old Mayweather to a 29 year old Manny. 

A 32 year old Mayweather is still a lot better than a 29 year old Manny. 

MichiganTeacher

May 5th, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^

And if he went back in time, he better go back in space, too, seeing as how the Earth moves. It would suck to invent a time machine and go back just to find yourself floating in the interstellar void.

Jeff4179

May 5th, 2015 at 1:19 PM ^

is what ticked me off most about this fight.  Four to six years ago, it might have been an all-time classic.  I swore I'd never pay to see two fighters past their prime (Floyd barely past his prime, Manny well past his prime), but.....I did.  I hoped that the occasion would bring one last great fight out of both boxers.  Alas.....

Roc Blue in the Lou

May 5th, 2015 at 1:14 AM ^

I can't keep it in any more...the fight DID happen 6 years ago.  Both fighters were way more aggressive and, although Mayweather relied on his boxing/defensive skills, he and Manny landed many more punches.  In fact, in the 5th round, Manny took advantage of a rare opportunity and floored Mayweather with an upper cut.  I must confess the fight was one-sided in Manny's favor from that moment on.  It was in the 7th round--with Mayweather on the ropes and struggling--that i used my time portat and erased the event...and all to save my stupid $30 bet!  Sorry, but i couldn't afford to lose 30 bucks and still pay rent.  Damn, i feel soooo ashamed.  I took away Manny's big win and, even the KNOWLEDGE has no pitty on me.