Bert Sugar: Mayweather-Pacquiao Would Be 'Fight Of The Century'

Noted boxing historian Bert Sugar believes that a clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would rival Sugar Ray Leonard's comeback 14th-round knockout of Thomas Hearns in September 1981, when the victor trailed by four, three and two points, respectively, on the three judges' cards.

Calling it "today's Super Bowl of boxing," Sugar said the demand and scope of Mayweather-Pacquio "easily passes" Felix Trinidad's controversial September 1999, 12-round majority decision over Oscar De La Hoya, even as theirs was a clash of a Puerto Rican icon in Trinidad and a cross-over Mexican-American star in De La Hoya.

"[Mayweather-Pacquiao] has international appeal, particularly in Asia. And you've got HBO, which will be pumping it with their 24/7 series. It will be the fight of the century," said Sugar, who, as then-editor of Ring Magazine, named Leonard-Hearns "Fight Of The Year."

"Even though with Leonard-Hearns boxing was more in the mainstream within the framework of sports in the 1980's -- with football, baseball and basketball -- the hype for [Mayweather-Pacquiao] will be off the charts."

Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts) "has proven to be the No. 1 attraction in urban markets across America," HBO's senior vice president of pay-per-view, Mark Taffet, told FanHouse during an exclusive interview last month.

A five-division champion, Mayweather has participated in "Dancing With The Stars" and defeated professional wrestling's "Big Show" in a highly-viewed match.

In his most recent effort in September, Mayweather dominated Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez, nearly shutting out a fighter who endured a draw and a loss to Pacquiao in disputed bouts.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 37 KOs), meanwhile, is coming off of a historic 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), against whom he earned his record seventh crown in as many different weight classes.

Pacquiao is considered a hero in his native Philippines as well as a cross-over star in America, where he has graced the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine and been featured in ESPN's Body Issue, among other things.

"The whole thing is these are two [professed pound-for-pound fighters] who would be meeting together celestial plane. They're on the same off-ramp, trying to get off of the exit first," said Sugar.

"With Trinidad-De La Hoya, that was also in the welterweight division," said Sugar. "But Mayweather-Pacquiao is Leonard-Hearns in the fact that there is more of a major public demand" for both fighters in America.

In addition to their personalities beyond the ring, Mayweather and Pacquiao are known as much for their work ethics in preparation for bouts as for their skills on fight night.

The always chiseled Mayweather is known for being a gym rat to the point where, at the end of his workouts, the Las Vegas resident throws more than a thousand punches at the heavybag or mits held by trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather.

Pacquiao's daily training regimen is known to last for four hours, ending with a technique during which parts of his body are pounded by a long, thick stick to deaden the nerves against the pain of being punched.

Similarly, Leonard always was known for his spartan techniques and Hearns for closing workouts with push-ups while supporting his feet high on a table and clapping in between repetitions.

The sheer energy-level of the Leonard-Hearns battle over the course of their 14 rounds remains unmatched by virtually any fight of that caliber since then.

"I covered Leonard-Hearns, and going in, there wasn't the same energy-level ascribed to Hearns as to Leonard. That's because it was more about Hearns' punching ability. Hearns was knocking everybody out, so there was very little said about Hearns' stamina because he hadn't been around to see much action in decisions," said Sugar.

"They had been in exciting fights before, with Leonard having been in against Roberto Duran," and Hearns against Pipino Cuevas, said Sugar, noting how the roles of Hearns and Leonard changed over the course of their classic confrontation.

"And as it turned out, there were many ebbs and flows, and some back-and-forth. There were some rounds where there was some maneuvering. In the sixth round, after Leonard knocked down Hearns with a beautiful left hook. Hearns went to jabbing," said Sugar.

"Leonard, the boxer with the shorter arms, was able to get inside and to become the puncher. And Hearns, the puncher, became the boxer," said Sugar. "It was a great tactical battle, and Hearns just turned the tables and was winning it."

In a matchup with Mayweather, a defensive specialist, Pacquiao is expected to be the aggressor, similar to how Hearns was opposite Leonard.

Pacquiao out-landed Cotto, 276-to-93, in power-punches, or, nearly, three-to-one.

But can the action of Mayweather-Pacquiao live up to hype?

"With Leonard-Hearns, you sort of went in knowing that you were going to get what you got. But you have a different set of equations with Mayweather-Pacquiao. Pacquiao's always in exciting fights, and Floyd Mayweather has hardly ever been in an exciting fight," said Sugar.

"So there could be some question," said Sugar. "If Floyd is so much better than Manny, and he fights his fight, and controls it in his own way, it could be considered a boring fight. There was never that concern for Leonard-Hearns."


Bert Sugar's top three welterweight fights:

Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns 1 (Leonard, W TKO 14)

Carmen Basilio-Tony DeMarco I (Basilio, W TKO 12)

Carmen Basilio-Tony DeMarco II (Basilio, W TKO 12)