PAGE 8A
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
11.
Commentary: 'Fight of the Century' marred by violent, corrupt pasts
G.J. MELIA
@gimelia
Manny Pacquiao
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Floyd Mayweather
104-5-2.
That represents the joint record of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who are among the best boxers in the world right now.
However, ahead of their much-anticipated matchup, the "good versus evil" narrative has started to form, when the fact of the matter is it couldn't be further from the truth.
Are Mayweather and Pacquiao two of the best pound-for-pound boxers the sport has ever seen? Probably.
Is this welterweight bout between the two most heralded boxes on the present earth "the fight of the century"? Probably.
Would it be reasonable to call either a good person? Don't kid yourself.
From the threatening of his children to his numerous episodes of violence towards women (2002, 2004, 2010, 2011)—I'm serious, look them up), it is already well known that Mayweather has a not-so-pleasant past. But what is not advertised enough is how Pacquiao is just as bad as Mayweather.
There is one simple reason for this: Mayweather lives in the United States, Pacquiao does not. The American media can, and does, cover Mayweather far more easily and often than Pacquiao.
As horrible and unpleasant as the majority of Mayweather's actions have been, if you're going to cheer for one of these abborrent individuals come Saturday, cheer for Mayweather. I'm sure you've all heard these next two cliches
an excessive number of times, but contrary to popular belief, Mayweather is the lesser of the two evils.
Since being elected to Philippine Congress four years ago, Pacquiao hardly attended half the congressional meetings in 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal. There's also a story from The Manila Times about him bribing Filipino citizens with money and insurance cards for votes door-to-door in 2013. When a congressman called him out for it, Pacquiao and his bodyguards proceeded to beat the man until they were eventually arrested.
In addition, he has spoken out against gay marriage, as well as stood against plans to make birth control and sex education more available to Filipina women.
Sure, the beatings Mayweather has compiled in his coveted assault resume may have ruined a few lives, but we have to look at this in a broader sense. Pacquiao's reach has the ability to affect everyone living in the Philippines. That's more than 100 million people.
Now, it's possible the sympathetic side of me needs to cut them some slack. Pacquiao dropped out of high school
and left home at 14 because his mother was unable to provide for the entire family. Mayweather's father spent five years in federal prison on a drug trafficking conviction. They both come from incredibly difficult backgrounds.
Furthermore, all moral desecration aside, I really do want to emphasize how truly stupendous these two hotheads are at what they do. They are ranked one-and-two in ESPN's pound-for-pound boxer rankings. Pacquiao has a record of 57-5-2 with 38 knockouts. Well more than half his wins have come by him leaving his opponent in the ring unconscious. He's also won eight major world titles in eight different weight divisions.
Mayweather has won 13 major world titles in only five weight divisions, but I say only very lightly. If any athlete wins even five world championships, it's about five more times than the average pro athlete. To win 13 is about three to four more times than the great pro athlete. And hey, get this: Floyd has fought almost 50 times in his professional career (1996-present) and he has never even lost. 47-0 with 26 wins coming from knockouts.
That's unbelievable.
When looking at the highlypublicized arguments for who is the "best ever" in a sport, the debate usually centers on past versus present players. Past mega-accomplished players versus less-successful freakish athletes.
In basketball you have the Michael Jordan and Lebron James debate, with a few other dominant names brought up every so often; your Shaq O'Neals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbars and Bill Russells, and so on. In football there's the Joe Montanas and Emmitt Smiths, with a Jerry Rice or Tom Brady intertwined in the conversation.
But there's one common trait shared among all the great: they're winners.
Saturday's fight may be boxing's last paramount production. Mayweather is set to retire sometime this year, and Pacquiao will do the same in 2016. But that's the one positive of their success. The one good thing these two have done is somehow keep afloat the snuttering world of boxing.
They're not just winning games, but championships. Combined, Mayweather and Pacquiao have won 104 fights and lost only five, with 21 major world titles. They will go down in the history books on the same line as Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali; George Foreman or Joe Frazier.
Following the end of the Mike Tyson era (2006), boxing needed a coverboy. Shortly thereafter, it got two: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Edited by Mackenzie Clark
BASEBALL FROM PAGE 10A
a 14-inning battle with the Longhorns only drop the game and later the series.
Just this past week, the Jayhawks came victorious against in-state rival Wichita State on April 21 before heading to West Virginia for a weekend series. The trend continued as the Jayhawks took the series by winning the first two games and nearly earning a sweep against the Mountaineers.
Before betting your life's savings on the Jayhawks' series against Baylor this coming weekend, know the trend isn't perfect. There has been a single instance this season where the Jayhawks did not replicate their weekday performance in conference play.
The Jayhawks beat Wichita State 13-12 on April 1 in an 11 inning thriller but then followed the win by getting swept by Oklahoma during the weekend. Coincidentally
enough, the series was similar to the weekday game except the Jayhawks were on the opposite side of the outcome. In two games against Oklahoma, the contest went into extra innings with the Sooners winning by a single run.
"They're getting better," Price said. "They're making progress and then we still have days where they go backwards in their performances."
On Wednesday the Jayhawks played their weekday game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and lost 6-5 despite a ninth inning home run by senior Connor McKay.
"We needed the play to set the tone for the weekend because it's a huge weekend coming up." Price said.
Price and his squad will hope to break the trend this weekend as they play a crucial conference series against the Baylor Bears beginning Friday, May 1 at Hoglund Ballpark.
Men's golf takes 8th at the Big 12 Championships
Edited by Callie Byrnes
OTHER CHAMPIONSHIP NOTABLES
Kansas golf coach Jamie Bermel said it best. "We were seeded eighth going into the tournament and we finished eighth."
That sums up the Jayhawks' championship hopes. The leaders for the Jayhawks at the Big 12 were freshman Daniel Hudson and sophomore Chase Hanna, as they have been all spring.
OTHER CHAMPIONSHIP NOTABLES Junior Connor Peck and redshirt freshman Jacques Wilson cared +4 for their final rounds. Wilson shot a
Hudson and Hanna both shot 73s, which gave them a total of +3 for their final rounds. Hudson captured two birdies in his final round putting him at +18 for the championship tying him for 24th. Hanna finished one stroke shy of Hudson at a +19 and tying for 30th.
+25 for the championship, tying for 36th, while Peck tallied up four birdies in his final round, tying for 40th and shooting +27. Junior Ben Welle led the Jayhawks throughout, finishing with the best core of the team at +17.
CHANCES AT REGIONALS
"I think we made a lot of progress this year and have everyone coming back next year who played in the Big 12 Championship," Bermel said. "As for regionals, we were ranked 67 and 68 in two different polls. With finishing eighth, I would have to think we may be on the outside looking in as the number is 68 and we may drop a few spots."
Bermel said he was not impressed with the performance in the Big 12 but he is very optimistic about a regional appearance based on their overall spring finishes. It would be the first regional they have made since 2007.
— Nick Couzin
±
+