After Mayweather/Pacquiao

As we know, Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao by a unanimous decision several days ago. This was the "fight of the century", and the "greatest bout ever", according to the hypesters. At least until the next super-mega-extravaganza rolls around. Who's kidding who?

Yet questions linger involving both fighters.

For his part, Pacquiao claimed to be fighting with one hand due to a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. His claim might well be valid. The medical paper trail revealed Pacquiao had indeed been receiving treatments and injections for some time before the fight that were consistent with such an injury. Depending on the severity, torn rotator cuffs can be serious business. Typically they won't heal by themselves but require surgical repair and lengthy post-op rehab.

All this was no secret to the "powers that be" in the boxing world. They were not only aware that Pacquaio had been receiving cortisone/steroid injections in his shoulder for quite some time, but had signed off on them as being OK. This included the US Anti-Doping Administration, who has arguably the most stringent standards in the world when it comes to such things. Everybody was just fine with Manny getting his injections to treat his injury -- and then -- on the eve of the fight -- they weren't.

Though Pacquaio requested another treatment just before the fight, he was denied by the Nevada State Boxing Commission. They said the paperwork had arrived too late. Manny would have to go without. Given the Commission was aware of this problem all along, this was an absurd premise, of course.

Given the injury, it could be argued the fight should have been postponed weeks before it ever happened until Manny could undergo whatever procedures were necessary and return to being 100%. fit. The Pacquiao camp has to own some responsibility for this.

First, just because such an injury can be masked with medication doesn't mean it's not still there. They had no ethical business allowing their fighter to get in the ring against a world class opponent if he had a torn rotator cuff.

Secondly, if such paperwork is required for another "treatment", then how could they be so remiss in their duties as to not having submitted it "on time"?

But consider Pacquiao's options at that point. He basically only had two.

1) Tough it out, go through with the fight, bad shoulder and all, and hope for the best. (And BTW, collect well over $100 million). He did. He lost. He later brought up the injury issue that the insiders had known of all along.

2) Or call it off at the last second because he couldn't get the treatment just before the fight that he had been allowed all along in the weeks leading up to it. That would have been problematical on several fronts, to say the least.

Consider the people that had booked flights/hotels, and shelled out mega-bucks to sit in the stands at the MGM casino to watch it in person. Now it's off? How do you pay them back for their wasted time and money?

How about the sports bars that had ponied up thousands of bucks to get it on pay-per-view and expected to pack them in for the fight?  Or the countless individuals that had coughed up a C-note to watch it at home on the same PPV? Would they be entitled to a refund?

It would have been a logistical nightmare all around.

And if Pacquiao had backed out, there was no guarantee the fight would EVER happen in the future. Do not pass go, do not collect over $100 million guaranteed today, and hope for the best a few months down the road. Good luck with that.

On top of that, the American media, and likely others would have ridiculed Pacquiao. He would have become the latest "no mas" poster child, ala Roberto Duran in his rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Whether Duran really had an abdominal injury never seemed to matter to the vultures. They painted him as a coward and a quitter when the going got tough. Duran's long and extremely impressive career in the ring, along with handily defeating the same Leonard in a previous match were quickly forgotten. He had "tapped out". Though one of the best pound for pound fighters of all time and an array of world championships to show for it -- the Panamanian with the hands of stone is remembered more for "no mas" than all his glorious career preceeding it. Few would doubt that legacy lingers to this day. It's not right, but it's real.

And then there's Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Yep, he won the fight fair and square on the judges' scorecards. But questions about him linger as well.

If this was the "fight of the century", then why was it held in Mayweather's back yard? Sure, Vegas is a high profile venue and all the celebrity schmucks that don't know a left hook from a left turn would surely show up in their limos and shell out ridicu-bucks to be there in person for a few photo ops. That's what makes the glitterati world go round, such as it is.

And yes, Mayweather is a control freak and usually gets his way. But holding such a fight in the champion's home town seemed to be a bit over the top when it came to being an unfair advantage.

True champions aren't afraid to fight in hostile environments. This is not to say the fight should have been held in Pacquaio's homeland of the Phillipines, but if Mayweather wanted to put an exclamation point on a victory, that's EXACTLY where he should have been willing to go.

At worst, such mega-bouts should be held at neutral sites. Harkon back to two of the most memorable fights in boxing history.

In their third match, after having split the first two, Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier travelled to the same Phillipines for the "Thrilla in Manilla".

Ali and George Foreman went to then Zaire, now Congo, for the "rumble in the jungle".

Floyd's apparently afraid to fight outside of his home town. Sure, more money is likely to be made in Vegas than in Asia, Africa, or other potential neutral and/or exotic venues, but if one wishes to be called "champion of the world", then dammit, get out around the globe to fight a tough bout when it arises.

Floyd Mayweather remains unbeaten at 48-0. Like him or not, his record in the ring speaks for itself. It's impressive.

The money man has mansions, a entire fleet of luxury and super-high priced sports cars he never drives, and it's probably a good bet he isn't exactly hard up for dates.

Yep, Floyd seems to have it all when it comes to the materialistic world.

But there's one thing he doesn't have yet amongst many, and may never get.

Aretha Franklin once had a hit song about it. Something about......

R-E-S-P-E-C-T