Why Won’t Mayweather Jr. Fight the Very Best?
By Richard Bailey:
Before I get started, let me just say that I don’t disagree with the fact that Floyd was the pound for pound king, because he definitely was. I just never could understand why his opponents weren’t the best in the latter part of his career as they were in the beginning? His speed and class, and the way he made fights look so easy made you either have a love or hate opinion of him. His victories at Super Featherweight made us all assume he would fight anyone.
Besides he was fighting the very best in that weight class, and not just beating them, but outclassing them and making them look almost amateurish in the ring. Genaro Hernandez was the first world champion to suffer the humiliation of Floyd’s greatness. Stopped by his corner after 8 rounds, it was just the beginning of Floyd’s storm that would rain down on boxing for the next 10 years.
Gregorio Varges soon followed Hernandez into his pile of victims by the way of a unanimous decision. Then his big fight with the late Diego Corrales, a fellow undefeated fighter who had never been knocked down. Mayweather made him look silly, knocking him down 3 times in the seventh and twice in the tenth before a tenth round TKO, when Corrales’s corner stepped in to stop the fight.
Then came Carlos Hernandez followed by future two weight world champion Jesus Chavez. All of Mayweather’s fights in Super Featherweight were brilliant, and so he finally moved up to Lightweight, to challenge Jose Luis Castillo for the World Boxing Council lightweight title. For the first time we saw an uncomfortable Floyd Mayweather Jr fighting. He didn’t seem to like the way Castillo was cutting off the ring and wearing him down with his size advantage, but like a great champion he adjusted to the style and grinded out a unanimous points win.
Although some felt he should have lost he offered Castillo a re-match straight away and this time there was no confusion, as Floyd dominated with his footwork and fast combinations to silence his critics. Then he took what some felt was a risk.
His chin was suspect purely because it had never really been hit. He fought promising South African Phillip Ndou, a brilliant knockout artist with a record of 31-1 with 30 KO’s, and after an action packed fight mainly in round 5, Mayweather begun to land heavy combinations and a flurry of straight rights and Ndou went down in round 7 causing a TKO when he failed to respond to the ref who was trying to make sure he was still able to fight.
Floyd moved up to Light Welterweight after that, defeating DeMarcus Corley and Henry Brussels in what were considered tune up fights so he could get used to the weight class. Now, this is where I think Mayweather started to change his type of opponent’s.
See apart from the late Arturo Gatti, Floyd never fought anyone else in the light welterweight division. I didn’t really know why he was fighting Gatti in the first place as he was rated as number 3 by Ring magazine at the time their fight was announced. I know he was great but he wasn’t the best in the division.
Those titles went to Miguel Cotto who was ranked 2 and Ricky Hatton who was ranked 1 and Kostya Tzyu who was the ring magazine champion and IBF champion, and ranked number 2 on the pound for pound list. What about after Hatton made Tszyu quit on his stool. Why didn’t he fight him then? Was it because he knew Ricky would be a major handful at light welterweight?
We will never know for sure, all we know is that he never wanted to face the best in that division, so he jumped to the Welterweight class to face Shamba Mitchell in again, a tune up fight as Floyd was out of action due to his trial for domestic abuse, for which he was found not guilty. He dominated Sharmba Mitchell with straight rights and combinations to the body to stop him in round 6, to set up a much anticipated fight with Zab Judah.
That fight looked in doubt after Judah lost the ring magazine title and the WBC belt to Carlos Baldomir, but none the less it took place on April 8 2006. The start of the fight was all Judah, winning the first 2 rounds and then the fourth round after landing a massive straight left to Mayweather’s nose, forcing him to cover up against the ropes. Floyd then took the fight over in round 5 with his sharp defence and fast combinations to wear Judah down.
After the riot that happened in round ten caused by a Judah low blow Mayweather carried on showing Judah up and he was awarded a 12 round decision and his 4th world title in 4 divisions. After this fight however Floyd Mayweather Jr seriously started to duck the major players in the welterweight division after not wanting to fight Shane Mosley still, and refusing an 8 million dollar payday to fight Antonio Margarito.
8 million dollars would have been his biggest pay day. Why did he turn it down and then spilt with Top Rank as a result of it? Maybe it’s because he knew Shane might be too good for him, and Margarito was too big for him, with the style and chin that he has, Mayweather maybe thought he just could not cope with it? Honestly I don’t blame him as Margarito is a very big Welterweight with a 73 inch reach, and being 5ft 11 makes it hard for any man to beat him with the way he fights.
