[HPDJ]

For non boxing enthusiasts, I can see how the fight was boring.

But for ME, I was on the edge of my seat the whole night because anything could have happened! Even down to the final minute!

I think it's silly to say "All Floyd is worried about is not getting hit".....think about that statement for a second! If I were a boxer I would expect to get hit some, sure.....but I wouldn't WANT to get hit! Who WANTS that?? (well maybe some twisted folks do). (And yes I'm also aware that some fighters intentionally take abuse for various strategy techniques in a fight).  But if I was fast enough to avoid my opponents punches and smart enough to out box them and exploit their weaknesses then uhhh, yeah! I'm gonna do that! Why would you hate on me for that? Cuz I left the fight with an unblemished face? You serious? That's how I'd wanna leave every fight..

Floyd is a technician. He is economical with his punches. Why throw more then you need to?? He lands about 50% of his punches per match....that's damn good!

There are many reasons to hate Mayweather....I won't go into them. But you have to understand that when you watch a fight of his NOWADAYS, the excitement is in how he outsmarts his opponent and how he makes great fighters look mediocre. He made Manny look mediocre! Unbelievable. This is not the Tyson days, the Ali days, the Sugar Ray days where a good amount of fighters took tons of physical abuse (again, sometimes intentionally). Well, at least not when you watch a Mayweather fight. Those days were more exciting in many ways, sure! But TODAY, the top boxer on the planet doesn't fight like that. But that doesn't make him less of a boxer or a "coward" as some review wrote. That's all just people hating on him. If you hate him for his out-of-the-ring "issues" then sure...... But his skill? That's undeniable. Does he punch the hardest? No. Does he throw the fastest punches? No (it's close though). Is he the smartest? Fore sure!

And I think Manny tried to be agressive more than people are acknowledging. But he couldn't "do his thing" against Floyd. Floyd has a history of not letting fighters get in their "pocket".

So.....boring in the sense of not a lot of blood and punches flailing about? Sure. But as Eugene 2 mentioned, we have MMA for that now. Knock yourself out. Watching an undefeated fighter pick his amazing opponents apart and finding a way to win every time?? That is still fascinating to me. So I enjoyed the fight very much. I think that to the casual viewer the fight was boring, but those folks aren't taking into account the work and skill one has to have to make a fight SEEM that way.

Eugene 2's comments are spot on in my book!

[Rob Babcock]

I like boxing but IMO boxers, even the best ones, are dumb brutes compared to a great MMA fighter.  Let's be honest- even the best technical boxer is pretty one dimensional compared to a fighter that uses her entire body to fight with.  There's just so much more to prepare for in MMA; not just simple jabs and hooks, you have to defend against takedowns, kicks and joint locks, too.  Floyd wouldn't last three minutes against a great mixed martial artist.   Unless that fighter wasn't allowed to use all his or her skills.

[Vapor Audio]

I hate what Floyd has done to boxing, to be honest.  His effect is he turns boxing discussions into politics.  The two camps are "I don't care how good he is, I just want to see a good fight", and the other camp is "you luddites just don't understand the sweet science".  I'm firmly in the first camp, which to my mind is the only one that makes sense.  I mean, how many times has anybody watched re-runs of Tampa Bay winning the '02 Super Bowl?  Probably not very many, because it was a snooze fest.  And just like after their victory, the apologists came out in force.  The difference in boxing is someone's reign on top doesn't just last a year, it can last a decade.  So the apologists stick around for a long, long time. 

I watch every boxing match I can find, no matter who.  The only hope is that something memorable will happen, but Floyd simply prevents anything memorable from ever happening.  Yes, I understand perfectly well just how good he is at controlling ring action.  I get perfectly well that he's the best in the World at winning a boxing match by points, so what, it's completely forgettable.  For all Floyd's talk of being an entertainer and giving the fans what they want, you'd think he might at some point try and do exactly that, but it's all just lip service. 

The other thing Floyd is the best at, and likely the best ever, is his discipline.  He stays so incredibly disciplined no matter what the circumstance, unfortunately his discipline is avoiding exchanges no matter what.  At all costs he avoids exchanging and has done so consistently since Oscar.  Who seriously wants to pay to watch that?  When you hear an athlete in any sport say what Floyd did before this fight, that he had lost his passion and was fighting for money and legacy, they're done.  No athlete admits that, especially not the night of the biggest stage of their life.  The couple times Floyd got hit you could see on his face just how much he dislikes it.  He's able to do enough to win without having to risk getting hit, so that's what he does because his passion is gone. 

