Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao

Had the chance to talk at length today about a great Judo match that occurred late last night/early this morning: Mayweather vs Pacquiao. I thought it was a boxing match. Judo match?!? Yes, Judo match.

Pacquiao was the brawler; tenacious fighter. He would have to give Mayweather a serious beating. It was Pacquiao’s fight to win.

Mayweather (winner by unanimous decision) was the skilled technician. He would have to hold his own, and not let Pacquiao score heavy. It was Mayweather’s fight to lose.

Two main principles of Judo are: ‘Maximum efficiency with minimum effort’ and ‘Mutual welfare and benefit’. Mayweather showed minimum effort slipping Pacquiao’s attacks, while Pacquiao worked like crazy but received little for his efforts. Both fighters showed mutual welfare; neither really hurt the other boxer. Since they’re both basically unscathed, do I smell ‘rematch’ in the foreseeable future for a gazillion dollars?

There is a story famous in Judo circles, and written on the back of Jigoro Kano’s master text ‘Kodokan Judo’: Asked his impression of the match after being defeated by the Master, a ranking judoka once said, “It was like fighting with an empty jacket.”