My Thoughts On Boxing

First, we'll focus on the local....

As first reported by the World's Greatest Sportswriter on his 9-to-5, Brampton, Ont. native, two-time Olympian, and perennial damn-near world class cruiserweight Troy Ross is finally scheduled to fight for a world title.

He's got an opponent, Ola Afolabi; and a date, June 20. Only thing this WBO world title bout doesn't have is a venue. But if it comes to the GTA, you know who will be all over it, bringing you guys both the stories and the stories behind them.

It'll be a pretty big deal if they can pull it off. Clearly, it's not Pacquiao vs. Mayweather (more on that in a minute), but it's a viable complement to the Rumble at Rama series that since 2007 has brought big-time pro boxing back to an Ontario market that been dormant for two decades.

Will keep you all posted at the 9-to-5, and any interesting info I can't squeeze into the paper you can find right here, so stay tuned.

Now let's change the focus from the local to the global, as in Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and the quest to become (and remain) the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet.

Folks have been asking me to weigh in on the subject since last Saturday, when Mayweather announced his comeback, and Pacquiao flattened Ricky Hatton.

Mostly, the questions come from people who know me as a Money Mayweather proponent (as long as he's not rapping, that is) curious as to how the Pretty Boy can last six rounds against the Pac Man. These guys point out that Mayweather needed 12 rounds to decision Oscar De La Hoya and 10 to dispatch Hatton, while Pacquiao finished Oscar in eight and blasted Hatton in two.

And honestly, only a hater or a fool would dismiss Pacquiao's spectacular performances lately. There's no ignoring his uncanny combination of speed, power and aggressiveness, and how those tool could give anyone fits, not to mention a concussion.

Still, after Mayweather beats up on Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 (and he will, guys... let's be serious), he'll handle Pacquiao whenever those two connect.

Why am I so sure Mayweather can tame the man who so thoroughly dominated two guys who made Mayweather work?

Because past results don't make fights.

Styles and circumstances do.

Again, not to diminish Pacquiao's spectacular run, but we need to look at these performances in context. The Oscar he destroyed in December 2008 was not the Oscar that Mayweather decisioned in May 2007.

The Oscar that faced Mayweather did so as junior middleweight after a training camp with Freddie Roach. He was a comfortable at the weight and equipped with a game plan, but couldn't impose it on a far superior boxer.

Feliz cinco de Mayo. Tu regalo? Un left hook! iQue golpazo!

Eighteen months later, with a different trainer, he faced Pacquiao drained from making the 147 pound limit. During pre-fight instructions Roach (who trains Pacquiao) saw I.V. marks in De La Hoya's arm, remnants of a desperate attempt to re-hydrate after the weigh in. At the bell Oscar and his I.V. marks tried to match speed with the division's fastest fighter, a flawed strategy that cost him dearly.

Oscar's pace, meet Manny's pist! Next time we pight in the Pilipines!

So yes, Pacquiao got rid of Oscar much more quickly than Mayweather did, but consider the circumstance then ask yourself if such a depleted fighter would have lasted any longer against Floyd.

Doubt it.

As for Hatton, both Mayweather and Pacquiao dominated him and the divergent results are due, once again, to styles and circumstances.

True to his style, Mayweather beat Hatton by attrition, breaking him down to the body before that emphatic, dramatic 10th round.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, bored in from different angles, launching big shots in volume -- as is his style.

But the fact that Floyd scored his knockout first is important, because Mayweather provided the blueprint for how to flatten Hatton.

I mean, how else did Pacquiao's camp figure out Hatton would walk into left and right hooks all night?

D'ya fancy a poonch up? I'll smash your fist with me noggin, yeah.

Exactly.

Circumstances.

So it really doesn't matter how good Pacquiao looked against Oscar and Hatton because neither of them is Floyd.

And Paquiao's not bullet-proof. He can, in fact, be hit, and by people much slower than Mayweather.

Pac-Man swallows a big right from Morales. Recovers after consuming power pellets between rounds.

Folks ask me how Floyd plans to deal with a quick and powerful southpaw who attacks from odd angles, and we have a clue in the way he handled Zab Judah -- he'll box, he'll stalk and he'll bang to the body.

But how will Pacquiao deal with a bigger man who is nearly as fast? Someone with footwork and a jab, the sharpest boxing mind of his generation and more power than his detractors like to admit?

Tough to say.

After feasting on a steady diet of Mexicans and a big helping of Hatton, Pacquiao has proven he can dismantle any fighter who leads with his chin.

Great.

But if he fights Floyd suddenly he can't commit to rapid-fire power shots because he can't be sure they'll land. Suddenly he'll have to deal with jabs and right hand leads upsetting his timing. And even if his game plan works, suddenly he'll have to solve a fighter who makes mid-fight adjustments better than anyone in the sport.

So to me the bigger question isn't whether Money May can handle Pac Man, but whether Pacquiao can become the first fighter to figure out Floyd.

I'm not saying he can't do it.

I just don't think he will.

Mayweather by decision.

Whenever it happens.