The much hyped ‘fight of the century’ between Mayweather and Pacquiao turned out to be a damp squib, not a patch on the titanic Liston-Petterson clashes of the ’60s or of Muhammad Ali’s thundering clashes with Frazier, Foreman and Liston. The pugnacity and animalistic instinct which gives the victor the richest purse, was missing.
To the uninitiated Pacquiao, the more aggressive looked the clear winner. As it turned out Mayweather won by a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring in his favour. The winner took home a purse of nearly $180 million (approx Rs 1,100 cr) while the loser was richer by about $120 million, for just 36 minutes’ work! But who are we to grumble? We were lucky to see the fight without paying anything.
Prof Robert Castellino, Calangute
