facebook-pixel

Whicker: Mayweather-Pacquiao pits the emperor against the preparer

Brute Mayweather to square off against prepared Pacquiao.

FILE - In this combination of file photos, Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, prepares to spar at a gym in east London on May 22, 2009, and Manny Pacquiao, right, of the Philippines, weighs in for the junior welterweight boxing match against British boxer Ricky Hatton, May 1, 2009, in Las Vegas. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will meet Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015 in a welterweight showdown that will be boxing's richest fight ever. Mayweather himself announced the bout Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 after months of negotiations, posting a picture of the signed contract online. (AP Photos/Alastair Grant and Rick Bowmer, File)

Las Vegas

"Look it up," Bob Arum commanded. "He's 'The Emperor Jones.' "

Do so, and you find a fascinating character that only faintly resembles Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Eugene O'Neill's 1920 play became the first mainstream movie to feature a black leading man, Paul Robeson. He played Brutus Jones, a railway porter who killed a man in a gambling dispute and fled to a Caribbean island, where he harshly ruled the natives.

His own insanity caught up with him, only after he mistreated the subjects and hurled a copious number of N-words.

Mayweather is neither insane nor dictatorial. But he has done time for abusing women, probably not enough time, and he is perhaps the most spectacular consumer in sports. He said the other day that being undefeated means nothing in comparison to making money, although he said he was doing it for his children. Bookmakers love him, as do technical boxing fans and a sizable cross-section that cheers his gratuitous independence.

This is the same guy who said he would beat Diego Corrales on behalf of the women Corrales physically mistreated. This is the same guy who makes news by denying he will provide bail money for Suge Knight.

Same guy who is 47-0. That is why he does what he wants.

"You don't get those millions doing nothing," said Floyd Sr., his father and trainer. "You get it by working very hard."

On Saturday night, Mayweather meets Manny Pacquiao in a fight he considers an illustration of his power and preparedness.

He says the money numbers are so stunning because he ducked and dodged this fight in 2010, and let the demand build. He held the line on drug testing, even when he had to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Pacquiao, and now Pacquiao has had blood drawn 12 times in his training camp.

"I'm a pioneer not just in boxing but all sports," Mayweather said. "All I wanted was a level playing field."

Mayweather also insisted on 60 percent of the purse and 100 percent control of the promotion. Arum, the Top Rank CEO who was promoting fights in Ali's time, had to be introduced at the news conference by Leonard Ellerbee, Mayweather's right-hand man. Arum then enumerated all of Pacquiao's commercial endorsements, knowing that Mayweather has none.

"Not even for chewing gum," Arum said later.

And Mayweather not only controlled the tickets, which were only distributed last week, but the announcement of the fight itself. "Megalomania," Arum said.

Pacquiao seems blissfully unaware of the tensions in this arranged marriage. He hasn't been an underdog since he took down Oscar De La Hoya.

But Mayweather is a much bigger man. He will go into the ring at 155 to 160 pounds. Pacquiao weighed 144 on Thursday.

Mayweather has stood and fought more eagerly than he used to, when his legs were fresher. His right hand is an accurate, punishing weapon. He is a counterpuncher, as was Juan Manuel Marquez, who gave Pacquiao perhaps his four most difficult fights.

But Pacquiao will be a new experience, full of potential shock value. He is a left-hander with strange angles and alarming speed. In Marquez's first round against Pacquiao, he went down three times. Whether Pacquiao can dart in and out as quickly as he'll need to, for 12 rounds, is debatable. Mayweather's knack for adjusting is not.

"If Mayweather stands and fights, we've got a plan for that," said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer. "If he runs, Manny will cut off the ring. But Manny can't just stand in the pocket and trade. He was on the ropes against Miguel Cotto and I asked him why, and he said because he wanted to see how hard Cotto could hit. I said, that's not a good idea."

When Pacquiao met Roach, he showed him two early career tapes. In both, Pacquiao was knocked down.

"I wanted to show you that knockdowns are part of the game, that I can come back," Pacquiao said.

Mayweather Sr. dismisses it all.

"Once you've been hit like he got hit by Marquez [in the fourth fight], you'll get hit again," he said. "This will be a short fight. In fact, this fight is already over."

If that's true, a lot of people are wasting a lot of money.

It could go any way. Maybe a head butt, as often happens when a lefty meets a righty. Maybe a close decision, a we-wuz-robbed chorus. Maybe even a tactical stare-down that will be as crowd-repelling as a game of Risk.

As night turns to morning, boxing will reach a different level. It will not escape its emperor.

Twitter: @MWhicker03LANG