Pacquiao v. Mayweather

[Tre4ISU]

Answer my two questions then? When was the last MAJOR fight, and when will the next one be? Big fights with boxers who were household names were a fairly common occurrence. Now, it is an extreme rarity. And the money and hype for last nights fight is a result of the times. Can you imagine what some of the super fights in the past would have done in todays media hyped environment? Hell, even someone as recent as Tyson would be bringing astronomical numbers if you give him popularity today relative to what he was in his prime.

He did. You can't have a big fight without an audience. The audience doesn't want to see skill and precision. They want to see two guys flailing their arms until someone makes contact because everything has to be given to them now. So, since people are this way, they don't like boxing. Therefor, there is no interest in boxing and you can't build guys up because no one is there to talk about them. That's fine but we shouldn't act like boxing is the problem. It has changed maybe a little but it's still a sport that's far more than knockouts.

 

[CycloneWanderer]

"fight of the century" couldn't keep me awake last night. How sad is that?

 

[HFCS]

the two were not mutually exclusive. The fight didn't even start until almost 11PM.

I'll disagree with you, as well, on NBA playoff basketball. Maybe in the few years post Jordan, the NBA struggled to find its identity, but the playoffs of the last several years have been amazing, especially in the West. Some of the best basketball you can watch.

Look at our playoff thread here. We're all basketball fans at least of ISU here, hardly any of us are boxing fans.

Through three quarters it's me talking to myself with zero replies. Then in the fourth quarter the other 4-5 same consistent NBA fans talked about it with me. Compare to posts about the fight going on before the fight even started, probably a lot of the discussion where people weren't even able to watch.

I'm just saying, part of the reason boxing is so obscure is because we have had no boxing talk on this board for years (far less than UFC and fake wrestling)...then one fight suddenly generates more interest as a sort of gimmick pop culture thing than the best basketball game I've seen in years...on a board that is MOSTLY about basketball fan discussion.

 

[CycloneWanderer]

Look at our playoff thread here. We're all basketball fans at least of ISU here, hardly any of us are boxing fans.

Through three quarters it's me talking to myself with zero replies. Then in the fourth quarter the other 4-5 same consistent NBA fans talked about it with me. Compare to posts about the fight going on before the fight even started, probably a lot of the discussion where people weren't even able to watch.

I'm just saying, part of the reason boxing is so obscure is because we have had no boxing talk on this board for years (far less than UFC and fake wrestling)...then one fight suddenly generates more interest as a sort of gimmick pop culture thing than the best basketball game I've seen in years...on a board that is MOSTLY about basketball fan discussion.

Boxing has its week of limelight - then the product disappointed the majority of people. NBA basketball is on ongoing event and we just finished the first round of the playoffs.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Interesting. The wife (Filipino) said that Manny suffered a right shoulder injury during training and the pain started to resurface in the third round.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/05/03/15/arum-pushed-fight-despite-pacquiao-injury

Not surprised that Manny's camp is now coming out with excuses.

 

[dualthreat]

I think the problem lies more with society's need for instant gratification (the need for the flashy) and an absolute disdain for anything that isn't cut and dried and requires thinking for more than 5 seconds. I don't think sports should pander just because society has the attention span of a gnat anymore.

And while many are saying "this event shows the death of the sport," just how much money did this fight rake in? How many more people tuned in for this event? If record breaking sales and the entire country talking about the fight for months shows the death of a sport, I have no idea what it needs to do in order to show more success.

Adapt or die. The NFL is adapting rapidly and it is more popular than ever.

 

[Arkansas Cyclone]

Not surprised that Manny's camp is now coming out with excuses.

I can deal with that better than the "run for your life" approach that Mayweather has taken, not only last night but for the last 6 or so years. What a POS

 

[Clonehomer]

Boxing needs another Mike Tyson. A super aggressive guy that just goes out and tries to destroy his opponent with a KO as fast as possible.

Mayweather is too much of a tactician, and is boring to watch for any casual fans. Boxing will never be good again until they have a product that is exciting again. A guy running away from his opponent most of the night and playing defense is not exciting. Sure, it's a smart way to win, but it's not exciting in the least.

Wrestling had this same problem, but changed the rules to combat the defensive wrestler from having an advantage. Maybe boxing needs to update their scoring rules to favor an aggressive boxer.

 

[Clonehomer]

Not surprised that Manny's camp is now coming out with excuses.

Interesting he was not allowed an antiflamitory injection though. If the promoter was right that other sports have injured guys play through the pain, why not allow medication like other sports do?

 

[cyclonebillski]

Boxing needs a heavyweight American on top to be relevant again to the fair weather fans. And a rival for him. I followed boxing from Tysons reign till Lennox Lewis retired basically. Haven't really been any great heavyweights since and the Klitchkos aren't going to get anyone excited for a fight

 

[BodeClone]

The scoring by the judges were putrid! Floyd didn't do much as he got away with fancy running. I had an even score at 114. It was comical the one judge gave Floyd Round 2. Round 12 was Manny's too. I almost threw up in my sink listening to the announcers (especially Roy Jones) over praise Floyd. I think the announcers are swaying a lot of your opinions today.

 

[CRcyclone6]

The scoring by the judges were putrid! Floyd didn't do much as he got away with fancy running. I had an even score at 114. It was comical the one judge gave Floyd Round 2. Round 12 was Manny's too. I almost threw up in my sink listening to the announcers (especially Roy Jones) over praise Floyd. I think the announcers are swaying a lot of your opinions today.

