The Sports Alley: May 2015

At Saturday's Fight of the Century, Dionisia's voodoo didn't work.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. easily outboxed Manny Pacquiao to a clear unanimous decision victory with scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice...

Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dionisia Pacquiao's voodoo didn't work. Pound-for-Pound king Floyd Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs), from Sin City by way of Grand Rapids, Michigan, easily outboxed Manny Pacquiao, (57-6-2, 38 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, to a clear unanimous decision victory with scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice.

Calling a fight the Fight of the Century before the opening bell is a punch thrown with bad intentions. It raises hopes sky-high, only to watch them crash back to earth. Mayweather-Pacquiao succeeded as an event, but the fight was boxing's Icarus, with Money Mayweather starring as the sun. It wasn't a bad fight per se. But it was no more Fight of the Century than Beyonce is Nina Simone.

Fighting out of the blue corner in black and gold trunks, Mayweather established his dominance early and never stopped. His defensive mastery, his four-star ring generalship, his lancing jab and laser guided right hand were all it took to win the fight.

Pacquiao, fighting out of the red corner in yellow and red trunks, needed to give Mayweather something to think about. Instead, he barely crawled out of the gate. His anticipated early flurries never materialized. His killer instinct was AWOL. If Pacquiao had a game plan it's news to me. He failed as 48 men before him had failed, and in much the same fashion.

Mayweather's superior size, longer reach, elevated skills and refined mind were more than Manny knew what to do with. Pacquiao meant well. He gave his best shot. But his best shot wasn't good enough. It wasn't even close. Congressman Instinct, an historic figure in the Philippines, was no match for the Boxing Brainiac. Manny tried to get close. He tried to make it a fight. But elusive Mercury Mayweather, dancing to the sound of his own drummer, slid away, just out of range, just out of reach, just out of Pacquiao's league.

Pacquiao's been a fine boxing ambassador, whether it was the pre-God Pacquiao, the drinking, fornicating, cockfighting Pacquiao, or the goateed holy man in gloves and satin shorts we know today. But no matter who he was, who he is, who ultimately becomes, Manny's boxing Buddha, the beatific anomaly that smashes stereotypes.

Unfortunately that same smashing ability had no effect on the special effect called Floyd Mayweather. Money proved his point. But he is many ways like Wladimir Klitschko. While they're at opposite poles temperamentally and Steelhammer nukes, neither engages. They do enough to win. We can fete their mastery. We can trumpet their ring IQs. Their fights are another story.

Mayweather says it's one and done. One more fight which was going to save boxing may have succeeded in doing otherwise. But the sport is no damsel in distress. It was an illusion exposed by the revenue generated by Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

Fights of the Century are made, not born. Past fights of the Century, like Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jefferies in 1909, the duel between Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling in 1936 and 1938, and the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971, bristling as they were with global implications, were Fights of the Century not just in name, but in deed.

Twitter: @Mankine06

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