By Steve Silverman
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If you don’t think the battle between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has already started, you haven’t been paying attention.
Floyd started fighting as the negotiations for this epic confrontation got hammered out, and everything has gone in his favor. That’s probably why this fight has been so long in the making. If Pacquiao had insisted that any of the negotiating issues — like money, billing or press — needed to go in his favor, Mayweather would have continued to say no.
Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum came to the conclusion that they had to capitulate on every issue, or the chance to step into the ring for the biggest fight since Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield, Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier (take your pick) would have gone by the boards.
So Manny swallowed hard. He wants to fight Mayweather, and he proved it by letting Floyd get everything he wanted.
If you saw the press conference introducing the two fighters and their collective teams Wednesday, you saw Mayweather and his team in control of the event. Don’t be fooled by Floyd’s relatively tame remarks in which he was moderately complimentary to Pacquiao and his career accomplishments.
He wanted to get into Pacquiao’s head and continue the process of beating down Manny’s psyche between now and the May 2 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mayweather spent much of his time pointing out that his undefeated record means that he doesn’t have a loss that sticks in his mind and accompanies him every time he steps in the ring. He acted as if his unblemished record is a shield that will protect him from punches when the two men step in the ring.
Perhaps Mayweather believes those words will take root in Pacquiao’s brain, and the thought of the five losses that Pacquiao has in his career will overwhelm the Filipino fighter before the first punches are thrown.
Mayweather is likely to have many more psychological weapons to fire at Pacquiao. He better, because Pac-Man is not Canelo Alvarez or Roberto “The Ghost” Guerrero. He is a brilliant champion in his own right, and he knows all the tricks of the trade, including the psychological ones.
Pacquiao has tasted defeat several times before, including a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez. But while Mayweather seems to think that his perfect record will make a difference when the fight is on the line, the fact that Pacquiao is still fighting after getting pounded should work on his behalf.
Mayweather knows that Pacquiao got hit with a sudden brutal uppercut against Marquez, and that’s why he was knocked out in that fight. Marquez had come out with all guns blazing and had gained an early advantage, but Pacquiao had turned that fight around before he was hit with that devastating punch.
That’s the difference between Pacquiao and the other fighters who have stepped into the ring with Mayweather to this point in his career. They have all been somewhat intimidated by Mayweather’s persona and record. Pacquiao has simply been through too much at this point in his career to be concerned about any outside factors.
Pacquiao will bring his best fight into the ring against Mayweather. Whether it will be good enough has yet to be determined, but trainer Freddie Roach is certain to come up with a potential winning strategy, and Pacquiao will follow it if he believes that Roach’s approach is correct.
Pacquiao may not have the advantage of bringing a pristine record into the ring, but he is an aggressive offensive fighter who will not back down. Mayweather has been content in the last few years to fight defensively, avoid getting hit and throw counterpunches. He will almost certainly work that same strategy again here.
That should play into Pacquiao’s hands. He almost certainly knows what Mayweather will do, but Mayweather may be surprised by what he sees from Pacquiao. Manny will throw punches from all angles, and his left-handed stance could be problematic. Mayweather is certainly going to figure out that style, but how many hard punches will he have to eat before he understands what’s coming?
That’s a problem for Mayweather, because he has not been hit with hard combinations very often. He is a defensive master and he prides himself on avoiding those dangerous punches.
But Pacquiao is an all-time great. He has blemishes on his record, but he is a brilliantly talented fighter. He will not be intimidated or beaten before this fight starts, and he will give Mayweather the battle of his life.
There is plenty of time for final predictions, but an upset by Pacquiao would not be such a shocker.
