Boxer Floyd Mayweather. PHOTO | ERIC JAMISON | NATION MEDIA GROUP
AFP
This Sunday at around 5:30am, millions of viewers are expected
to be glued to their TV screens watching the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight.
I
haven’t stayed up for a boxing match since the Tyson days but I’ll stay
up for this one. The welterweight unification bout has the odds in
favour of Mayweather, but I’m rooting for Pacquiao. He grew up dirt
poor, selling whatever he could on street corners for spare change.
When
he discovered boxing, he had no inkling that it would take him to the
very top of the world. In contrast, Mayweather came from a family of
boxers so for him, it was always written in stone that this would be his
destiny.
The two are very different.
Pacquiao humble, Mayweather arrogant. Pacquiao in pursuit of glorifying
God’s name, the other in pursuit of glorifying his own name.
Mayweather unbeaten in 47 pro fights, the other knows all too well the pain of defeat – five in his career.
Which of these two will conquer? Pacquiao might be the underdog, but so was David.
Although
I remember reading somewhere that David was not an underdog at all. It
was an interesting book by Malcolm Gladwell called David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.
In
the book, Gladwell draws parallel's with the story of this great
historical battle and the battles entrepreneurs face everyday when
competing with established firms. If you start a new mobile phone
service, how do you compete with Safaricom?
If
you start a new bank, how do you compete with Standard Chartered or
Barclays? If you start a new supermarket, how do you compete with
Nakumatt?
Simple. Recognise the
advantages of an underdog brand when faced with a competitor with size,
might and wealth. Advantage one for David: His slingshot was not the
meek weapon it is commonly made out to be – It’s a very dangerous
weapon. A stone cast from a sling has the stopping power equivalent to a
.45 calibre handgun.
Advantage two:
He was not wearing all the armour that Goliath was and that allowed for
easier movement. Besides, armour is only useful in close combat and he
had no intention of getting anywhere near the giant.
So
what on the surface seemed like a strength for Goliath was ultimately a
weakness. Many companies are like that. They have structures, red tape,
etc. that on the surface makes them formidable and efficient. But when
one needs to move quickly and adapt to changing practices in the
business world, those very structures act as hindrances and the person
with the smaller business (who only needs to answer to himself), will be
more adaptable than the big company with all its shackles.
Advantage
three: Desirable difficulty. You are smaller. You are weaker. You have
everything going against you – That means you work harder. When I think
back on my life, it is interesting that adversity has always brought out
the best in me. When I had something to prove, or to grow or to build, I
gave 150 per cent. When I had nothing to prove, I operated on
autopilot. You will still get things done, but you are not hungry. To
succeed, you must be a ravenous animal. Have you ever seen teams in top
flight facing a relegation-bound side? You are playing against teams
that will take pay cuts if they lose. You are playing against someone
who is playing for his family’s wellbeing, his children’s education –
that trumps someone who is playing for a trophy any day.
The
more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Pacquiao is no
underdog. I pray that on Sunday he sees that his weaknesses are actually
his greatest strengths! God speed, Pacquiao, God speed.
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