Pacquiao Versus Mayweather: The Quest for Boxing's Ultimate Glory

Undoubtedly, the two greatest ring warriors in the present era of the Sweet Science are Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Floyd "Money" Mayweather. These two gladiators have calculable opposing techniques and fighting styles which make their rivalry for the pound for pound lordship very enthralling. Pacquiao is a rugged, offensive machine with magnificent and lethal power in both hands and possesses exceptional footwork, while Mayweather is an undefeated defensive genius with masterful ring knowledge which most aspiring contenders desire to adapt and emulate. Genuinely, they are distinguished champions that keep the sport of boxing a cut above the rest of the other established combat sports.

Will these two outstanding gladiators face each other one day? Or will they both retire without testing each other's mettle and to show the world who the true pound for pound King of boxing in this epoch is between them? Pacquiao just won a seat in Congress in his native Philippines in the recently concluded election polls: an exclusive victory worthy of citation and a testimony of the current world's pound for pound most exciting fighter's popularity and endearment to his people. Mayweather, on the other hand, is busy making his own presence felt in the community, conducting boxing clinics with young children. There is, however, a pending contract for a mega-fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather but it remains unsigned and inchoate due to the fighter's emphatic demands to gain advantage over the other. Given the two boxers' tremendous influence and popularity in the sport, each fighter justifiably deserves their exacting ultimatums.

The biggest unanswered question is: what is the future of boxing without Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two best boxers in the whole universe? Based on history, Mayweather could not carry the sport because he tends to stay away from greater challenges, avoiding qualified contenders to the point of submitting himself to semi-retirement from boxing. He is doing it again in his proposed fight against Pacquiao, making extraordinary demands to discourage the latter from engaging with him in an ultimate boxing match. Pacquiao is ready and willing to fight but if Mayweather will not do his part, boxing fans might as well forget seeing the fruition of this advocated paramount battle for boxing supremacy.

Valid questions will continue to surface about this conflict but answers will not be revealed until the proponents climb atop the ring and go toe to toe against each other. With the presence of Pacquiao and Mayweather, boxing will remain competitive against other combat sports, but no boxing expert can determine the fate of the Sweet Science when these two great champions retire for good. Just for once though, for boxing's quintessential glory, may Mayweather step down from his egoistical throne and fight the youthful King in Pacquiao so the boxing kingdom could determine once and for all who is the true reigning monarch of the sport. The pending fight holds the key to this mysterious precariousness and unless it happens, it will remain as a woolgathering of boxing experts and fanatics of the Sweet Science. As the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt once uttered, "So let it be written, so let it be done."