Casey C. (Daytona, FL): I’m stoked that the sport is finally getting the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, but now that it’s official, can you give your thoughts on this whole saga, as it relates to which stories you think will play the biggest role in the outcome and give your personal opinion on the road we’ve traveled to get to this point?
Vivek W. (ESB): Honestly, despite us being days beyond the announcement, it’s still a bit surreal in my mind. When you look back at the controversy and the negativity that came as a result of that controversy, it’s just a beautiful feeling to know that this long road has basically come to an end. The constant allegations of “ducking” and so forth; those narratives all must give way to the prevailing one. Which is the fact that the fight is now official and the time (to rumble) has come.
As I scan the headlines and hear the talking points at play, one thing that has taken me totally by surprise is the fact that despite the fight being official, (finally), there’s still a strong contingent of media and fans that would rather focus on that past negativity that we’ve been cleared to move beyond. For every negative angle rendered, there’s a positive spin that makes far more sense. When this fight was initially discussed back in ’09, the purses were set to be within the range of $25M to $30M a piece. When Mayweather said he wanted $100M to make this fight years ago, everyone from the fans to the networks said he was “ducking” or having a “pipe dream”.
Fast forward a few years, and on the heels of a riddled economy and slow market, the fighters have seen those numbers inflate at a rate far greater than any other event over such a time period in the history of sports, as Mayweather alone is set to earn greater than $120M. He didn’t just net the $100M he spoke of. He was able to etch a deal to net $100M on top of what he was due to get before! So no! This fight isn’t “happening too late”. The fight is this big only because it is happening this late.
There are media members and famous personalities around the sport raising the point that the fighters themselves are too old. My response: this isn’t a scenario like we saw with De la Hoya and Chavez Sr. This is a battle between a man widely known to be head and shoulders above the rest of the sport; against the most dangerous talent within his weight limit in the sport. We can’t allow negative narrative to minimize the fact that the 3 to 1 odds on favorite (Mayweather) is actually 22 months older than the very dangerous foe he’ll be facing. How can we find a path to belittle that when we’ve paid big dollars to watch far less? (Pacquiao/Margarito, Pacquiao/Clottey, etc).
Again, I see no logical reason for the media to strip down the beauty of a fight we never thought we’d actually get. Kinda makes you wonder whether or not some actually wanted it? Personally, I’m gonna use this stage to honor my two favorite warriors over this recent generation of talent. In Pacquiao, you have one of the most transcendent stories to ever grace the sport. In Mayweather, you have a home grown, perennial player who is in firm position to cement his bid as one of the best talents to ever grace the sport.
That narrative should be the prevailing one going forward. Personally, I want no part of the constant back and forth and finger pointing. I’ve always maintained that both sides played a role in this great delay. But for those who want to insist that the blame lies solely on the Mayweather side, I think we need to hold that contingent accountable by having them make sense of the fact that the other side made the world wait 6 years to agree to identical drug testing terms with a lesser financial split. Think about that. Six years later, they are agreeing to the same testing, and taking less of the total split. Had the fight been taken then, several chapters of this saga would have never happened.
Andrei Santos (Miami Lakes, FL): GGG passed his most recent test with flying colors and proved again that he is the best middleweight in the world. How did you grade his performance?
Vivek W. (ESB): I think we learned a lot about Golovkin last Saturday night. To quickly touch on the things we knew, I think it goes without saying that his power and his work rate are relentless. Few fighters in the sport today present a comparable level of aggression and for lack of better terms, problems, for the man standing across from him. I think there’s very little negative you can say about the offensive element of his game. Unfortunately, the sweet science is a platform for “boxing”, and boxing at the elite level requires both offense and some form of defense.
I would rate his performance overall as an B+, simply because I think he showed us that he can go deep, and weather the storm of a determined opponent who won’t allow laying down to be an option like several others on his resume. That being said, there’s a reason that the elite are referred to as the A-team, and the variables between that “A” level and those at the “B” level often create a massive difference at the end of battle. One thing about Golovkin that concerns me about his ability to hang with that elite crowd is his speed and limited defense.
His offense is so potent that few have been able to take advantage of his mistakes, but Murray (who isn’t fast) was able to actually catch Golovkin coming in with ease. That’s an issue! This was a guy with 12KO’s in better than 30 fights. Give that same level of opportunity to someone with a bit more pop and suddenly, the damage sustained will mount quickly. On other thing that I think will be a big problem at the elite level is that Golovkin doesn’t really seem to have a grip on a true in-fighting technique. Several times he had Murray on the ropes at point blank range and failed to land anything meaningful.
Against someone like Andre Ward who has the intelligence, the speed, and the sharpness to take advantage of those split-second openings, Golovkin would likely be eaten alive. These are the type of things that his team will need to improve before he steps up. Overall, I think you have to love what Golovkin brings to the sport, but without question, there’s great room for improvement. I think one of the reasons he hasn’t gotten the respect that he should is the fact that HBO and his handlers present him as a “finished product”. He’s a beast! But he’s not “complete”.
The comparisons to Mike Tyson and the fact the Golovkin is now very close to conquering Tyson’s KO streak sound great in theory. But the vision I keep a close eye on is the same fate that Tyson met when he also began facing an elevated level of competition. Golovkin’s team is talking pretty big. Meanwhile, he’s firm that he’d rather solidify his position at middleweight. Good move for now, as he’s not totally ready for that ‘next’ level. He’s out of challenges at ’60, and it’s not probable that Cotto will bite the bait. Does he “test himself” like Broner and others who have gambled by jumping ranks? Or does he continue to polish his tools against weak opposition? We’ll soon find out. Stay tuned.
(Vivek “Vito” Wallace can be heard every Tuesday night on “Left-Hook Lounge Radio”. He can also be reached at 754.307.7747, Twitter (@lefthooklounge1), Instagram (ViveksView), and Facebook)
