Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao took over half a decade to make ‘The Fight of the Century.’
Mayweather returned from a year’s ‘retirement’ in 2009. In that time, Pacquiao had defeated Juan Marquel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya and was about to face Ricky Hatton.
Floyd beat Marquez in his comeback bout and the potential match-up with Pacquiao immediately started to gather pace. They were the best and biggest fighters on the planet and had faced three common opponents in the space of two years.
Demands and disputes then spoiled negations for a further five years. In 2015, with Mayweather 38 and Pacquiao 36, they would finally face off. Both were beyond their best, but the Filipino in particular had seen better days.
In an interview with Club Shay Shay, De La Hoya answered the still-prominent debate as to how the fight would play out had it happened earlier, believing it would go the same way but in a controversial manner.
“Let’s just say it would’ve probably been a controversial decision, like a closer fight, but I still think that Floyd probably would’ve pulled it off. I really do think so.
Pacquiao at the time, when he was coming up, when I fought him, he was literally a Pacman. He was just chomping at me like there was no tomorrow. He wouldn’t stop throwing punches. That Pacquiao probably gives Mayweather a better fight. I don’t know if he wins, but he gives him a better fight.
It was a little too late. You want to see a back and forth and you want to see evenly matched on paper. When we saw it live, as a fighter myself I know exactly what’s going on mentally and physically, and Pacquiao wasn’t the same. You can make that argument for Floyd as well. At their peak I still think that Floyd would’ve won the fight.”
It’s a change of heart from De La Hoya, who has picked the opposite result in previous interviews.
Mayweather fought on until 2015, calling time when he reached the coveted 50-0 record. Pacquiao still has the itch and is currently in talks to stage a record-breaking comeback.
