The “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. came and went, and to say I’m disappointed would be, well, the understatement of the century.  I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one that feels that way.

Though my disappointment is not just on the verdict of the judges’ scorecards.  While I am completely behind Manny Pacquiao, I am in full admittance that he didn’t do enough to win.  Was it the lack of volume punching?  The lack of flurries?  Where was the ferocity we’ve come to expect?  Where was the sense of urgency?

Or was it Mayweather’s brilliant defense that proved to suffocate all the above?  The answer is yes, and no.  Yes, Pacquiao couldn’t find a way to break Mayweather’s defensive tactics.  And no, Mayweather’s defense is not brilliant.  And there lies my disappointment.

I’m disappointed in Floyd’s passionless career, which has damaged the sport of boxing.

Along with a sea of other celebrities with cash-heavy pockets, actor Denzel Washington was in attendance in Las Vegas last night.  In his long list of impressive films is one titled “The Hurricane.”  Highly underrated, one of my favorites, and I give it my full recommendation.

And yes, it’s about boxing.  But without going into the details of the flick, there’s one quote that glares out with relevance to the subject at hand:

“I was a, um, prizefighter.  My job was to… take all the hatred… and skill that I could muster, and send a man to his destruction.”  He said this as part of his closing statement to help prove his innocence in a court room.  Any who, I digress.  Again, great flick.  Catch it when you can.

Boxing, by nature, is brutal, and violent in design.  It’s not for the faint of heart.  And to “send a man to his destruction” does not mean to kill or murder (if it did, what are the padded gloves for?).  So boxers try to do one thing, right?  To skillfully put their opponents to sleep on the mat for ten seconds with jabs, power punches, fancy footwork, so on and so forth.  In short, a boxer has to light up their opponent, and if they do it enough they walk out with the W and a pot of cash.  Hence, prizefighter.

So it’s constantly and severely disappointing to see Floyd step in the ring with intent to light up the judges’ scorecards, instead.

Now, is he a first ballot hall of famer type?  Absolutely, and if I had a vote in that process, he would have mine.  That, however, doesn’t make me a fan of his fights.  I recognize that he’s good, he’s very good.  But I will not agree that he’s one of the greatest boxers of all time.  A boxer has to fight, and he simply doesn’t fight.  Watching Mayweather box is like watching a football team always opting to kick a field goal on 1st and goal at the one yard line – rather than smashing them in the mouth in the trenches for six he decides to go for three and put it through the uprights.

Are they points for Mayweather?  Of course.  But did he really score?  Did he really tap that ass, or did he just brush it?

He wins rounds, showing enough control and “dominance” and making sure the judges get a clear picture of that.

One minute rest.  Another controlling round of three minutes.  Repeat that for a minimum of seven out of twelve rounds, he’ll walk out with the W and a pot of cash.

Hence, prizefighter?

And he has 48 of those Ws, and not one loss.  If there is a fine line between boxing and displaying a glorified show of self protection, Floyd pens that line.

Now, I’m not a boxing expert, I’m just a long time fan with a fairly educated opinion.  Maybe it’s just me, because I grew up watching and admiring the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and Oscar De La Hoya.  Their common denominators?  They, like Pacquiao, weren’t afraid to engage in the middle of the ring.  They weren’t afraid of going for the knock out or getting caught trying.

They weren’t afraid to lose.

I’m not saying that Mayweather is and was afraid of Pacquiao.  And honestly, I’m not in agreement with that, as popular as that idea may be with a legion of other fight fans.  Freddie Roach said it best – no boxer is ever really afraid of other boxers.  If they were, they wouldn’t be boxers.  What Mayweather is afraid of, is tarnishing the untarnished with a crooked number in his loss column.  With every match he added to his resume, with every loss he avoided, it has dictated and defined how he stepped into each fight: a lack of zeal and nothing but defense.

I’ll give credit to Floyd, though.  If he showed passion for something, it was for the dollar.  His brand “The Money Team” is aptly named, as he’s earned himself more cash in his career than the gross domestic product of many small counties.  Albeit, a career that, as a main eventer and absolute magnet for boxing, slowly pierced the heart of the sport until it was sent to its destruction in Las Vegas on May 2nd, 2015.