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May 3 saw the entire Philippines at a stand still. First, because the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather bout is finally happening. And second, because what the hell happened? “The Fight of the Century” went the distance, all the way to the 12th round, without anyone hitting the ground. It started out good, even almost laughable with Mayweather clinching and running away as Manny Pacquiao kept chasing and trying to hit him. By the 10th round, people started to get worried, and when Mayweather starting dropping his hits onto Pacquiao during the 11th round, the despair was undeniable. Below are a few things we learned from the fight.
1. Mayweather’s such a hugger
The biggest story of the ‘Fight of the Century’ was Mayweather’s hugs. Everybody knows Mayweather to be a big defensive player, but who knew he was such a hugger? Every time Manny launched an attack, Mayweather clinched to defend himself…and then started boxing Manny on the sides. Every time Manny forced him to the corner, Mayweather found a way to stop his momentum by clinching and stealthily hitting Manny’s body before the referee broke them up. Not to mention all those headlocks where Floyd snuck in a few elbows to the back of Manny’s head. Guess it worked for Mayweather because his clinching certainly and repeatedly broke Manny’s momentum.
2. Manny totally owned the fourth round
Pacman hit Floyd with a huge left that rocked the undefeated boxer to the ropes. He kept his balance, sure, after which he kept shaking his head as if to say he’s fine. But we know a hit when we see one and, during the fourth round, Mayweather was definitely hit. Alas, that wasn’t enough to deplete his energy because he continued to run around the ring, avoiding Pacman.
3. Floydie finally got his time in the sun by the 11th round
He opened the round with a couple of power shots to Pacquiao, became more aggressive, and dropped his defense repeatedly. But, he was able to keep his distance, thanks to his impressive footwork. For much of the fight, Mayweather relied on his counterpunching to keep in pace with Pacman. However, Mayweather started the championship rounds like a true champion that he is, showing a glimpse of his punching power to start the round. Pacquiao, who was the aggressor all night, just didn’t have the speed to keep Mayweather at bay. At the end of the 11th round, Manny just couldn’t help but smile despite his frustration over Mayweather’s evasive tactics.
4. Whose homecourt was Vegas?
It sounded like the entire MGM Grand was rooting for Manny Pacquiao right from…the weigh-in. Mayweather was greeted with ‘boos’ when he entered the ring — and even once he was named the winner. Manny, on the other hand, got effusive cheers. At least three times during the fight — rounds one, four, and six in particular — ‘Ma-nny! Ma-nny!’ dominated the MGM Grand with such volume.
5. Where was Mommy D?
MGM Grand looked like a Hollywood party — Adrian Brody, Paris Hilton, Mark Wahlberg, Sting, Beyonce and Jay-Z, but where was Manny Pacquiao’s mom? We saw some pictures of her pre-fight her absence during the match, but her absence was glaring.
6. What’s Max Kellerman’s deal?
HBO boxing commentator Kellerman interviewed Manny after the fight. When Manny admited that “I thought I won the fight,” Kellerman proceeded to ask Paquiao why he thought did, and then added: “We didn’t (think you won) at ringside, the judges didn’t.” What’s up with the condescending tone, man? The dude just lost the fight of his life. Just congratulate him.
Kellerman would later go on to Twitter to defend his line of questioning, saying he loved Manny, and he just needed to ask why he thought he won.
.@MannyPacquiao fans: I love Manny. He’s pleasure to deal with & to watch fight. Manny disagreed w/judges. Had to ask him about it. #MayPac
— Max Kellerman (@Max_Kellerman) May 3, 2015
7. Heartbreak came from this one-liner: ‘I thought I won the fight’
It was painful to see and hear Manny Pacquiao say this, because this was how we all felt. Watching the fight, and considering Pacquiao’s unrelenting aggressiveness, it looked like the last round was going to dictate the final outcome. The judges called it 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 — leaving little room to doubt as to who won the fight — but the Compubox showed Mayweather (435) throwing more punches than Pacquiao (429).
8. Jimmy Kimmel was definitely fan of the night
He didn’t just walk with Manny Pacquiao, he also took a stab at Justin Bieber by dressing like him and rocked a shirt that featured Pacman eating little Floyd pellets.
@jimmykimmel: Disappointing result but what a fight – thank you for making me your Bieber @MannyPacquiao – you are a champion
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 3, 2015
9. Mayweather had a Burger King mascot in his entourage
We have two questions for this one: First, why? And second, why was the mascot never introduced in the Philippines?! There’s still no official word how or why he was part of the entourage, but he definitely wasn’t able to upstage Kimmel’s gear. Heck, not even Jamie Foxx singing the US National Anthem could beat Kimmel’s burn.
Why the Burger King and Justin Bieber pic.twitter.com/krloyHz7YC
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) May 3, 2015
And just because we can’t get over it: Where was Mommy D?
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