Can super fight live up to super hype?
After the finest and foulest had been said, it’s worth pondering if the long-awaited super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao could also live up to the super hype.
There’s scientific proof to show that the two boxing superstars can no longer be expected to report at their best come fight time.
Of course, Mayweather and Pacquiao could just pour it all, but that’s the best that can be said as the boxing world continues to wait and wonder if the mega bout could ever be staged.
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“Given the age of the fighters, what we are anticipating might not be worth the wait,” explains New York Times best-selling author Ivan Goldman.
He notes that experts at University of Texas have determined that the lung matures at 20 to 25 years, after which “aging is associated with lung function.”
“This explains why aging fighters can’t sustain as much action per round,” Goldman states.
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He proceeds to detail how most of the classic boxing matches were fought between warriors at their prime: Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns were 24 and 22, respectively; Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were 28 and 26; while Jake LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson were both 20.
Mayweather, turning 38 soon, and Pacquiao, 36, can’t compare, Goldman notes.
Heavyweights, by the way, also tend to maintain their skills over a long career, Goldman says, as they find it easier to “compensate for diminishment by using their experience and other assets.”
This can’t be the case with both Mayweather and Pacquiao.
“At 147 lb, Mayweather and Pacquiao are many pounds below the heavyweight exception,” Goldman explains. “They are too small to maintain their peak form and too big [now] to move explosively as they once did.”
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Of course, Goldman is not predicting that the super fight would end up as tasteless as Pacquiao’s last outing against the horribly hyped Chris Algieri in Macau last November, which the famous author had predicted would be a farce.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao, if it ever takes place, could rise into a truly memorable theater, although it shouldn’t be marketed as a fool-proof classic.
No longer with their hungry diamond sharpness, Mayweather and Pacquiao could just shine and thrill with their grinding brutal best.
May the tougher warrior win.