Floyd has created a huge problem for himself, and for boxing.  I've thought about this fight a lot today.  The problem is with all the hype for this fight, it brought a lot of new potential fans into the circle.  A lot of people gave boxing a chance that hadn't done so before, and after watching this fight most of them never will again ... at least not for a long time.  The boxing newbies will watch that fight and think "boxing sucks", and continue on with their life.  I have a feeling this fight left such a bad taste I people's mouths, that his next PPV will be lucky to gross 10% of what this one did.  For myself, I'm not getting suckered again.  Floyd will never see another dollar from me. 

I do hope Floyd is true to his word and retires after his next fight, it's time for boxing to move on and give focus to any one of the many fighters out there who DO entertain.  Next week will almost certainly be a more entertaining fight, Canelo v Kirkland.  I'm ready to somebody step up to the GGG challenge, I'm ready for a Kovalev v Stevenson matchup.  The fight they alluded too of Santa Cruz v Abner Mares would be a hum dinger.  So many fights and fighters out there guaranteed to entertain more than anything Mayweather has done in the last decade.

[Early B.]

When the history books are written, they'll mention Mayweather in the footnotes. 

[Rob Babcock]

The problem with boxing today, as I see it, transcends these two guys.  Imagine if, say, the New England Patriots could stay the Super Bowl champs but decide they're just not going to play the Seahawks any more.  And imagine if the NFL was fine with that!  The Pats could hold the East Lombardy Trophy, Seattle had the West Lombardy and Dallas could claim the South Lombardy without having to beat either of the other two.  That's pretty much where boxing is now.  It's like a bunch of little fiefdoms, each with its own liege-lord, independent of the rest. There are very few genuinely mandatory defenses of a title; when a champ does defend it it's generally against an opponent of his choosing, at the time of his choosing, under the conditions the champ dictates.  By setting so many ridiculous conditions Money May was able to dodge Pacman for half a decade until the fight was irrelevant to most of us.  And this isn't an aberration, it's the normal way boxing operates in the 21st century.

Realistically why does a boxer need a year or two to train for an opponent?  There's so much less going on in the boxing ring vs another martial art, yet an MMA fighter will only require a few months to prepare.  Mostly it's money and a way to drag out the process.

And boxing is killing itself with PPV.  It used to be in the TNF days that you could see top drawer fighters on TV all the time.  Especially as they're coming up.  Now it seems like boxing coverage is pretty poor and you can't see any decent fight without getting PPV.  Maybe I just haven't followed closely enough (and I didn't have a TV for a while) but who wants to pay $100 to watch the champ demolish someone you've only read about once or twice?

[HPDJ]

Floyd will maybe get the credit he deserves when he's dead and gone. It wouldn't be the first time someone great wasnt appreciated during their life time.

I am also excited about the upcoming Canelo fight! There are a LOT of great boxers out there right now...and also, NBC aired live boxing for the first time in like 30 years or something, not long ago so.....I think that's a sign that boxing is on the rise again. Youtube also makes it easy to catch up on a fighter's past bouts and watch commentary from countless boxing enthusiasts. Again, this is a good time for boxing. You want blood and fighters recklessly trying to tear each others head off? There are plenty of options! I love those kinds of fights as well!

Lastly MMA, and boxing? Two different disciplines. I think maybe it makes you feel good to mention your speculation that Mayweather would fail in an MMA environment (I guess whatever helps you imagine some scenario with him losing haha) but...... Please, its a WHOLE other kind of sport. I'll continue looking at Mayweather as what he is. A BOXER.

[HPDJ]

Oh, and boxers train for MONTHS for a fight..... Not YEARS. At least the boxers I follow..

[Rob Babcock]

The only loss by Money May that would satisfy me would be in court.  It would be nice to see a serial batterer of woman get more than a slap on the wrist.  Of course he's a boxer but you probably know that he also dabbled in or stated that he was training in MMA some time back.  He opened that door so I think it's fair to explore it.  He's every bit as a great at boxing as he is terrible at being a decent human being, no denying his skill in the former and failings in the latter.

It's nice to see NBC show a fight every 30 years or so though.   I loved TNF but when it went away it left a big hole for many years. I think there's a new boxing show on now but I haven't had a chance to see it yet.

I think until there's a real sanctioning body with some teeth and some balls boxing is going to a series of one-of spectacles.  By a "real" sanctioning body I mean one that can force defenses and suspend people when they do the kind of things Mayweather has done.  The NFL was very slow to come around and the cynic in my will readily admit they don't really have a conscience- they just realize they need to take some meaning action for PR purposes. But if something positive is done, even for crass and cynical reasons, it still benefits people.  Maybe an NFL prospect will think twice before knocking out his wife or GF in an elevator and dragging her unconscious body out by the hair.  Maybe insisting on decent human behavior outside of the ring will even trickle down to boxing someday.  Hopefully before boxing is banned.