No, instead he fights Carlos Baldomir for the WBC and Ring magazine titles. Wise I must admit because it was a fight he would definitely win, so it was the safest option in order not to destroy his legacy. Then came the most anticipated fight of the decade against Oscar De La Hoya, and in Oscar’s weight class (Junior Middleweight), making it Floyd’s fifth division to hold titles in.
This I give him major credit for, and I thought he had big balls to jump in the deep end at a weight he had never fought in. No tune up fights and excuses, straight for the number one of the division. Brilliant I thought. The old Mayweather is back. After the first few rounds of which De La Hoya won with his jab, Mayweather started to counter a bit better and started to land crisper punches, especially after Oscar stopped using his jab.
It was no surprise that Floyd won a split decision, because upon judging it myself I thought it was a very fair fight and it could have gone either way. But it didn’t matter to anyone; Floyd was now a champion in 5 different divisions and after being asked if he would fight Cotto or Mosley or Margarito he said ‘’I have nothing to prove.
I won’t let the sport of boxing retire me I will retire from the sport of boxing’.” Basically saying no I ain’t fighting them, my legacy is set in stone why bother, I’m just going to retire. Then a few months later a massive press conference is called to announce Hatton V’s Mayweather in a super fight titled Undefeated. Being English myself, I was shocked and really happy that finally the Hitman was going to get to fight a major player in the sport and it being Mayweather, brilliant I thought but why Hatton?
Why not Cotto or Mosley or Margarito why make the little man come up in weight to fight you when you said he wasn’t in your league a few years before? I think it was because we saw what happened to Ricky at welterweight against Luis Collazo, he was just not as strong as he was a light welterweight and at 5ft 7 and a small 65 inch reach would pose little threat to Mayweather.
Plus, I think the money had something to do with it. A reported $15 million dollars, plus a share of the profits to fight Hatton. Numbers he would never get against Cotto or Shane or Margarito. So it was a small risk with the biggest rewards. Although Ricky did make Floyd uncomfortable at first, I think Cortez was a bit too intrusive in the fight and that did make a real difference.
I think it would have been a points win for Floyd had Ricky not started to lose his composure that night. Still never mind, he made his cool $15 million dollars and gave his speech again of how he wasn’t going to let boxing retire him ya da ya da ya da, and this time he retired before another Super fight with De La Hoya could be finalized, although I bet he wishes he took the fight now after what Manny did.
Now he is back again telling us in another press conference that he is to fight three weight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Once again making the smaller man come up to fight him, but this time he is making Marquez go up 2 divisions to fight him. At least De La Hoya came down a division to fight Manny. It’s been kept tight lipped the actual weight for the fight Marquez saying its 144 Mayweather saying its 147 who knows! I do know this however; Mayweather may have made a mistake because Marquez is a clever dog with old tricks that wins fights.
He seems to come on stronger as the fight goes on, and is very clever as to when to counter and when to attack. Without doubt, I believe the fight will be entertaining and whoever wins should definitely fight the winner of Cotto and Pacquiao.
Although if it’s Floyd who wins, I wouldn’t count on it, I can already hear another version of “I won’t let the sport of boxing retire me I’m going to retire from the sport of boxing”. I love watching Floyd work, and I love his ego he deserves to have it, but it’s time to give the fans what they want. I’d rather have seen Floyd against Pacquiao or Floyd against Mosley than Floyd against Marquez.
By Richard Bailey:
Before I get started, let me just say that I don’t disagree with the fact that Floyd was the pound for pound king, because he definitely was. I just never could understand why his opponents weren’t the best in the latter part of his career as they were in the beginning? His speed and class, and the way he made fights look so easy made you either have a love or hate opinion of him. His victories at Super Featherweight made us all assume he would fight anyone.
Besides he was fighting the very best in that weight class, and not just beating them, but outclassing them and making them look almost amateurish in the ring. Genaro Hernandez was the first world champion to suffer the humiliation of Floyd’s greatness. Stopped by his corner after 8 rounds, it was just the beginning of Floyd’s storm that would rain down on boxing for the next 10 years.
Gregorio Varges soon followed Hernandez into his pile of victims by the way of a unanimous decision. Then his big fight with the late Diego Corrales, a fellow undefeated fighter who had never been knocked down. Mayweather made him look silly, knocking him down 3 times in the seventh and twice in the tenth before a tenth round TKO, when Corrales’s corner stepped in to stop the fight.
