Thoughts On The Pacquiao - Mayweather Fight

Disclaimer: I don't specialize in Boxing, so, if my analysis is bad, I apologize. Just trying this out.

I waited for this fight ever since I was a 12 year old kid who had hopes of watching The People's Champion Manny Pacquiao go face to face against Floyd "Money" Mayweather.

 Finally, after so long, the match happened.

Am I happy with the result?

Of course not. I wanted Manny to win.

Was I satisfied with the match?

As a fan who wants a boxing match with hellacious pace, no. But as a fan who knows that boxing is so much more than just attacking, I'm pretty okay with it.

Do I have lots of stuff to say about the fight?

HELL YES.

1. Manny has definitely changed 

We know Manny as that guy who could beat anyone up despite his diminutive stature. He stands at 5'6", yet, he could make guys 2 or 3 inches taller than him bow down to his greatness. He unleashed a flurry of punches in order to wow the judges, and most of the time, it worked out for him.

In fact, in his 4th bout against rival Juan Manuel Marquez, he was winning because of the speed and power that he showed the crowd in order to beat up the Mexican.

But then, this happpened.

 

That knockout pretty much changed how Manny approached his fights.

Instead of simply relying on his speed and power, Pacquiao turned into a smarter fighter. Sure, he still had his moments where he would completely beat up his opponents, but he was more careful when it came to throwing his punches. 

It was on full display in this match, as instead of immediately attacking Mayweather like a mad man, He was careful with throwing punches, and he tried to make sure that Floyd wouldn't connect on any of his power punches (Floyd connected on a lot of jabs though).

It was a display of how much Manny has grown as a fighter. It was a display of how much he has changed....

2. .... but too much change is bad

I'll make this short and sweet.

Manny was definitely not himself tonight.

He was TOO careful.

The aggressiveness wasn't there.

Sure there were spurts but by no means was it consistent.

He made Mayweather control the pace.

You could blame it on his injury.

You could blame it on lots of things.

But, if you ask me what went wrong with Manny tonight, it's that. He was just TOO careful. 

3. Mayweather is the epitome of efficient boxing

One of the commentators mentioned that Mayweather is very economical when it came to throwing punches.

He's not a volume puncher just like how Manny is. He's very careful when it comes to throwing punches. Instead of bringing his opponent to the corner and eventually throwing a flurry of punches against him, Mayweather focuses on timing his counters correctly.

As a guy used to watching exciting fights, watching Mayweather beat Manny in such subtle manner was really frustrating. There were times I pictured myself fighting Mayweather and just throwing a flurry of punches against him.

But eventually, you have to ignore the #PinoyPride and appreciate how efficient of a boxer Mayweather is. His style is boring, yes. But hey, it translates to wins, so what's to hate? 

4. The scorecards were messed up, but the result was on point

I personally had the fight at 115 - 113 in favor of Floyd. My #PinoyPride had me thinking of scoring it 115 - 113 in favor of Manny or a draw, but, a 115 - 113 in favor of Mayweather seems more reasonable.

The 116 - 112 scorecards were actually alright. You can argue that maybe it was too lopsided, but you could argue as well that Mayweather won 4 rounds over Manny.

But 118 - 110? Seriously? 

5. I WANT A REMATCH

Nabitin ako ng laban na yun. Grabe yung hype, sabay ganun lang.

Parang McRib lang ng McDo.

In all seriousness, I want a rematch. It may not be needed as of the moment, but the fan in me wants a rematch. A match where Manny has a good right shoulder. A match where Floyd tries to be aggressive, but at the same time, continues to be efficient when it comes to his punches.

I just want one more match. 

It's highly unlikely. But hey, one can dream right?