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Monday, May 4, 2015

Mayweather v. Pacquiao: If You See Something Say Something

The article I read about the Mayweather v. Pacquiao PPV boxing match was similar to many others I read after the fight.  This offending article appeared in the Wall Street Journal, a fine publication with fine writers, except for Jason Gay who wrote this one.  Mr. Gay did a fine job of describing Las Vegas and his own personal narrative but he's not a boxing head and he's solidly in line with the anti-Mayweather crowd. These people do not know what harm they do, and are willing to ignore the depredations of football and basketball players while holding boxers to impossibly high standards of conduct.  Yes, Mayweather Jr. was punished after pleading guilty to domestic abuse and no one approves of that. But this pious disapprobation that you hear about Mayweather is a bit tiresome.  I don't know Mayweather, I don't know Pacquiao, and neither do you probably.  Who is it so willing to cast the first stone?

Half the time, I think the animus is directed at Mayweather's father and uncle, both of who were terrific boxers who lived life the hard way.  But how fair is that?

Anyway, I was so pissed at anti-Mayweather articles like this that I had to say something.  So  here's my nasty commentary in the WSJ comments section beneath the article. I know I am pissing against the wind here, but America is the land of second chances.  Besides, I'm a long-time Mayweather fan and all I wanted to see proved in the fight was that Mayweather always and indisputedly was a far better boxer, ring strategist, tough guy, and far more honest person.

The rest is b.s.  Anyway, here's my WSJ rebuttal. I hope you'll understand:

If boxing is "not what it used to be," neither are so-called boxing writers.  Most of them favored Pacquaio and always trumpeted the good-guy vs. bad-guy scenarios that the non-boxing public invariably buys into hook, line, and sinker.  I don't want to remove the media halo bestowed upon him by "boxing analysts" in thrall with the sanctimonious new-found religion trope-- after well, you know.

But didn't anyone notice Pacquiao's pathetic post-fight comments repeatedly telling a PPV announcer that he won a fight that was so lop-sided that Paulie Malagnaggi almost lost his lunch on hearing it? Yet, not one "sportswriter," in their habit of demonizing Mayweather and deifying Pacquiao, remarked on that. Meanwhile, Mayweather was gracious to all comers in pre-fight and post-fight interviews. 

The fact is that Mayweather is and ALWAYS was the better fighter. Only old age can defeat him. I hope he retires undefeated. Give the man his due, as has been done w/ Ali & Tyson.

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