“The Social-Politics Of The Sweet-Science: The Peculiar Case Of Mayweather-Pacquiao” is an intellectual thesis that proposes several critical themes based on the central premise of:
What were the driving socio-psychological dynamics at play which motivated the general or “casual” viewing-public, and even many so-called hardcore, self-proclaimed (“pseudo”) pundits of professional-boxing, to genuinely and vehemently believe that, number-one pound-for-pound, undefeated, super-star-boxer, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, would suffer his first professional loss, if he were to ever fight, 8-division-world-champion, Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao? And perhaps much more perplexingly, that Mayweather was literally hesitant, and even immensely terrified, to ever come face-to-face, or go toe-to-toe inside the ring, against the “slugging-senator” and Filipino “political-pugilist.” An absurdly erroneous misconception which lead to a 5+year build-up, that would ultimately generate the highest single revenue-grossing professional competitive athletic event of all-time.
Our disquisition delves even further into pertinent subject-matter, by suggesting the soberingly paramount supposition encapsulated within the grand inquiry of ; “What would be the modern social-implications, if a deceptively labeled, “marginalized” demographic-group, were to collectively identify themselves with an ancient-history of prosperity, majestic-preeminence, and global influence, spanning across the duration of antiquity; As opposed to the inherently limiting and intentionally engineered ideology, associated with the psychologically counter-productive imagery of a 400-year imposed subjugation confined to adversely distorted and inverted hegemonic boundaries?
Henceforth in “The Social-Politics of The Sweet-Science”, the 5+year Mayweather-Pacquiao odyssey is chronicled through an entire century of historical correlation and perspective.
Journeying from the landmark 1908 victory of the great Jack Johnson over Tommy Burns in Australia, becoming the first African-American heavyweight-champion of the world; to his fateful 1910 title-defense, in the very first billed, marketed, and promoted, “Fight Of The Century”, against the original “great white hope” (a phrase coined by writer Jack London), Jim “The Boilermaker” Jefferies; to his eventual and controversial loss of the crown, still more than 100-years ago, in 1915 to Jess Willard.
Next travelling to the globally significant World-War II era of early mid-century, for the reigns of heavyweight champion, Joe “The Brown-Bomber” Louis, and pound-for-pound all-time-great, “Sugar” Ray Robinson. Then advancing and expanding all the way through to the social-turbulence of the 1960’s, that would give rise to the most indelibly enduring personality in the history of all professional-sports, and one of the most heroic and iconic figures of the entire 20th-century, “The Greatest Of All Times”, Muhammad Ali.
Each immortal legend of professional-prizefighting and boxing history being comprehensively studied, examined, and dissected both inside and outside of the ring. In a thorough contextual-parallel and comparative-analysis, with the current social-climate and psychological-factors which shaped the culminating, May 2nd 2015, “super-fight-saga” between Floyd “Money”-“TBE” Mayweather and Emmanuel “Manny”-“PacMan” Pacquiao. Along with the reverberating aftershocks of the rippling ramifications felt across the professional athletic landscape and throughout all related spheres of activity.
