Dave Bontempo: “If Manny Pacquiao had a spectacular performance against Khan, then people would forget the Mayweather fight”

I recently was afford an opportunity to interview an award-winning commentator, Dave Bontempo. Bontempo has been in broadcasting for thirty years, having made his debut in 1985 with ESPN, and has worked with every major network since then. Bontempo has called major bouts worldwide for HBO’s international division, and has covered events like Ortiz-Mayweather and Tyson-Lewis.

In this interview, Dave Bontempo shares his thoughts on the recent retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr, and talks about the possibility of him returning for 50-0. Dave also breaks down this weekend’s Golovkin vs. Lemieux bout and shares his official prediction. Additionally, Bontempo gives his thoughts on Pacquiao-Khan and the perception that Pacquiao has something to prove coming back from the shoulder injury. Here is what Dave Bontemo had to say.

(Listen to the full interview here)

Robert Brown: Now that Floyd Mayweather’s career is theoretically over, where do you rank him among the best fighters of all time?

Dave Bontempo: In my era, I would be putting him right near the top. This is one of the fighters who has turned defensive fighting into an elite art and his transition from offense to defense is second to none. He puts the shoulder roll up, you think you can get him, you can’t.

Look what Mayweather did with Pacquiao, look what he did with Canelo in recent times and both of these fighters were supposed to give him a very stiff test. He just breaks them down and makes it look easy. In the thirty years I’ve been around boxing, he’s been the greatest defensive fighter in that time. He deserves it all.

Robert Brown: Do you expect Mayweather to stay retired or will the lure of the 50-0 record bring him back?

Dave Bontempo: I expect him to stay retired for a while. Unlike other fighters who you look at and say, “Well this guy is definitely going to come back,” I think that Mayweather likes to beat his own drum. If he wants to stay at this number, he stays at this number. The 49-0 is a big number, the money that he’s made is big and if he comes out and puts it at risk again and goes through all of that with the training again, what is the point?

Floyd had the six fights in his mind when he set up the deal with Showtime, so now if people said, “I really would love it if Golovkin comes out of his fight with Lemieux well and challenges Floyd and they came up with something,” I think that would be great. Whether he wants to jump in, that’s a tough call at this point.

Robert Brown: Gennady Golovkin will be facing David Lemieux this Saturday, do you give Lemieux much chance?

Dave Bontempo: I would give him a punchers chance, I certainly would because he has a terrific left hook and Golovkin has not been hit by anybody with Lemieux’s power. Conversely, Lemieux has not been hit as much as what Golovkin can do and that’s why I’m so glad that they made the fight because you not only have two champions, but you have two bangers.

It’s set up for a fans fight and this is what boxing needs. Throughout the fight, if Lemieux is going to get the credentials he wants, he will have to grow during this fight. He will have to probably overcome adversity he never has had to face before, and that’s when you see what a guy can do. I think it’s a great match for him.

Robert Brown: Do you have a prediction for that fight?

Dave Bontempo: I expect a late stoppage by Golovkin. I think they’re going to engage and it will be an exciting fight. Going in, I would look for Golovkin to stop him late but certainly any outcome would not surprise me.

Robert Brown: It looks like Manny Pacquiao might be facing Amir Khan. What are your thoughts on this fight stylistically?

Dave Bontempo: Stylistically you look to see if Pacquiao can regain the intensity and that hard left hand he used to drop so many fighters and you have to hope that he gets that fire back. What happened in the Mayweather fight — they can sell you a shoulder injury that came out after he underwhelms.

You look at what Pacquiao did against Algieri and you look at what Khan did against Algieri, that’s one thing you can look at. Khan underwhelmed against Algieri and that probably may have been what cost him something bigger in the near term. He did not look extremely motivated and he came on late against Algieri, but he didn’t get people salivating to see him fight.

Amir now has to bring it and Pacquiao has to bring it. The question is going to be, which guy feels the urgency more? Pacquiao is a lot richer, at what point are you complacent? You don’t know when that can be.

Robert Brown: Do you have questions over Pacquiao’s hunger in his fights?

Dave Bontempo: My concern would be that yes, you would want to make a better showing than you did against Mayweather, but on the other hand, how badly do you need it and want it? I sense a reluctance in fighting over the last couple of years. When I did his fight in The Philippines, it’s nine years now.

Time goes by and it’s a matter of how much do you want to pay the price to get yourself in the condition you want when you’re also involved in politics and you’ve done so much? It varies from fighter to fighter, but that would be my lingering concern with Pacquiao.

Robert Brown: People doubted the validity of Pacquiao’s shoulder injury, do you think that will drive him to try to have a spectacular performance against Khan? Does he need a spectacular performance so that people will forget about the shoulder injury?

Dave Bontempo: In boxing you are often a product of your last fight and you are defined by your last fight. If he came out and he had a spectacular performance, then people would forget the Mayweather fight, or they would put it much further on the back burner for him. He’s got that to be motivated by.