Editor's note: The views & opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.
But, let’s be honest here: there really is only one, and his name is not Floyd Mayweather.
Related » Boxing Pound-for-Pound & Divisional Rankings
It’s not necessarily because Mayweather is “retired.” It’s more about the way Pacquiao has handled himself since losing a one-sided decision to Mayweather in the underwhelming mega-fight that left many fight fans unsatisfied with the lack of action.
Simply put, Pacquiao has done himself absolutely no favors if he’s really trying to land a rematch with Mayweather. When he lost, the first foul Pacquiao made was blaming his lackluster performance on a shoulder injury. The timing of his announcement -- immediately after he lost -- made his claims sound more like an attempt at copping a plea than accepting that Mayweather was the better man. There was some validity to Pacquiao’s claims, however, as the Filipino underwent surgery on a torn rotator cuff and is expected to be ready for a return to the ring early next year.
Pacquiao’s next excuse was mind-boggling, to say the least. “Pac-Man” appeared on ANC’s “Headstart” program in his home country of the Philippines and revealed that his loss to Mayweather was foretold to him by God.
Apparently, Pacquiao was sleeping one night about a month before the Mayweather fight and dreamt that he “lost the decision.” But the dream wasn’t made up in his mind; it was the Lord revealing the outcome to him beforehand. Pacquiao even went as far as to say that he was thankful that God informed him of the result, though maybe he was just thankful for the reported $100 million purse he earned.
Either way, the problem with Pacquiao’s statement is that he’s said numerous times that he thought he won the fight -- a ridiculous notion -- and has spent so much time blaming his shoulder that this new revelation sounds utterly bizarre.
Pacquiao is becoming more and more difficult to believe, because it appears that even he is unwilling to accept that Mayweather was better than him. The fight wasn’t fun for fans to watch because Pacquiao was unable to make Mayweather uncomfortable and force him to fight back, as did Miguel Cotto and Marcos Maidana. Instead, Mayweather was able to operate like he normally does and easily outpoint what was supposed to be his toughest opponent to date. Maybe Pacquiao should just accept that he lost and move on. Excuses at this juncture are not appealing whatsoever.
Surely, Mayweather won’t be taking any of this seriously. Maybe the money and the allure of going 50-0 will draw Mayweather out of his supposed retirement, but Pacquiao’s sour grapes aren’t helping his case one bit.
Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.