rudee
11-27-2013, 10:22 PM
COMMENTARY | There was at least one person not overly impressed by Manny Pacquiao's complete dominance over Brandon Rios last Saturday night in Macau, China. Predictably, it was a member of Floyd Mayweather's immediate family and boxing team.
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Shortly after Pacquiao's unanimous decision victory over Rios, Floyd Mayweather Sr. was asked to give his take on Pacquiao's performance and whether it now merits that the Filipino icon face his son in a long-awaited best vs. best showdown.
"Brandon Rios can't fight and that's my honest opinion, based on what I just saw from him. I don't see no skills, I don't see no knowledge of boxing." Mayweather Sr. told proboxinginsider.com.
"Manny ain't ready for that [fighting Mayweather]... Floyd would do him the same way he [Pacquiao] did Rios."
Mayweather Sr. was extremely critical of Rios, the 27-year-old Mexican-American brawler who came into the contest a major underdog, but changed some opinions during the lead-in to the bout with his steely confidence and seeming determination to prove the critics wrong.
"The way he [Rios] was running his mouth, I thought he was a bad [expletive]. This [expletive] started off running with his hands tucked above his head. Come on, man, that was a comedy act."
Floyd Mayweather's father and head trainer also gave his opinion on whether the eight-division former world champ, Pacquiao, has redeemed himself, at least enough to now work his way into the bout fight fans have been waiting for since 2009.
"I don't call that redeeming yourself," Mayweather Sr. said. "I don't think that's gonna redeem you to justify fighting someone like Floyd. Maybe he could do something like that to fight someone like [Canelo] Alvarez or [Robert] Guerrero. If he whoops one of them, then it's time to get it on. That's what he better do. If he wants to have any chance [of getting Floyd], he better whoop one of them."
Whether Mayweather's assessment of the Pacquiao win is justified or not, it appears as though this will be one of many reasons it will be tough to get both sides together to sign Mayweather-Pacquiao. There seems to be the real feeling that, at least within the last couple of years, Pacquiao just hasn't done enough for it to be worth the headache of putting together the mega-bout.
It's unclear how much influence the elder Mayweather has on his son's actual business decisions, but it's likely that both father and son share the same perspective when it comes to Manny Pacquiao.
Like it or not, Team Mayweather is in the driver's seat from a business perspective when it comes to all future match-ups. This is not something that will sit well with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who will probably demand a 50-50 deal in all areas.
Recently, Arum said that "there is no real impediment to having that fight happen," but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are now fighting on different networks, on different sides of the planet, and with very different business deals in place. This is no longer a single issue situation. It's no longer a bout lost in limbo over random blood testing, like back in late 2009-early 2010.
To make this fight happen, Team Mayweather and Team Pacquiao would have to come together and compromise on just about every aspect of the bout. It's hard to imagine that level of cooperation after four years of aggressive stubbornness.
Indications from the Mayweather side, at least those given by Mayweather Sr., point to the fact that they don't even believe Pacquiao belongs in the same category as Floyd. If this is the case, forget about compromise and forget about Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Paul Magno
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Shortly after Pacquiao's unanimous decision victory over Rios, Floyd Mayweather Sr. was asked to give his take on Pacquiao's performance and whether it now merits that the Filipino icon face his son in a long-awaited best vs. best showdown.
"Brandon Rios can't fight and that's my honest opinion, based on what I just saw from him. I don't see no skills, I don't see no knowledge of boxing." Mayweather Sr. told proboxinginsider.com.
"Manny ain't ready for that [fighting Mayweather]... Floyd would do him the same way he [Pacquiao] did Rios."
Mayweather Sr. was extremely critical of Rios, the 27-year-old Mexican-American brawler who came into the contest a major underdog, but changed some opinions during the lead-in to the bout with his steely confidence and seeming determination to prove the critics wrong.
"The way he [Rios] was running his mouth, I thought he was a bad [expletive]. This [expletive] started off running with his hands tucked above his head. Come on, man, that was a comedy act."
Floyd Mayweather's father and head trainer also gave his opinion on whether the eight-division former world champ, Pacquiao, has redeemed himself, at least enough to now work his way into the bout fight fans have been waiting for since 2009.
"I don't call that redeeming yourself," Mayweather Sr. said. "I don't think that's gonna redeem you to justify fighting someone like Floyd. Maybe he could do something like that to fight someone like [Canelo] Alvarez or [Robert] Guerrero. If he whoops one of them, then it's time to get it on. That's what he better do. If he wants to have any chance [of getting Floyd], he better whoop one of them."
Whether Mayweather's assessment of the Pacquiao win is justified or not, it appears as though this will be one of many reasons it will be tough to get both sides together to sign Mayweather-Pacquiao. There seems to be the real feeling that, at least within the last couple of years, Pacquiao just hasn't done enough for it to be worth the headache of putting together the mega-bout.
It's unclear how much influence the elder Mayweather has on his son's actual business decisions, but it's likely that both father and son share the same perspective when it comes to Manny Pacquiao.
Like it or not, Team Mayweather is in the driver's seat from a business perspective when it comes to all future match-ups. This is not something that will sit well with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who will probably demand a 50-50 deal in all areas.
Recently, Arum said that "there is no real impediment to having that fight happen," but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are now fighting on different networks, on different sides of the planet, and with very different business deals in place. This is no longer a single issue situation. It's no longer a bout lost in limbo over random blood testing, like back in late 2009-early 2010.
To make this fight happen, Team Mayweather and Team Pacquiao would have to come together and compromise on just about every aspect of the bout. It's hard to imagine that level of cooperation after four years of aggressive stubbornness.
Indications from the Mayweather side, at least those given by Mayweather Sr., point to the fact that they don't even believe Pacquiao belongs in the same category as Floyd. If this is the case, forget about compromise and forget about Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Paul Magno