Boxing and horse racing are my two favorite sports, not something you hear a lot of 27 -year-olds say. So you can imagine that this Saturday (Derby and fight) I'm going to be in heaven. I actually went to my first fight a couple weeks ago at Turning Stone and it was worth every penny.
As a huge fan I'm naturally inclined to defend the sport, and there's a lot of false narratives out there about this fight, which is a HUGE deal.
Yes there are 6 undercard fights, but only 2 of the undercard fights will be televised. Watch the Lomachenko fight, dude is for real. PPV starts at 9pm; main event will get going between 11:30-midnight most likely.
The idea that these two are way past their prime is a complete JOKE. These are still the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, PERIOD. Sirvoo, I would respectfully disagree that Manny is not at the top of his game. If you've been watching his fights, his hand speed is as quick as it's ever been. In his last fight, he put Long Island native Chris Algieri on his rear end 6 times. These are not two washed up old club fighters. Agree that the fight should have been made a few years ago, but these are still the two best in the sport and this will be an incredible fight.
This fight is going to shatter every single boxing record. It's going to make more than $400 million - shattering gate records, purse records, sponsorship records, PPV buys. It's going to do more than 3 million PPV buys!
Dan Rafael, who if you don't read, is ESPN's lead boxing writer and one of the most respected in the boxing media. I met him at the Turning Stone fight and he's the man. He says this is arguably the biggest fight in 40 years, since Ali-Frazier I.
Boxing in general is in a really good place right now. Better fights are being made and more fights are on different TV networks. Ratings are up and MMA has not hurt boxing's popularity at all.
PREDICTION: Again, this is not going to be two old guys just dancing around each other. If you order and watch this fight, you're watching the two best in the world go at it. Floyd Mayweather is not knocking out Manny Pacquiao. If you truly follow and know the sport, that's just a silly prediction. Floyd doesn't knock people out. He wins with his great defense and picking his spots well. He hasn't scored a knockdown in four years. If he wins, it will be a unanimous decision.
Pacquiao is the best fighter Floyd has ever faced. He's a southpaw which presents all sorts of problems. I expect Manny to come out very aggressive and look to set the tone early. Manny is not knocking Floyd out either, but he has a better chance of knocking out Floyd than Floyd does of knocking out Manny. In fact, I don't expect any knockdowns in this fight. That doesn't mean that there won't be plenty of action - there will be.
Ok here's my call: Pacquiao wins a split decision victory. This will be a VERY close fight. I'd shell out $200 if it cost that much. Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEEEEE!!!!!
