The Next 'Event'

So ‘The Event’ finally arrived and passed without any major surprises. Pacman dominates once again, and looks super impressive against a much bigger guy once again. No real surprise with this one, and a bit of a shame that the one-sided fight did not match the setting. I didn’t think the undercard was as bad as some boxing journalists made out on paper or in reality. I have seen a lot worse put it that way. Jose Luis Castillo justified my comments in one of my previous blog postings - ‘No Shame in Quitting’ - and I’ll be massively disappointed if he does not retire now.

I love attending major sporting events, particularly in a major stadium or arenas. Circa 55,000 at a boxing event is amazing. The Dallas Cowbows stadium is top of my hit list unquestionably and seeing it on television hosting the Pacquiao fight has whetted my appetite to go there even more so. The giant screen is hugely impressive, but by all accounts every single aspect about the stadium is top quality. The most notable aspect on television were the leather seats at ringside. They looked like La-Z Boys. If Jerry Jones had opened a compartment on the arm rest and whipped out a Bud or something, I would not have been surprised.

The fight itself was ok, but nothing special. I was not too disappointed at not being there – I would sooner attend the Mayweather/Mosley or even Khan/Malignaggi fights. That is not going to happen unfortunately, so expect a sulking blogger around early May!

Pacquiao’s dominance did however make me wish even more so for a fight between him and Mayweather. I will be at that one whenever and wherever. It is one of the few fights among current fighters that is a genuine super fight and one I just cannot miss.

That of course means that Floyd has to beat Shane Mosley. I suspect he is in for a much tougher time than Pacman had to endure, but I still expect him to come through it. The biggest fight will come when they have to negotiate a fight once again. Whether they can make it, who knows, but I just sense it is too big not to happen at some stage. So much has been discussed about the drugs testing policy and proposals between the two, but I do not think that is the issue. If Mayweather comes through the Mosley fight and is close to his best doing so which he will have to be, I think he will then have the confidence to take Pacquiao on – more so than previously just after his comeback.

The next battle will be where the fight takes place. Going back to Dallas rather than Vegas would surely see an even bigger attendance, an even bigger spectacle, and thankfully, a fight that will match the setting.