It is no exaggeration to suggest that the world could almost come to a standstill on Saturday night when Floyd ‘‘Money” Mayweather Jnr steps into a boxing ring at the MGM Grand to face Manny ‘‘Pacman” Pacquiao in what has been aptly described as the ‘‘Fight of the Century”.
A lot has been said about this mouthwatering WBC, WBA Super and WBO welterweight unification bout over the past few weeks and opinions are divided over who will emerge victorious after the dust has settled.
In one corner stands Mayweather, the undefeated, fast-talking, 38-year-old showman with an unbeaten record after 47 fights. In the other stands Pacquiao, the 36-year-old Filipino who is the first and only eight-division world champion.
Few are better qualified to speak on how things could play out in Las Vegas than Lehlohonolo ‘‘Hands of Stone” Ledwaba and Phillip ‘‘Time Bomb” Ndou.
The t wo South Africans know exactly how it feels to be on the receiving end of punches from both superstars and they ran the rule over their conquerors.
Ledwaba’s reign as the IBF junior-featherweight champion was brought to an end by Pacquiao with a sixth round stoppage in 2001 while Ndou was stopped in the seventh round by Mayweather in a fight for the WBC lightweight title in 2003.
Ndou still puts the blame on former trainer Nick Durandt for his knockout loss.