Mayweather-Pacquiao: No fear, no mercy, no excuses

In just a few hours, the boxing world's Fight of the Century will commence at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The protagonists, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, have proclaimed that they have done their homework and are ready to rumble. They promise to give the fans the fight of a lifetime and we expect them to deliver nothing less.

Thus, we expect them to be at their best when the bell rings. It will be a fight between two fighters considered to be among the best of all time. We will witness tonight a chess match between the best defensive fighter of his era versus the most explosive offensive fighter of his generation.

The case for Floyd Mayweather, Jr, to defuse Manny Pacquiao's attacks lies in his ever-present intelligent jabs and a very vicious right. Add the patented shoulder roll, the ring smarts and ring generalship to the lot and you will have a defense that will be hard to penetrate. Mayweather can pick his spots and can snipe Manny Pacquiao with clean shots every time Pacquiao strays into his territory.

On the other hand, Manny Pacquiao's unorthodox fighting style that gave many of his previous opponents fits must be present tonight if he wants to break into Floyd Mayweather's vaunted defense. Pacquiao's footwork, power and speed must work in unison in order for him to deliver his bombs to Mayweather.
The old classic offense versus defense boxing cliche will still be a factor here. Both fighters are considered to be some of the best, if not the best, when it comes to their craft; thus we expect them to try to impose their will and their brand of fighting on each other.

In a fight of this magnitude, an offensive juggernaut like Manny Pacquiao should start fast and deliver his 'shock and awe' early to put Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on the defensive. Pacquiao's relentless attacks should put a siege that will paralyze Mayweather's defensive fortifications. Pacquiao should rain hell coming from all angles into Mayweather by using his superior hand speed and powerful straight lefts down the button to obliterate his foe. Pacquiao's seldom used right hand, the "Manila Ice," can be a big factor in the fight.

But Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is not an easy prey to collar -- the main reason why he is still undefeated going into the megafight. If Mayweather survives the Pacquiao onslaught in the initial stages of the fight and adjusts as he always does to disrupt his opponent's rhythm, his pin-point accuracy with both hands can put Pacquiao in trouble, as the Filipino dynamo is still susceptible to the overhand right that Juan Manuel Marquez used to demolish him in their fourth fight. Timothy Bradley tried this strategy as well and was successful at times, but ultimately failed to crack Manny Pacquiao's now suspect chin in their second fight.

In order for Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao to deliver on their promises, the fighter who will emerge victorious in tonight's match should be able to stick to his game plan and impose his will over his nemesis. The winning fighter should be able to control and dictate the tempo of the fight and should show no mercy in finishing off his opponent when the opportunity knocks.

Hence, this writer will go against the majority flow and have Manny Pacquiao taking out Floyd Mayweather, Jr. inside the distance of a brutal albeit tactical fight.

Note: Any comments, reactions, and suggestions are welcome. Hit me up at detexam@yahoo.com or join us at Detroit Boxing Examiner Facebook Page.

*This article was first published on Detroit Boxing Examiner.

Mum's the word: How many times did USADA tests Mayweather for the Super Fight

Lost in the hoopla of the Super Fight is the story about the USADA-led drug testing protocol for the fight. In this day and age of illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), the deafening silence on the Mayweather front is quite intriguing, considering the media mileage that he got when he launched his so-called crusade to clean up the sport of boxing some five years ago.

The camp of Manny Pacquiao has stated that the Filipino pugilist has been tested thirteen times already, with the latest one occurring just hours before Friday's weigh-in for the Super Fight. On the other hand, we have no information on the side of Mayweather about his United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) visits. And unlike in past editions of Showtime's All Access that showed Mayweather being visited by the drug testing team before previous fights, the pre-fight Inside Mayweather Pacquiao did not show any clips of the USADA team paying a visit to the pound-for-pound king to collect his blood and urine specimen.

For about five years, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his minions regularly attributed the failure of the "super fight" with Manny Pacquiao to come to fruition back in 2009 to the Filipino superstar's refusal to take an "Olympic-style drug testing." For years, "Take the test! Take the test!" was Mayweather 's battle cry -- he claims that he wants a clean fight and a level playing field against any fighter that he will face.

But whether he was serious enough about cleaning up the sport, or if it was just a ploy to avoid Manny Pacquiao, we now all have our own conclusions and opinions that will warrant another article. Suffice it to say, some of the boxers who were caught doping after the much-publicized call for random Olympic-style drug testing were members of The Money Team (TMT).

Manny Pacquiao, since being kayoed by a 'suspicious' Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth fight, has undergone and passed drug-testing for most of his succeeding fights under the auspices of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), hands-down the best entity that administers drug testing in the fight game today.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao Super Fight has been dubbed as the "Fight of the Century." Interest in the fight from both die-hard and casual fans is at an all time high, and the corresponding media coverage is on overdrive. What better way to promote Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s advocacy of a clean sport that can reach across the board than his showdown with his bitter nemesis Manny Pacquiao?

Sadly, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whether it was by design or not, failed to capitalize on the opportunity that was presented on his lap to further enlighten the boxing world of the benefits of systematic drug testing in boxing. Not only was he silent about the visits of the USADA team during his training period, but also he employed people with checkered pasts who were in one time or another linked to the illegal performance-enhancing drug trade.

It was alleged by some boxing observers and writers alike that chemist and an admitted steroid dealer Angel "Memo" Heredia, the architect behind Juan Manuel Marquez's hulking transformation preceding the fourth Manny Pacquiao fight, is in bed with the Mayweather camp for this fight.

Alex Ariza, the erstwhile strength and conditioning coach of Manny Pacquiao who, on several occasions, has been credited by Mayweather for Pacquiao's success, has hinted about the S&C's role in Manny Pacquiao's fist power on several occasions, including in a May 2, 2012 interview with David Mayo of MLive: "Eventually, it'll come out. The truth's going to come out now. I told you. Everybody's about to point the finger- 'He's done this, and he done that, and he was taking this, I didn't tell him to do it, you told him to do it.' That's what everybody is going to say."

Bob Ware, Mayweather's cornerman since the Marcos Maidana rematch, was once implicated by TMT boxer J'Leon Love as the source of the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide that he took before his fight against Gabriel Rosado. Following the fight, the Detroit boxer was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for six months, fined $10,000 and had his contested split decision win changed to "no-contest." In a June 28, 2013 report by David P. Greisman of BoxingScene.com about the controversy, J'Leon Love "took a pill... without asking what it was... from strength and conditioning coach Bob Ware."

It is puzzling to many boxing observers why Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who has professed on many occasions that he wants to clean the sport of drug cheats and purveyors, would remain mum before the biggest fight of his career on the testing regimen that the USADA administered on him, which could have potentially immensely helped enlighten people in and around boxing about the process.

It is mind-boggling to the boxing world that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would still surround and associate himself with controversial strength and conditioning trainers and coaches whose characters are suspect when it comes to illegal PEDs, while at the same time wants to picture himself as boxing's poster child of Olympic-style drug testing.

As one commenter on an online boxing forum opined: "It is really funny that the one who was accused without proof of being on illegal PEDs is the one who is more open and vocal about the random testing for this fight than the one who proclaimed that he wants an Olympic-style drug testing to clean up the sport, who decided to be secretive. What's the real score, USADA?"

Note: Any comments, reactions, and suggestions are welcome. Hit me up at detexam@yahoo.com or join us at Detroit Boxing Examiner Facebook Page

*This articles was first published on Detroit Boxing Examiner.

NBA Legend Karl Malone pays Manny Pacquiao a visit

The Mailman visited the Wild Card Gym and delivered his support to the Pacman for his upcoming fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.