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1) "The NFL draft was more exciting."
2) "I thought Mayweather was supposed to hug his wife and fight Pacquaio. He got mixed up."
3) "Mayweather hugged more than Michael Jackson at a Cub Scout sleepover."
4) "If this was 'The Fight of the Century,' we're in for a long 85 years."
Please add, "Mayweather is a great ambassador for the sport. Unfortunately, that sport is UFC."
Sorry, I have to disagree. I thought it was a good fight. I've been to many, and the critics who called the fight hugging and ballroom dancing have watched too many Rocky movies and think that what happens in 20-second clips on ESPN is really what goes on during a 12-round fight.
Now, with that said, I have seen some real blows given in fights. I'll never forget the first time I saw Sugar Shane Mosley -- about 15 years ago when Caesars Palace used to have fights in a ballroom. By the way, they were on HBO with Jim Lampley and George Foreman.
And yes, the first featherweight fight on Saturday had more action.
But that doesn't mean May/Paq was Dancing With The Stars.
As I told my son: those little taps were like getting hit by a truck at 90mph.
I don't think it's Rocky skewing the perceptions; I think it's UFC fights, where defensive boxing is non-existent.
Having said that, I disagree with you. I have seen Pacquaio fights. I have seen Mayweather fights when he was in his 20's. This just didn't have much action. Mayweather is the only fighter not at heavyweight who has gotten away with throwing as few punches per round as he does and winning fights. This fight, he actually threw a bit more than I thought he would. Pacquaio threw far fewer than I expected. Basically, they were throwing 35 punches per round, which is far below average for all weights combined, and way, way below average punches per round for this weight class. It was two old guys staying pretty much out of harm's way, but how could anybody expect anything else? Pacquaio was giving up five inches reach, which is more important the smaller the fighters.
We bet Mayweather to win, which led to the odd emotional paradox of wanting him to win with my wallet and hoping Pacquaio would win based on Mayweather being a goon. I just could not see how Pacquaio could win. You know, there's a reason Mayweather hasn't fought outside Las Vegas for 10 years. If he were such a big draw, he'd be globetrotting.
This was a bad fight. The undercards had action, but they were designed to as they were mismatches.
The two things that really helped UFC outstrip boxing in popularity were Mayweather being the highest profile boxer in the country and Klitschko holding the heavyweight title and fighting overseas for a decade. I don't blame Klitschko; Nevada judging has been beyond suspect. That's why he prefers Madison Square Garden when he does fight in this country.
Thirty years ago, there were high-profile fights like this in various weight classes every three or four months. I'm going to go ahead and commit to the idea that this was "the death of boxing." I really believe that. The Ferttitas were probably thrilled at how this looked.
I'm not sure who is correct in this debate, but I do agree with Alan re: the "Rocky skewing". Marciano was a hell of a fighter who just kept coming on and swinging even when his face had been battered to a pulp.
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Dan, just to let you know, what ever you posted,
doesn't show up on my screen.
Dan I can see it fine. Very funny in a sarcastic way. But the "button" for inserting videos does not appear to be working. and there might be other problems with viewing YouTube videos.