"Yeah, I actually think we are going to get that Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next year. If they both take care of business in their upcoming fights; obviously, they have to win their fights. Mayweather has Ortiz and Pacquiao has to get past Marquez once again. If they get past that, I think with all of the other options and all of the other things that are not there with many guys in anything, especially in boxing, that are there for Pacquiao...I think it's just a matter of sense that he's going to be looking to close up shop at some point soon. And the way that he's going to close up shop is with the biggest fight out there from a money standpoint, and also from a legacy standpoint. I think that the time will be close next year to that, and I think Mayweather the same thing. They realize that the fight is as big as it can get and if you're going to do it and you're going to get it, the getting is now," stated ESPN commentator and world-class trainer Teddy Atlas as he shared his toughts on whether not we'll ever see Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao step into the ring to face each other. In this in-depth exclusive, Atlas also breaks down Mayweather's September showdown with Victor ortiz and gives his opinion on Mike Tyson's induction to the Hall of Fame. You don't want to miss what he had to say.
PC: Whether you love or hate Floyd Mayweather Jr., when he announces a ring return, there is a certain buzz that takes over the sport of boxing. Victor Ortiz is coming off of his greatest performance of his career and Floyd is coming off of another long layoff. How do you see this one playing out my man?
TA: Yeah, Floyd is one of those enigmas. He's one of those guys that's special in his particular sport where he's already accumulated enough experience and enough confidence, and obviously has developed enough skillset, where the layoffs don't bother him as much as it would bother a kid that is still finding himself and developing in some of those areas, so I think that's part of it. But of course, there is a line you have to draw. How long do you go inactive before it starts to show itself with anybody, including Floyd. I don't think he's crossed that line quite yet. I think that it's obvious where he has his advantages: experience, having that 0 at the end of his record, having never lost that confidence that he carries with himself, and obviously his style. I think it is an interesting match and I think it's interesting for only one reason. It looks like Ortiz found himself in his last fight. This was a kid who we thought was a prospect, and he was a prospect, and a lot of people had high expectations for him, starting with the Golden Boy crew. And then, he submitted in a fight. He gave up and quit in a fight, and all of those thoughts we previously had about him went south for a moment. Fighter's have done that before and they never accomplished what people thought they would accomplish, and others ones have, and they found themselves. They redeemed themselves so to speak and that's no different than what Vitali Klitschko did. I see a similarity, and a lot of people maybe wouldn't see this, but it's similar to when Klitschko fought Lennox Lewis. To me, it wasn't about winning that fight against Lennox Lewis that night. It was about redeeming himself as a man and as a fighter, which is what he is supposed to be, and showing that he could be that. And he did it. He lost the fight, but he redeemed himself and he's done nothing but good from that since. And he still is to this day, even though he's older. That's an important part of this game is to know that you can depend on yourself from that standpoint. And I think that's exactly what was going on in that fight with Ortiz when he fought Berto. He got off of the floor and he got tested in a way that fighters will get tested sometimes and he passed in the best way that you can pass. He got off of the floor and behaved like a fighter and he became a champion. I think that's what we're looking to see here is how much he grows from that now. He had that fight and you want to think he found himself in that fight, and he grew up in that fight and redeemed himself in that fight. Now he can start to put together some of the things that a lot of people saw when they saw him coming into the pros out of the amateurs. Now you have to see how much does he take and run with what he accomplished in the Berto fight. Is he satisfied with that? Is that what that was about; just to show that you are a man and that you can behave like a fighter, or do you take the rest of it with it, the way Klitschko did, and do you continue to grow now that you've got the most important part together, which is knowing you can depend on yourself and knowing that you are a fighter? And that you have answered those questions, and if that's the case, then I would think that it is the case because that's usually the normal progression for a guy, once he gets that, he can use it to progress and grow. If that's the case, then it could be a little bit interesting. I still favor Floyd because of his speed, skillset, his experience, his confidence, and his style. The other guy is not as smooth in those areas and not as accomplished in those areas, but it can be a very interesting fight for Floyd to come back with the inactivity that you spoke about.
And another thing, let's not minimize...even though Floyd seems to have an ability to deal with this better than most people...maybe an ability that he wish he didn't have (laughing), that he didn't have to be a part of that world and we wouldn't have to be saying that he has an ability to deal with that, but with all of the craziness and all of the outside influences and all of the personal problems and issues going on, you wonder how much that is going to hinder Floyd. And again, he's shown an ability to deal with that and will probably continue showing that ability, but that's there and that's something that shouldn't be ignored; not just the inactivity, but all of these personal issues that he's dealing with and legal problems. You know, where does that rear it's head? Does it rear it's head and show itself? So you put that into the equation, you put his inactivity into the equation, and then you put a kid who is finding himself and has nothing but room to grow now that he has found himself in that Andre Berto fight, and it can make for an interesting night.