[Audiophile58]

May weather is a great boxer,but with a thug mentality. Any guy that beats women is no man
In my book. MMA is intertwining but a sport totally with disaster written all over it look at Ken shamrock and many others by the time they are 50 Parkinson's will be in the advanced stages due to the severity
Of the head trauma .boxers have to where 12 oz gloves .used to be 8 oz. maybe 6 oz in MMA.
And ground fighting elbows directly to the brain. My wife works in the ER .concussions are a regular thing.
The commission says it is not dangerous ,even football fully padded and severe brain concussion injuries.
In time The MMA will have protection in place ,or hundreds will suffer permanently.
I like the MMA and talent but any person with a brain knows that if you have to many fights
You will loose your senses. Cap scans don't lie. Guys like Dana white only care about the
Money makers,all others are punching bags gor entertainment watching them get destroyed
Wonder lay silva ,a perfect example a face of scar tissue and little brains.

[Letitroll98]

Wasn't what happened?
No one said anything about dancing or shoulder rolling.

You have to watch the video to understand the statement.  And yes jackman, you're right on both counts.  I knew you were linking a joke and the fight wasn't worth the asking price.  My statesmen was suppose to be more generally directed at all of us who thought Mayweather would have to run to escape Manny's onslaught, the one that never happened.  He never pressed Floyd and it made for a dull fight.  The couple of times he did the crowd roared, but those brief moments were far too fleeting to make a fight out of it.

[RDavidson]

Yeah. I'll watch the video.
I was in "serious conversation" mode at the time, so Jackman's interjection of sarcasm was lost on me.

[Vapor Audio]

The problem with boxing today, as I see it, transcends these two guys.  Imagine if, say, the New England Patriots could stay the Super Bowl champs but decide they're just not going to play the Seahawks any more.  And imagine if the NFL was fine with that!  The Pats could hold the East Lombardy Trophy, Seattle had the West Lombardy and Dallas could claim the South Lombardy without having to beat either of the other two.  That's pretty much where boxing is now.  It's like a bunch of little fiefdoms, each with its own liege-lord, independent of the rest. There are very few genuinely mandatory defenses of a title; when a champ does defend it it's generally against an opponent of his choosing, at the time of his choosing, under the conditions the champ dictates.  By setting so many ridiculous conditions Money May was able to dodge Pacman for half a decade until the fight was irrelevant to most of us.  And this isn't an aberration, it's the normal way boxing operates in the 21st century.

Realistically why does a boxer need a year or two to train for an opponent?  There's so much less going on in the boxing ring vs another martial art, yet an MMA fighter will only require a few months to prepare.  Mostly it's money and a way to drag out the process.

And boxing is killing itself with PPV.  It used to be in the TNF days that you could see top drawer fighters on TV all the time.  Especially as they're coming up.  Now it seems like boxing coverage is pretty poor and you can't see any decent fight without getting PPV.  Maybe I just haven't followed closely enough (and I didn't have a TV for a while) but who wants to pay $100 to watch the champ demolish someone you've only read about once or twice?

Could not disagree more.  Why do we feel it's necessary, or even right, to have sanctioning bodies that impose morality on athletes?  If Floyd want to be a piece of crap person, more power to him.  If he crosses a line, that's why we have a legal system, imperfect as it may be.  If Floyd was an entertaining fighter I'd enjoy watching, what he does in his home is his business, and if it was that bad his wife would leave or at least press charges.  But it really bothers me when politicians like Goddell suspend players for cases where charges are dropped, that goes against everything American about innocent until proven guilty. 

You're wrong about all the sanctioning bodies in boxing too, more is actually a good thing.  More champions means more 12 round fights, and they do often impose mandatory #1 challengers or else you lose your belt.  There's nothing wrong with the sanctioning bodies, the only issue with boxing is the politics between promoters like Arum and Golden Boy. 

And boxers don't train for a year, it's typically 3 months or less.  GGG fights every 3 months or even less, the majority of active boxers have 2-3 (sometimes 4) fights a year.  So don't try and inject the MMA is better BS, it is and always will be the red-headed step-child. 

[dB Cooper]

Vapor,
Agree with your take on the fight almost entirely but not your take on the multiple sanctioning bodies. When even many fans can't tell you who, say, the super middleweight champion is, that is a problem for the sport. It also makes it possible for "champions" to duck contenders they don't want to fight.

Teddy Atlas was speculating as to what taking "selfies" on his ring walk said about Manny's mindset. I think that's a good point. Surely he could not have thought this fight would be easy. Maidana, who fights like a Rock 'em Sock 'em Robot (remember those?), had more success against Floyd then Manny did. When you have an event of this high a profile, and both fans and boxing journalists are writing about what a bore it was and what a let down it was, that is bad for the sport. $99 for a noncompetitive fight isn't going to do anything except make casual fans who bought into the 'buzz' feel like they were ripped off- and they won't be back. The Alvarez fight next week is probably going to be twice as good as this fight was.

