Boxing fans are like the beautiful women Chris Rock
riffed about in his comedy routine, when you ask them
what they want they answer you without skipping a beat,
"everything." Mick Jagger (or was it Keith Richards?)
penned the great line I tend to live by, "You can't
always get what you want -but if you try sometime (you
just might find) you get what you need."
Years from now
after Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is in the circular file
labeled "Fight that wasn't made and didn't kill
boxing" you'll consider me a prophet, but today I'll
settle for "contrarian know it all." After the smoke
cleared and we got over the gall of Floyd Mayweather to
call a fellow draw and talk to him like he's "the help"
sanity prevailed. Mayweather moved on and signed to
fight Miguel Cotto (Boxing's #3 PPV draw) for his WBA
junior middleweight strap and Manny Pacquiao decided it
was time the Top Rank witness protection program
released Timothy Bradley. BOTH fights are credible and
BOTH fights are more compelling (and competitive) than
the fight you think you want.
Miguel Cotto and Timothy Bradley not only deserve the
exposure, both of them are the kind of fighters
custom-designed to deliver us from our Super Hero
perceptions about where Mayweather and Pacquiao are at
this stage in their careers.
The obvious factors you give no credence to...
To defeat Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao the first
brick laid must come from a man's disposition and
mentality, in other words where is this man "coming
from." Floyd Mayweather is an enigma; he exhibits a
huge chip on his shoulder and wants a more gratuitous
side of himself highlighted - but he's actually the
quintessential Midwesterner. His work ethic is the
source of his confidence and he becomes defensive when
he's misunderstood, and yet he knows being
misunderstood is lucrative for him. He starts every
promotional venture by letting you know he's unbeaten
and his opponent isn't. Miguel Cotto is a man who no
one can say was protected; in fact he's fought everyone
Floyd and Manny fought when they were more dangerous.
He fought Mosley when Shane had a lot left, Margarito
when he was scary and potentially illegal, he even
entered the ring weight drained against the version of
Pacquiao Mayweather thought was "on something." Cotto's
general demeanor is stoicism, the kind of masculine
character we used to celebrate in American cinema.
Where he's coming from is substantive; he won't freak
out because he's out-skilled or finding it difficult to
land punches early, he's a grown ass man. He's also
someone who has a good case for saying he hasn't really
been beaten by honorable means, there isn't a thing in
his subconscious that is in any way undeserving - and
that is what makes Cotto dangerous.
Timothy Bradley was teetering dangerously close to
career irrelevance had he not scored the Pacquiao
payday. After losing the schoolyard (140lb.) debate
with Amir Khan via Twitter, the ex-Marine seemed to be
headed toward Winky Wrightville. Top Rank and Golden
Boy have reduced lesser promoters to farm systems based
on the lure of big money bouts with Pacquiao and
Mayweather, but Bradley was starting to look like a
victim of that model. After leaving Gary Shaw, Bradley
was fed the remains of Joel Casamayor last November,
unbecoming of a man with a unification bout out there
to be had. He had to know that Floyd and Manny were
not going to get it on anytime soon and it was
probably an astute gamble to sit on the shelf until it
was abundantly clear. Bradley is no second option for
Pacquiao; in fact, he's just the kind of fighter who can
make proclamations (of victory) when Juan Manuel
Marquez merely suggested them. Pacquiao's aggression allows
Bradley to be what he truly is, a fighter who would
rather mix it up than box. Bradley is also
single-minded and a rough customer who won't freeze up
when Pacquiao comes forward like Joshua Clottey. Like
Cotto, he's not into all of the theatrics of pre-fight
build up, but unlike Cotto his record is legitimately
28-0. He isn't affected by the "Timothy who?" cries
from the mainstream; he knows he belongs in the ring
with the best fighters in the world. Bradley wears his
military background (Desert Storm) on his sleeve and
with that comes an ability to set goals without
entertaining failure as an option. Even Freddie Roach
and Alex Ariza have concerns that Pacquiao is too
conflicted to deal with a man of Bradley's singular
focus.
"I've spent 18 years of my life to get to this
point"... Timothy Bradley
"The old Manny is already dead, the new one has
come"... Manny Pacquiao
The dirty little secrets about Floyd Mayweather and
Manny Pacquiao...
Floyd Mayweather, his total lack of P.R. judgment aside
is someone who is still being branded poorly - but not
by the MONEY TEAM. We tend to put labels on a fighter
when he is young and no matter how much he's changed we
continue to include that definition in current
narratives. Take a deep breath, I'm about to say
something that may be as shocking as the fact that Kobe
is no longer getting to the basket when he wants to.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER IS A CROWD PLEASING FIGHTER. I find it
impossible to believe that nobody notices that
Mayweather is no longer the lightning bug that slapped
around Carlos Baldomir in 2006, a fight that my
girlfriend's then four year-old daughter described as "scaredey
cat." His sycophants will say he can still dance around
at 35 but I beg to differ, I also think he's so
talented that he can afford to walk down his opponents.
Behind All Time Defensive skills and a severely
underrated chin Mayweather's last two opponents (Mosley
and Ortiz) were disarmed within a minute of the first
round. Mosley stunned the champion and Ortiz (minus the
stupidity) came out with positive aggression early. And
both failed. Floyd Mayweather will not run from Miguel
Cotto and in exchange Cotto will bring an effective
brand of pressure that fans will appreciate at the
final bell. Miguel Cotto is more skilled than anyone is
giving him credit for, with a better jab than you
think, so don't look for any Ricky Hatton face first
lunges in there. I have Mayweather winning but I also
have him gracious in his praise of Cotto for not
folding when outgunned. However, there will be some bumpy
moments.
Another dirty secret is the fact that Manny Pacquiao
vs. Timothy Bradley is the best Jr. Welterweight
fight you can possibly make. Let's face it, at 33
there's a reason Pacquiao is referred to by critics
(the term "Hater" is juvenile) as the "Catch weight
King" - he never grew into the division. Manny Pacquiao
is 5'7" like Charles Barkley was 6'6"... on paper and
nowhere else. Timothy Bradley is no welterweight
either; he's merely following the money trail on behalf
of his own ambition and long term well-being. Both men
will come in light and the pace will look divisions
away from Mayweather vs. Cotto; because it is. The
other secret is Manny isn't just prone to being
countered at this stage in his career, he's prone to
being outworked and work is Timothy Bradley's middle
name.
