Photo edit by Keystone Boxing
There is a scene in Shawshank Redemption, where the protagonist, the wrongly accused Andy Dufresne, forces his way through a sewer pipe. Morgan Freeman calmly narrates that Dufresne crawled through “500 yards of shit-smelling foulness I can’t even imagine.” He hits the water at the end and rejoices at his freedom.
If 2014 was boxing’s shit-smelling foulness, 2015 appears to be the sweet rain washing it all away.
It actually happened. After half a decade of mindless, back and forth, will they or won’t they bullshit, we’ve got a fight. And not just a fight, but an absolutely historic, massive, epic, megafight. Make no mistake, this thing will shatter every pay-per-view record known to man.
When your dipshit cousin whose only knowledge of boxing involves Mike Tyson gnawing off Evander Holyfield’s ear is talking up the fight, you know this thing has hit the mainstream.
And so finally, after all this time, after both men have exhausted all credible (and some not so credible) opponents, they’ve turned toward each other to knock the boxing world on its collective ass. I’m shaking my head even as I write this, but it’s official. Floyd Mayweather will be fighting Manny Pacquiao on May 2. The two best pound-for-pound fighters of their generation will finally do battle.
I can get into the fact that they are both years removed from their primes, and that some of the historical relevancy has been sucked out of it. And normally I would, because I’m a pessimistic prick by nature. It is this very nature that made me a firm believer that this fight would never happen. I said it in 2009, and I said it as recently as last week’s podcast.
In this instance, I’m quite happy to admit being wrong.
There is a reason that this fight conjures such powerful emotion amongst both the hardcore and mainstream fans alike. It’s absolutely fascinating. Not only are both fighters incredible at what they do–they’re incredible for totally different reasons.
Mayweather is a defensive wizard. Regardless of where you rank him historically, he certainly ranks quite high in the art of dodging punches. That’s why he’s still the best fighter in the world at nearly 38 years old.
His opponent made his mark by firing away with blistering combinations, bringing wicked hand speed and otherworldly power. And while Pacquiao’s offense may not be what it once was, we could say the same thing about Floyd’s movement. And hey, that might just make for a better fight–they’re both a little more flawed than they used to be.
Are they both at their absolute peak? No. Did the negotiations drag on for an insane amount of time, long enough to piss many people off and turn some fans away? Fuck and yes. But hey, it’s happening.
And now we can finally salivate at the matchup. We can freely dissect every comparable fight the two men have had with a renewed purpose. The guesswork is over. On May 2, the boxing world will get its Super Bowl. Our sport will get to enjoy center stage for something other than a cancelled fight, an out-of-the-ring incident, a positive drug test, or a moronic, hideous decision on the cards.
The two best fighters of a generation will fight for supremacy. Perhaps this used to be the norm. Perhaps it’s years too late. Perhaps the undercard will be a horrible joke and the PPV will be overpriced.
Who cares. The fight is happening. Finally. No more complaints. No more pontificating on what would have happened five years ago if they’d fought. Now, we can sit back with some friends and some beers, and watch this thing unfold. I have a feeling the fight will be way more exciting than people think. We can hope as much, anyway.
Once and awhile, things work out. Let’s just savor the win.
We can start bitching again on May 3.
