As you would probably expect, Floyd Mayweather’s Jr.’s arch rival had a take on the way he defeated Victor Ortiz this past Saturday.
Speaking to the Philippine Star, Manny Pacquiao and his camp offered a few comments regarding the controversial fashion in which Mayweather extended his undefeated record to 42-0.
Pacquiao’s famed trainer Freddie Roach noted that Mayweather hit Ortiz with a “cheap shot,” a notion that Mike Koncz appeared to agree with.
Pacquiao, similarly didn’t hold anything back when observing what happened on Saturday. He called Mayweather’s actions “very poor sportsmanship,” however, “not illegal.”
The last part about Mayweather’s closing sequence of the match being perfectly legal and fair has been echoed by just about everyone in the boxing community. The general consensus appears to be that what Floyd did wasn’t nice, but it was allowable and in no way against the rules.
The interesting thing regarding Pacquiao’s little shot at Mayweather about how what he did was “bad sportsmanship,” is that it perfectly illustrates the difference between the two men. Whereas Floyd is concerned with winning and accumulating wealth like there’s no tomorrow, Manny has always seemed genuinely concerned about public perception and winning in a manner that would be regarded by all observers as “fair.”
That, perhaps above all else, is why he pursued legal action against Mayweather when the undefeated champion attempted to sully his reputation by accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
In some ways, Pacquiao realized that even if the accusation was completely unfounded and unproven, just by Mayweather throwing the accusing out there, it would become engraved in people’s minds – which it has.
Mayweather, on the flip side, doesn’t care about anything beyond tallies in the win column and the zeroes in his bank account. His explosion on Larry Merchant just reaffirms the fact that he will do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, regardless of what fans and pundits happen to think of it.
He sees his main obligation as furthering his streak, not being some sort of object of worship for the people watching him.
Which makes his recent call to Americans to rally behind him all the more puzzling, mind you.
No matter where you come down on Mayweather’s win versus Ortiz, it’s an undeniable that he’s at least the second best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today and, perhaps, right up there tied for the No. 1 spot with Pacquiao.
The only difference is that whereas the latter has the entire world rooting for him, Mayweather is relegated to 50 Cent and Ray J in his corner.
By winning on Saturday, Mayweather made a statement about his greatness, but he also decreased the amount of fighters out there for him to go against by one. The options are winding down and the road to boxing greatness still goes through Pacquiao.
Will Floyd finally get it and make the dream match happen?
Your guess is as good as mine.