So you know everything there is to know about baseball and you're also a boxing judge?

 

[Tre4ISU]

Floyd threw more punches and landed way more of them. Just because you guys keep saying something doesn't mean it will come true. If anyone fought scared, especially relative to their normal style, it was Pac. Mayweather made him try to box efficiently and he wasn't even close to Mayweather last night.

 

[Tre4ISU]

The scoring by the judges were putrid! Floyd didn't do much as he got away with fancy running. I had an even score at 114. It was comical the one judge gave Floyd Round 2. Round 12 was Manny's too. I almost threw up in my sink listening to the announcers (especially Roy Jones) over praise Floyd. I think the announcers are swaying a lot of your opinions today.

If you had an even score in that fight last night, you're a moron. I don't know a lot about boxing but I know that Mayweather won that fight easily.

 

[AuH2O]

I think the problem lies more with society's need for instant gratification (the need for the flashy) and an absolute disdain for anything that isn't cut and dried and requires thinking for more than 5 seconds. I don't think sports should pander just because society has the attention span of a gnat anymore.

And while many are saying "this event shows the death of the sport," just how much money did this fight rake in? How many more people tuned in for this event? If record breaking sales and the entire country talking about the fight for months shows the death of a sport, I have no idea what it needs to do in order to show more success.

When something has been in the making for years, hyped endlessly, with nothing major on the horizon after it, I don't think it says that much that this fought brought in a ton of money. Boxing isn't dead, but it has cemented itself as a fringe sport. It's like hyping up a Spurs-Clips game for three years to fringe fans only to have the spurs hack DeAndre Jordan 30 times.

 

[Hoiball92]

The scoring by the judges were putrid! Floyd didn't do much as he got away with fancy running. I had an even score at 114. It was comical the one judge gave Floyd Round 2. Round 12 was Manny's too. I almost threw up in my sink listening to the announcers (especially Roy Jones) over praise Floyd. I think the announcers are swaying a lot of your opinions today.

Interesting, I scored the fight 8-4 Mayweather.

 

[CycloneWanderer]

When something has been in the making for years, hyped endlessly, with nothing major on the horizon after it, I don't think it says that much that this fought brought in a ton of money. Boxing isn't dead, but it has cemented itself as a fringe sport. It's like hyping up a Spurs-Clips game for three years to fringe fans only to have the spurs hack DeAndre Jordan 30 times.

It would be like starting to hype clippers-spurs today and waiting until they play 5 years from now (with the same players for the spurs) and paying them gobs of money and hyping it like they are all in their late 20's.

 

[Gonzo]

Pac didn't do nearly enough. Whether there was a shoulder issue or whatever, fact remains that he wasn't nearly as aggressive as he normally is or as he needed to be in this fight. I was confused at the seeming respect he was giving to Floyd with regards to his power. Pac usually isn't afraid of taking shots, but he took very little risk. Much of that obviously had to do with Floyd's defensive brilliance. He just couldn't figure the guy's defensive game out. Floyd got a feel for Manny in the first few rounds, and it was over.

As for the other comments about "real" boxing fans and those who aren't "real" fans not knowing that this was to be expected, I don't entirely disagree but it isn't that simple. I've been a boxing fan and followed the sport closely for 25+ years. I knew the odds were that Floyd would win by decision. There's no denying that Floyd is a once-in-a-generation talent. But the fact is he doesn't go into the ring looking to win a fight. He goes in looking to take as little risk as possible and outpoint his opponent. There's a difference. It's a strategy that's served him well, the guy will probably end up 50-0. And he has his nation of fans who love that style. But there's a reason that he'll never be in the discussion of best ever outside of his own head. Just because someone prefers fighters who aren't afraid of putting themselves at risk in order to truly win a fight, doesn't mean they're not real boxing fans. I'd much rather watch a guy who goes into the ring looking to take his opponent out than a guy who wants to backpedal all night, play defense, and outpoint his opponent. There wasn't a single meaningful punch landed in 12 rounds last night. Floyd absolutely earned the decision. And if the way he earned it is your thing, congrats. Nothing wrong with that. Just not my thing.

And for the record, he shouldn't even be 48-0. Anyone who watched his first fight with Castillo knows that Castillo was jobbed by not getting that decision.

 

[Clonefan94]

What sucks is that boxing wants to try and milk every penny they can out of anyone who is slightly interested in the sport. I really like boxing, but I don't like it enough to fork out the money to see PPV. And I haven't been to a bar that charges cover in 10 years, so I'm not starting that back up again. Boxing's biggest problem is that other sports are willing to give there product out to network TV, where the fans just have to deal with commercials. Basically just setting their product in front of America and allowing them to watch. All the while, raking in the cash. And the fans are being bombarded with those sports. In the meantime, boxing is forcing anyone remotely interested in their fights to actually work to see their product. It sucks, I miss boxing, but to me it just isn't that great to spend the kind of money they are asking me to, to take a chance on weather or not a fight will be any good.

there was a time when I could name every class' champion and at least the 2 next contenders in that class. Now, I'd be lucky to name you 4 fighters from any class. You can't find someone to root for, if you never get to see them fight.

 

[dualthreat]

I spent a good chunk of the day watching old boxing clips on YouTube. Watching iron mike blast guys was really fun. His punches look like he's swinging a sledge hammer and he goes for the kill. Those guys last night were no where close to that. Boxing needs another mike tyson.