Team Mayweather? Or Team Pacquiao?

Team Mayweather? Or Team Pacquiao?

Alissa Gonzales, Assistant Photo Editor

Boxing fans across the country and around the world cried over the so-called “fight of the century.” Complaints poured in to claim it  was a waste of time and money. According to espn.com, “it generated a live gate of approximately $74 million, and the pay-per-view television audience — at about $100 per buy — is expected to shatter the pay-per-view buy record (2.48 million) and pay-per-view revenue record ($150 million) set by previous Mayweather fights. In all, organizers expect the fight to generate some $400 million.”

Mayweather was the hype machine behind the big fight. He was the money man, as he was on so many of his previous fights. He entered the fight as the clear favorite.

Pacquiao faced a disadvantage that even smart footwork couldn’t help. He revealed after the fight that he was dealing with a shoulder injury, for which he had surgery within a week after the match. Only he knows how much of a difference that could have made during a mostly lopsided loss.

Six years have passed since Mayweather and Pacquiao should have originally fought, increasing the anticipation for the night, but instead the fight failed to live up to the hype. Fans believed this would be the biggest fight of the century, but Floyd ran laps in the ring and threw love-taps for most of the fight. Many fans felt the promoters sold a lie, and then they felt even more angry as millions happily bought into it.

By the third round, it was easy to see that Mayweather was just going to play defense for the last nine rounds. Social media erupted as fans realized, by the seventh round, Pacquiao wasn’t going to be able to get Mayweather down. The announcement that Mayweather was the victor was inevitable.

There is an overwhelming feeling across the sports nation that boxing is now dead, and Mayweather-Pacquiao killed it. There is little to no chance fans will ever again shell out $100 to watch two old men chase and slap each other for 36 minutes.