TheAOSN is pleased to announce the addition of a new writer, Caleb Khew, to its staff. Khew, most recently the chief writer behind TheRabona.com, has offered to share a Facebook Note he wrote following the Mayweather v Pacquiao fight last night. Here it is:
Mayweather v Pacquiao – Inside The Numbers
by Caleb Khew
I am no boxing expert, but I have followed and watched enough boxing over the years to have a well-rounded view of the sport and how it works. And with the richest, most hyped fight in history having disappointed many, I would like to attempt to set a few things straight.
Let me preface this by saying I really dislike Floyd Mayweather Jr. I don’t like what he stands for. I don’t like his attitude. I don’t like what he does to women. However, this strong dislike does not blind me from recognising his (sporting) greatness, and as of right now, he is without a doubt the best boxer in the world. And after defeating Manny Pacquiao pretty handily, he has a very strong case for being the greatest boxer of his generation. All-time great? Most definitely.
Boxing is a sport, and as with any sport, the parameters of scoring have long been laid out and has been the same for decades. Whether it is conducive to a fight’s entertainment value is another point of discussion altogether. A simple comparison would be a goal in football; a tap-in or a 35-yard screamer still only gets you one goal. Aesthetics count for nothing but fan appreciation.
Contrary to views of many a casual, the judges scored the fight fairly and correctly, resulting in Mayweather winning the fight. And he was a very, very clear winner. Allow me to explain why.
So Why Did It Fail To Live Up To Expectations?
As mentioned earlier, this was the most hyped fight of all-time and the first real “superfight” of the social media age. Facebook and Twitter didn’t exist back when Tyson faced Holyfield, or when Lewis took on Klitschko; although these matches were hyped up, you didn’t have millions of tweets chiming in and spreading even more awareness. If Prince Naseem was fighting today, there’s a very good chance his fights would be more hyped and anticipated than Mayweather’s bouts; not only was he flashy and extravagant, he also delivered excitement in the ring.
To seasoned fight fans, Mayweather’s style is nothing new. His defence is top class, and has ensured he will be remembered as a great (in terms of boxing prowess only). Unfortunately, to the untrained eye, Mayweather’s constant clinching and dodging is not pleasing. Many casual fans and newcomers to the sport will have been caught up in the hype, and tuned in expecting a slugfest or a street fight. That is not Mayweather’s style at all, and never will be.
What they may not notice is his footwork which allows him to confidently lure opponents in, tempting them into taking shots they are bound to miss. For many observers, Pacquiao’s best chance of victory was to cut off the ring, and fight on the inside. In layman’s terms, he had to get as close as he could to Mayweather before striking.
During the fight, Pacquiao cornered Mayweather many times, with Mayweather doing little to prevent it, as if he were laying a trap no one else could see. When the time came for Pacquiao to strike, the flurries were quick but ineffective, and the few that landed barely hurt Mayweather at all. In addition, every time Pacquiao finally seemed to be getting inside, Mayweather would find a way to dodge and weave his way out of the corner like the sly fox that he is.
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In the build-up to the fight, Freddie Roach maintained that he had a game plan worked out for Pacquiao and that his fighter was the fittest and sharpest that he’d ever been. Roach is known for his emphasis on offense, but is not known for having multiple game plans. If Pacquiao followed the game plan to a tee tonight, it’s frustratingly obvious that it was not effective enough. With the speed of Pacquiao punches, throwing a third of the usual volume is akin to an early concession of the fight. Pacquiao was never going to win on points; Mayweather’s defense and counterattack is far too good for that. Any win was going to have to come from a KO or TKO, meaning Pacquiao had to force the issue early on.
Pacquiao did not look like his usual attacking self, and it is very possible that he gave too much respect to Mayweather’s counterpunching ability. In boxing, timing and distance is everything when it comes to landing punches, and Mayweather has mastered the art of maintaining just enough distance not to be hit, but to hit back when the opportunity presents itself.
Which he did. Compubox stats showed that Mayweather threw more punches overall than Pacquiao (435 to 429), a staggering stat which even the most hardcore boxing fan would not have expected. Mayweather landed 34% of his punches overall, while Pacquiao only managed a measly 19%, meaning Mayweather was almost twice as effective with his punches.
Where did they come from you ask? Mostly from the jabs and counter hooks he threw after Pacquiao’s attempts failed to connect. Pacquiao was more active in the early rounds yes, but being active does not mean being accurate. And in boxing, the most prized stat are punches that land. Pacquiao’s flurries may have looked like effective bombs, but for the most part, they were really just misplaced taps.
Pacquiao threw 236 power punches but only 63 found the target. Compare this to Mayweather’s 168 punches, of which 81 landed for a connecting rate of 48%. Pacman’s power punching connections stood at a measly 27%. Reports of Pacquiao being denied an injection for a shoulder injury may have some substance, but the extent to which it may have affected the fight is not for us to know (for now at least).
Official @CompuBox stats for @FloydMayweather UD 12 win over @MannyPacquiao #MayPac pic.twitter.com/gVhJqOiBVU
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) May 3, 2015
Stats do not lie, and if the fight was fixed as some keyboard warriors have ludicrously claimed, trust me when I say that boxing fans would be up in arms. The general consensus among those in the know is that Mayweather outclassed Pacquiao; it wasn’t even close, and the numbers and judges seem to agree. To claim that Pacquiao should’ve won the fight is akin to declaring Nickelback as one of the great rock bands of our time. Spoiler alert – they’re not!