PC: I'm kind of tired of beating a dead drum in saying who do you think will win a Pacquiao/Mayweather fight and why, so I will just ask you this. Do you think we will ever see Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight one another?
TA: Yeah, I actually think we are going to get that Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next year. If they both take care of business in their upcoming fights; obviously, they have to win their fights. Mayweather has Ortiz and Pacquiao has to get past Marquez once again. If they get past that, I think with all of the other options and all of the other things that are not there with many guys in anything, especially in boxing, that are there for Pacquiao...I mean, he has the political stuff, and political career, he also has films that he is the star of over there, and the recording career. He doesn't have to put two notes together that sounds anywhere close to making music and he's still going to be a recording star over there. Nobody is going to tell him that he might not sound too good. So as long as he has those options over there that he has in that country, I think it's just a matter of sense that he's going to be looking to close up shop at some point soon. And the way that he's going to close up shop is with the biggest fight out there from a money standpoint, and also from a legacy standpoint. I think that the time will be close next year to that, and I think Mayweather the same thing. They realize that the fight is as big as it can get and if you're going to do it and you're going to get it, the getting is now. Otherwise, it's going to be left on the table and I think the one who would suffer the most would be Mayweather. Pacquiao has made so much money, and I mean, Mayweather has made a lot of money too, but Pacquiao has probably made even more with his recent activity. Pacquiao can fight almost anybody and make a lot of money. Mayweather, not quite to that level. There is a limit on that, so for Mayweather to really cash out, if you want to look at it that way, it has to be with a Pacquiao. And also, Floyd, with all of these things that he's gone through, his trials and tribulations in his life, cost money. Lawyers cost money. And I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but lawyers charge a lot. And I'm sure that has had some impact on him, and I think that...the window closes on everything. No matter what it is, it's open for a time period and then they close. I think they both...especially Floyd, I think will be aware of the closing of that window at some point next year and I think that, before that happens, they will make that fight.
PC: You and Mike Tyson haven't seen eye to eye in a very long time, but you were a big influence in the early part of his career. What was it like for you to see him inducted into the Hall of Fame this year?
TA: You know, to be honest, I don't bullshit anybody. I just decided a long time ago that that's not worthwhile dealing with that, so I'm not going to say I had much thought about him. Michael Moorer, I have thought about. I hope he goes into the Hall of Fame. He's the first southpaw to win the heavyweight title, and the first light heavyweight to go up to heavyweight as a southpaw and win the heavyweight title. I put a lot into Michael and even though we went through our things too, that would be something that I would pay attention to if Michael gets his opportunity to go into the Hall of Fame. But I'm not gonna lie to you just to sound good or to make people comfortable or feel better about Teddy Atlas saying that. I'm not gonna do that because it wouldn't be true and it wouldn't be honest. I didn't give any thought. I really didn't. If people want to think there are shortcomings for that, then let them think it, but I'm going to be honest about it and I didn't give it any thought. He made a decision a long time ago to behave the way he wanted to behave, which forced me to make a decision to go in my direction and that line was drawn back then. It's still there and I don't have animosity or any hatred for him or any ill thoughts for his future or anything like that, but what he does does not impact my life. My family, friends and fighters impact my life and are a part of my responsibility. I think sometimes, the Hall of Fame, quite honestly, puts guys in just to put guys in. And I'm not saying Tyson didn't belong in there as the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, but he was good and he impacted the sport. There was a point in his career where there was a sensationalism to every fight that he stepped in the ring for and that obviously impacted the sport in a good way. And then there was the negatives in his career that brutally, negatively impacted the sport; not just a little bit, but very negatively impacted the sport with the Holyfield situation. Holyfield, a guy who has been a terrific warrior and representative for the sport, gets his ear bitten off. That chases fans away, and rightfully so. I don't blame some of these fans for feeling the way they felt when they saw that. But again, the other parts are true too that I mentioned. I sometimes think that maybe...not in his case, but in a lot of cases, it's supposed to be the Hall of Fame for great fighters and not just fighters that won a title or not just fighters that were productive for a certain period of time, but great fighters. I think we should use the criteria that they use in baseball, basketball and football. There is a lot of really really good borderline great baseball players that don't get into the Hall of Fame because of the criteria, because of the seriousness of that standard and the upholding of that standard. It's the Hall of Fame and I still think, sometimes, they need to look at that. I think sometimes they try too hard to make sure it's going to be a financial and productive weekend and the only way to make sure it's financially productive is to make sure that they have familiar names that are getting in so that fans will come out. I don't think that should be the motivating factor to putting somebody into the Hall of Fame!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]