Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Floyd Mayweather knows Manny Pacquiao leaves foes hurtin' for certain

Waiting for Godot is one thing. Waiting for Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. is quite another.

Which reminds me that, as Larry Holmes often said (about 14 times each day), you can’t cook with cold grease.

I mention this to say that the Mayweather crew will have badly misjudged the mood and temperament of fight fans if they EVEN THINK ABOUT taking a fight against someone not named Manny Pacquiao next.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao stew is bubbling and crackling like French onion soup on the front burner.

The time to strike, for both sides, is now. If this fight is not announced by Super Bowl time (Feb. 7 in Miami), I will be shocked at the stupidity of the two sides.

Now is the right time (meaning May or June) and Vegas is the proper and only venue. Let Steve Wynn get a 30,000 parking lot stadium erected quick ,fast and in a hurry and it’s a go.

But, as per usual, I have one other concern. I think that Mayweather is having difficulty with a mental equation about a physical problem.

I think the Unbeaten One keeps asking himself a key question, maybe THE key question, about what happens when the bell first goes ding.

We’ve all seen how Pacman has been leaving opponents hurting for certain.

We’ve seen the vainglorious Oscar knocked into retirement after taking a beatdown in a bout he considered a lark in the park.

We’ve seen Ricky Hatton demolished, laid to waste, in rapid order, in less than six total minutes.

And, lastly, we’ve seen Miguel Cotto backing up and trying only for survival until the final bell, unable to fend off the Pacquiao razor blade attack.

So, when he goes to sleep at night, don’t you think L’il Floyd asks himself:

“Self, you can give LBGFGS (Little Brown Guy From GenSan) a boxing lesson, sure and no doubt. But, Self, I ask you now and I ask you for a cogent answer, how can I physically hurt him? Dashing and slapping won’t get that done. Do I really want to fight a guy who I KNOW can leave me hurting for certain, a guy who I can only defeat with a jabfest performance?”

Maybe that’s Mayweathers fight before the Pacquiao fight.

Maybe unless he gets a better answer he tries to avoid or delay the inevitable Pacman mega bout.

Maybe he won’t pen to paper (on a contract) until he can answer or least rationalize, in any way, shape or form, that serious question.

Call it Mayweather’s doubt before the bout.

It’s a nagging concern and the only location where Mayweather can really get an answer is in the ring, when he takes the opposite corner and looks across to see Pacman.

Pacquiao won’t win a boxing match, as I’ve essayed before. But, make it a rumble, a fight, and it is really on.

For the first time, Mayweather will have to contend with a foe who can leave him hurting for certain.

Before they can get physical, it's a head game and I believe that Manny's capacity for punishment is lodged deeply in L'il Floyd's cranium.

No amount of badass attitude or boxing platitudes can erase that.

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