There are also floating comments which suggest that Pacquiao had no chance if the match went to a decision because all judges were American. Now, I’m not about to declare boxing a sport free of corruption or match-fixing, but to think that Pacquiao was denied a win because of his nationality is just naive. Every boxing fan and his grandfather knew exactly who won yesterday, and the opinions of a few misguided newcomers only serve to highlight the severe lack of boxing knowledge among the general public. Pacquiao split decision loss on points to Tim Bradley provoked much anger from all parties in his camp, because they had a case. Such noises were tellingly absent yesterday, which tells you everything you need to know about the fight.
For those who came to a boxing match expecting a street fight, they were in for a rude shock. Street fights are labelled as such for a reason; that’s what the streets are for on Friday nights. Boxing is a whole other animal.
There’s nothing wrong with getting caught up in the hype; I am guilty as charged. However, the fight went exactly as I expected it to. A victory on points is a Mayweather special, and is built on a rock-solid defense. Going into a fight like this without being aware of how Mayweather boxes is like crossing a busy highway on a unicycle – you’re not going to like it!
Mark Wahlberg and P. Diddy supposedly bet $250,000 on the fight, with Wahlberg picking Pacquiao to win. Let’s just say that if I had that kind of money, and sports betting was legal in this part of the world, I’d happily have put that money down because I would be walking away with a brand new house today. Yes, I would have literally put my house on Mayweather winning; that’s how much of a favorite Mayweather was in my book. You could argue that one punch can change a match, but the punch actually has to land first.
The Fallout
Max Kellerman came in from some serious flak for his post-match interview with Pacquiao, with many first-time viewers stunned with his straightforward views and heavy hitting questions. This is his style, and again, like many of yesterday’s events, is nothing new. It may rub some people the wrong way, but he was asking questions that fans wanted to hear.
When Pacquiao said he thought he’d won the fight, I was stunned. I’m a huge fan of Pacquiao and wanted nothing more than for him to beat the odds and Mayweather’s face, but the loss was as clear as day. While I’m not defending Kellerman’s style of interviewing, I’m certainly not going to condemn him either as he was merely expressing the thoughts of us fans. Why did Pacquiao think he won the fight when everyone knew he lost? I wanted the answers to that, even if some overly sensitive members of the media and public did not.
Kellerman then proceeded to ask Pacquiao why he wasn’t throwing the same volume of punches as he usually does, whether size was an issue, and whether he had a proper game plan coming into the fight. Fair questions? Absolutely. Mentioning the fact that both he and the folks ringside thought Pacquiao lost the fight should not taint his reputation as a respected analyst and figure in the industry.
It should also be noted that Kellerman and Pacquiao are both contracted to HBO and have done post-match interviews many times in the past. Kellerman is a huge fan of Pacquiao and I feel his questions were fair and necessary, even if the approach was a bit brash.
Pacquiao maintained that he could handle Mayweather’s power, but most fighters with a decent chin could. Unlike Street Fighter or Tekken, there is no “life” bar which indicates powerful hits and depleting health; the punches that land is the only stat that counts, regardless of how much they hurt.
So in short, was Kellerman wrong to interview Pacquiao that way? Inside the boxing world, it’s a non-issue and rightly so.
Is Boxing Dead?
I don’t know. I’m of the opinion that boxing is far from dead, but after this fight, it is probably further from the mainstream than it has ever been. There is still money to be made, with top fighters still pulling in seven to eight figure paydays (this fight which sees both fighters make nine figures is an anomaly), but where will the new fans come from?
One of my friends mentioned that she watched the fight with a group of friends, and this group were of the opinion that the judges giving the fight to Mayweather was unfair. Now I have already gone through why this is not the case, but I can see why they would have come to that conclusion.
This is not Mayweather or Pacquiao’s problem; the fault lies with the rules that make up boxing. There are plenty of other exciting fighters out there – Gennady Golovkin being my personal favourite – but when a fighter such as Mayweather is marketed the way he is, it’s almost a given that the uninitiated will see the 47-0 (now 48-0) and think, “Hey, this guy’s undefeated. He must be pretty good!”
However, “good” to them may not be the masterful dodging, the well-timed counters, and the speedy deflections of opponents’ punches. The darker side of his defence means he utilises the clinch a lot – this is effective because it essentially shuts down your opponents attacks, and it eats up a few seconds. It is the referee’s job to ensure that clinching does not overrun a fight, and without points actually being deducted, a fighter can continue to clinch to defend a lead. Which is exactly what Mayweather sets out to do and he’s bloody good at it.
The match was a chance for boxing to capitalize on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make millions of new fans, but like the terms of the match, this would be dictated by the hands of Mayweather. Many people will have tuned in yesterday for their first experience of boxing in many a year, or even their first experience ever. Unfortunately, these people are not likely to come back. Which is a shame for the sport.
It’s not so bad for us in Malaysia; we were lucky enough to get the fight on HBO for free. Imagine how the newcomers in the United States must feel, paying $100 to watch boxing for the very first time last night! That’s $100 they’re not getting back, and plenty of potential revenue that will not find its way into boxing in the future.
If tonight was the first time you’ve watched a boxing match, I’m sorry that you had to sit through that. Fight fans can appreciate the mastery of Mayweather and last night he showed it once again, but his style will never sell boxing to new viewers around the world.
There are plenty of classic fights and fighters that I, or better yet, the internet, can recommend for the wider public to get into boxing once again. For the sake of this beautiful sport, give it another chance. But I suppose this plea will fall on deaf ears, much like how Pacquiao’s punches disappeared into thin air.