INSIDE SPORTS: A STROKE OF GENIUS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 25 Jan 2014
Whoever thought of the idea for ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao to offer to fight undefeated pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr with all revenues, including the fighters purses going to worldwide charities, pulled a masterstroke.
If it was Manny himself, then it means even more because there are those who mistakenly believe the eight division world champion isn?t that smart.
Well, Pacquiao?s well crafted challenge to Mayweather to face him ?anytime, anywhere? had the stamp of a man who truly knew how to answer, with great perception, the vicious and mean remarks of Mayweather who said Pacquiao was like a dog looking for a bone and wanted to fight him merely to make money to pay off his supposed tax liabilities to the US Internal Revenue Service as well as the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The offer of Pacquiao to fight Mayweather for charity totally undercut Mayweather?s claims and his arrogance which has always been a distressing trait.
We admire Mayweather for his undoubted skills as a boxer but we certainly abhor his foul-mouth.
Pacquiao, in stark contrast, has earned the admiration of millions of people around the world because of his unquestioned humility, his soft-spoken manner and his care and concern for the poor.
He is a model worth emulating.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who has often been insulted by Mayweather who has repeatedly stated he wouldn?t fight Pacquiao as long as Arum was his promoter because he didn?t want the world?s leading promoter to earn anything, was also derailed by Arum when he came out in support of Pacquiao?s unprecedented offer which simply meant that Arum wouldn?t earn a thing.
Its been a couple of days since Pacquiao shocked the world with the sheer audacity of his offer but Mayweather, as of this writing, hasn?t responded neither have any of his known cohorts. He is probably stewing about how to counter Manny?s challenge to be a man and fight him.
That is surely the most cutting insult hurled at Mayweather who by all accounts will pick Britain?s glass-jawed Amir Khan as his opponent for his scheduled May 5 fight while Pacquiao has chosen the man who beat him in hugely controversial fashion ? Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley in June 2012.
Mayweather referred to Pacquiao?s loss to Bradley and his subsequent knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in deriding the eight division world champion?s achievements and failed to mention his master-class against Brandon ?Bam Bam? Rios last November 24 in Macau.
At least Mayweather?s father and trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr had the honesty if not the decency to praise Manny?s performance against Rios and liken it to Floyd Mayweather Jr himself.
Arum was obviously pleasantly surprised by his prized possessions smart move even as he described the unprecedented offer as ?an incredible statement for the sport of boxing? and made it clear, it had his full support.
While Arum, in a show of honesty, conceded that ?money is important? he believed that Pacquiao?s offer was a major boost for the sport of boxing which, at this day and age, is a most welcome development.
Arum elevated Pacquiao?s proposal to an even higher plain when he suggested that should Mayweather accept the offer (which we believe is highly unlikely) then representatives nominated by US president Barack Obama and Philippine president Benigno Aquino III could be tasked to handle the funds which ?could be distributed by their representatives.?
Mayweather?s response will show fans who is willing to fight and who is afraid to do so.
Manny has indicated ?let?s see what his (Mayweather?s) answer will be since he claimed I was desperate for money and now I am willing to fight for nothing.?
In a move to pre-empt any unforeseen demands from Mayweather, Pacquiao emphasized he is ?ready to submit to any kind of stringent drug testing? even as he challenged Mayweather to sign a contract that would state all gate receipts, pay per view and endorsements as well as their guaranteed purses would be donated to charities around the world.
Clearly, Pacquiao has laced up his gloves. Is Mayweather ready to do the same or is he too scared to accept the challenge?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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