Manny Pacquiao in the ring following his defeat to Floyd Mayweather this past weekend in Las Vegas (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
By Vitali Shaposhnikov
While it is impossible and unnecessary to ignore the opinions of dedicated Mayweather and Pacquiao fans about the conclusion of their bout, the insightful view of someone with more in-depth boxing experience adds a lot to the substance of the outcome of their fight.
Kenny Porter comes with a respectable amount of knowledge and experience when it comes to the sport of boxing, and in his interview with Hustle Boss’ Chris Robinson he talks about the fight, and what camp Pacquiao should have done afterwards.
“Watching it live, I gave him two rounds, maybe three,” said Porter of Pacquiao.
Aside from a small number of boxing fans and analysts, this seems to be the popular calculation. No doubt there were a couple of rounds where Manny Pacquiao was able to dictate the pace and successfully claim the rounds, but in its entirety, it was very hard to give Pacman any more than that.
“If it was me I would just take that loss and move on,” pleaded Porter when asked about Pacquiao’s decision to announce his shoulder injury after the bout. It’s not unpopular to publicize some injury after a loss in boxing, in an attempt to possibly take some weight off a defeat and make the fight look like a bad stroke of luck.
Nevertheless, in a fight of such colossal significance, a fight that has been in the works for too many years to mention, an injury simply should not have been a part of anyone’s vocabulary; certainly not after the fight.
Based on the perpetual events set in motion against team Pacquiao by a few private individuals as well as the Nevada State Athletic Commission, I think it is clear that this is a lesson that will be learned by everyone in the sport.
“If you are able to make it through the fight, through the distance, but you had and injury and you gave it everything you got, just say, ‘Hey I gave it everything I got’ and that’s it,” concluded Porter.
Check below for the full dialogue from Porter.
Vitali Shaposhnikov can be reached at vitalifightpress@gmail.com