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Loew, Mancini don’t expect a great fight tonight
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Tonight, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will square off in the biggest fight of the 21st century. But will it be the best?
Probably not, said Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.
“I think it’s gonna be a stinking fight, and I’ll tell you why — Mayweather hasn’t engaged in years,” said Mancini, the former lightweight champion from Youngstown. “He’ll slap you around for 12 rounds, but he ain’t gonna engage unless he has to.”
That, said Southside Boxing Club owner Jack Loew, would be bad news for boxing.
“If it turns out to be a stinking fight, we’re in trouble there,” said Loew, who trained former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. “It has to be a good fight.
“If they go in there and put on a good fight, I don’t think people will care if it’s now or six years ago [when everyone wanted the fight].”
The 38-year-old Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has just one knockout victory since 2007, a fourth-round win over Victor Ortiz in September of 2011. While not as slick in the ring as Mayweather, the 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) fights a much more exciting style, which is one of the reasons why he’s a more popular fighter than Mayweather.
It’s also why he hasn’t aged as well.
“Manny, we know he’s a warrior. We know he’s coming forward. We know what he brings to the table,” Mancini said. “Here’s what I think: Once Mayweather starts feeling Manny’s power — because Manny can punch — I think he’s gonna become an octopus, grabbing and clutching.
“Floyd don’t care about the fans. He’s pocketed $180 million already. Why should he care about the fans? What, he’s gonna get ambitious all the sudden in one night? I hope I’m wrong. I hop Manny kicks his a-- and I hope Manny would have the ... I would say ‘huevos’ but Jack would say ‘No, balls!’ to fight him.”
According to WalletHub, tonight’s bout is expected to generate more than $300 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue and more than $74 million in ticket sales inside the 15,000 MGM Grand arena.
But while it will boost both boxers’ bottom line, will it boost boxing?
Mancini isn’t sure, comparing the windfall to the most famous scene from “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which was written by his friend, David Mamet. The top salesman wins a Cadillac El Dorado. Second prize was a set of steak knives. Third prize is “you’re fired.”
“The disparity between those two [Mayweather and Pacquiao] and everyone else in boxing is so wide,” Mancini said. “They’re getting the trip around the world. Everyone else gets steak knives.”
Pacquiao’s star dimmed a bit in 2012 when he lost a questionable split decision in June to Timothy Bradley, then got knocked out in the sixth round in December by a vicious right hand from Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s since won three fights — all by unanimous decision — but his frenzied fighting style may leave him vulnerable to straight rights from the more disciplined Mayweather, Loew said.
“Pacquiao has to come forward and make Floyd fight three minutes of every round,” Loew said. “But he can get careless sometimes. If he comes leaping forward, it could be another Marquez and that’s what scares me.”
Mancini and Loew both expect Mayweather to win, although they’re rooting for Pacquiao. Most boxing fans feel the same way, which is one of the keys to Mayweather’s wealth. Although he doesn’t make a cent in endorsements, he’s the highest-grossing athlete in America, controlling the production (and the cash) for his lucrative pay-per-view bouts.
“Floyd knows you make a lot more money wearing the black hat than the white hat,” Mancini said.
Added Loew: “People hate his arrogance and he plays on that. He stands to make maybe $200 million for being that [jerk].”
But, if tonight’s fight is close, that reputation could hurt him.
“If it’s a close decision, I really see Manny getting that decision,” Loew said. “And then the Mayweather promotional team is gonna see who still has the most power in Las Vegas and it’s [Top Rank] chairman Bob Arum.”