Mayweather / Pacquiao: The Big Fight

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — UFC puts on better cards overall, but nothing beats a big boxing match and that’s what we’ve got this weekend.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is being universally lauded as one of the top 10 most anticipated fights ever in a sport whose history dates back to the 1800’s.  That’s pretty impressive.  Even if you’re not a big boxing fan and even if you don’t want to spend $100, you should find a way to watch this fight.  Hell, Dana White weaseled his way in for free, working as an analyst for Yahoo Sports… surely you can find a way to watch it for free, or on the cheap!

Now, onto the fight itself…

In my honest opinion, Mayweather is farther removed from his prime than Pacquiao.  Let us not forget, Mayweather is 38 years old.  Five years ago, a time in which everyone is saying this fight should’ve been made, I would’ve had no qualms predicting a Mayweather beatdown of Pacquiao.  Now, I’m not so sure.  I don’t think Mayweather can outclass Pacquiao badly enough to win dominantly.  I don’t think he’s got the legs to win enough rounds to make the judges inconsequential and I don’t think he’s going to commit to enough of an offensive attack to have a shot at putting Pacquiao out, who interestingly enough, has one of the better defenses in the sport — so says, CompuBox.  Pacquiao will likely have a superior gameplan and we know he’s a dynamo on offense.

So, what you’ve probably got is a Mayweather who sits back and gets outworked in too many rounds, certainly enough to make it close enough for a judge or two to side for the other guy.  I think that’s what happens here.  I think boxing is one of the most corrupt sports on Earth and if Mayweather wins, we probably get no rematch.  That doesn’t mean a draw is out of the question, but draws tend to piss people off — so here it is, I pick Pacquiao by split decision in a fight where I’ll see Mayweather winning 7 rounds to 5.

What say you?