[RDavidson]

MMA is almost an entirely different animal. It is not the red headed step-child to boxing, however, even if you aren't into it.
That's almost like saying Crossfit is the red headed step child to Olympic Lifting. Crossfit is very multifaceted and one doesn't need to be an expert in any single area to be competitive. Olympic Lifting is purer and takes MUCH more mastery to be competitive.

But anyway, both boxing and martial arts have their competitive place in the Olympics. Let's just leave it at that, and stick to the topic.

[TF1216]

The equivalent to Saturday night's fight in the UFC is either UFC 187 on May 23rd or UFC 189 on July 11th.

Though Jon Jones and Nurmagomedov are off the 187 fight card there are still a bunch of interesting matchups to draw the casual fan in.  My favorite fighted is Donald Cerrone who is fighting that night.  He is the coolest cat in the sport, in my opinion, and is all about showing the people a good fight.  Case in point, if you don't come to throw down this is how he reacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chgydOYL5AY

Then UFC 189 has Conor McGregor.  He talks like Mayweather but is more interesting and doesn't have the horrible legal trouble.  The UFC has a series about him called "The Notorious" which is an interesting watch if you are a fight fan. 

Is anyone going to be watching these? 

[jimdgoulding]

Most of you guys work so you probably didn't see ESPN's "First Take" this morning.  Allow me . . the co-hosts began talking about a rematch today and guess where?  You had to see this coming . . Macao, the Las Vegas of the East.  Floyd could say no but why would he unless he is just plain tired.  I wouldn't hold it against him if he did.  In fact, I would like for him to say, "Money isn't all there is and I have plenty.  Think I'll take up tennis".  What network wouldn't like to have him as an announcer.  All that money makes me suspicious.  Would Floyd lose so there could be a third fight?  I'm gonna say no and hope I'm right. 

[Kenneth Patchen]

  In fact, I would like for him to say, "Money isn't all there is and I have plenty.  All that money makes me suspicious.  Would Floyd lose so there could be a third fight?  I'm gonna say no and hope I'm right.

Well to us mere mortals, a $180 million purse sure sounds like a lot of money but let's not forget that after taxes that's only $486.94. Ok, they both got free towels as well and sure that's a real nice perk but I'm guessing that's not enough to disuade them from turning down a rematch.

[Early B.]

Well to us mere mortals, a $180 million purse sure sounds like a lot of money but let's not forget that after taxes that's only $486.94. Ok, they both got free towels as well and sure that's a real nice perk but I'm guessing that's not enough to disuade them from turning down a rematch.

The fight was 100% marketing hype. I can't imagine boxing fans paying money to see a rematch. No one considers making a sequel to a movie that bombed at the box office.

Why did it take 6 years for this fight to happen? Because if the fight occurred in 2010, how much money do you think they would have made compared to last weekend? There's a reason this guy's nickname is, "Money."

[jimdgoulding]

Well to us mere mortals, a $180 million purse sure sounds like a lot of money but let's not forget that after taxes that's only $486.94. Ok, they both got free towels as well and sure that's a real nice perk but I'm guessing that's not enough to disuade them from turning down a rematch.

I wonder if Floyd could get a license to sell cars and take a loss on all the ones he owns.  Hey, his gym is in his house, isn't it?  Wouldn't that be a deduction?  Plus what he pays his dad and uncle?  Bet his tax accountant is glad to have him as a client.

Early, bet those Asians would stand in a line as long as The Great Wall to show their support. 

[dB Cooper]

The fight was 100% marketing hype. I can't imagine boxing fans paying money to see a rematch. No one considers making a sequel to a movie that bombed at the box office.

Why did it take 6 years for this fight to happen? Because if the fight occurred in 2010, how much money do you think they would have made compared to last weekend? There's a reason this guy's nickname is, "Money."

Well, this one didn't exactly bomb at the box office, but a rematch surely would. Having seen a DVR of the fight now (a welcome diversion), I can agree with Early B's other points. There was absolutely nothing about it that suggested a rematch would be any different. If Floyd fights Manny 5 times he will beat him 5 times. 118-110 might be a bit over the top (not the first example of such from Moretti) but any rematch would just be more of the same. And I am disappointed in Manny claiming a shoulder injury. To me, his footwork, supposedly one of his best weapons, looked "off". Injury or no, he was straight-up outclassed. He's done enough and should retire but will probably take a fight against a softer opponent in order to finish on a win.