Then came Carlos Hernandez followed by future two weight world champion Jesus Chavez. All of Mayweather’s fights in Super Featherweight were brilliant, and so he finally moved up to Lightweight, to challenge Jose Luis Castillo for the World Boxing Council lightweight title. For the first time we saw an uncomfortable Floyd Mayweather Jr fighting. He didn’t seem to like the way Castillo was cutting off the ring and wearing him down with his size advantage, but like a great champion he adjusted to the style and grinded out a unanimous points win.
Although some felt he should have lost he offered Castillo a re-match straight away and this time there was no confusion, as Floyd dominated with his footwork and fast combinations to silence his critics. Then he took what some felt was a risk.
His chin was suspect purely because it had never really been hit. He fought promising South African Phillip Ndou, a brilliant knockout artist with a record of 31-1 with 30 KO’s, and after an action packed fight mainly in round 5, Mayweather begun to land heavy combinations and a flurry of straight rights and Ndou went down in round 7 causing a TKO when he failed to respond to the ref who was trying to make sure he was still able to fight.
Floyd moved up to Light Welterweight after that, defeating DeMarcus Corley and Henry Brussels in what were considered tune up fights so he could get used to the weight class. Now, this is where I think Mayweather started to change his type of opponent’s.
See apart from the late Arturo Gatti, Floyd never fought anyone else in the light welterweight division. I didn’t really know why he was fighting Gatti in the first place as he was rated as number 3 by Ring magazine at the time their fight was announced. I know he was great but he wasn’t the best in the division.
Those titles went to Miguel Cotto who was ranked 2 and Ricky Hatton who was ranked 1 and Kostya Tzyu who was the ring magazine champion and IBF champion, and ranked number 2 on the pound for pound list. What about after Hatton made Tszyu quit on his stool. Why didn’t he fight him then? Was it because he knew Ricky would be a major handful at light welterweight?
We will never know for sure, all we know is that he never wanted to face the best in that division, so he jumped to the Welterweight class to face Shamba Mitchell in again, a tune up fight as Floyd was out of action due to his trial for domestic abuse, for which he was found not guilty. He dominated Sharmba Mitchell with straight rights and combinations to the body to stop him in round 6, to set up a much anticipated fight with Zab Judah.
That fight looked in doubt after Judah lost the ring magazine title and the WBC belt to Carlos Baldomir, but none the less it took place on April 8 2006. The start of the fight was all Judah, winning the first 2 rounds and then the fourth round after landing a massive straight left to Mayweather’s nose, forcing him to cover up against the ropes. Floyd then took the fight over in round 5 with his sharp defence and fast combinations to wear Judah down.
After the riot that happened in round ten caused by a Judah low blow Mayweather carried on showing Judah up and he was awarded a 12 round decision and his 4th world title in 4 divisions. After this fight however Floyd Mayweather Jr seriously started to duck the major players in the welterweight division after not wanting to fight Shane Mosley still, and refusing an 8 million dollar payday to fight Antonio Margarito.
8 million dollars would have been his biggest pay day. Why did he turn it down and then spilt with Top Rank as a result of it? Maybe it’s because he knew Shane might be too good for him, and Margarito was too big for him, with the style and chin that he has, Mayweather maybe thought he just could not cope with it? Honestly I don’t blame him as Margarito is a very big Welterweight with a 73 inch reach, and being 5ft 11 makes it hard for any man to beat him with the way he fights.
No, instead he fights Carlos Baldomir for the WBC and Ring magazine titles. Wise I must admit because it was a fight he would definitely win, so it was the safest option in order not to destroy his legacy. Then came the most anticipated fight of the decade against Oscar De La Hoya, and in Oscar’s weight class (Junior Middleweight), making it Floyd’s fifth division to hold titles in.
This I give him major credit for, and I thought he had big balls to jump in the deep end at a weight he had never fought in. No tune up fights and excuses, straight for the number one of the division. Brilliant I thought. The old Mayweather is back. After the first few rounds of which De La Hoya won with his jab, Mayweather started to counter a bit better and started to land crisper punches, especially after Oscar stopped using his jab.
It was no surprise that Floyd won a split decision, because upon judging it myself I thought it was a very fair fight and it could have gone either way. But it didn’t matter to anyone; Floyd was now a champion in 5 different divisions and after being asked if he would fight Cotto or Mosley or Margarito he said ‘’I have nothing to prove.
I won’t let the sport of boxing retire me I will retire from the sport of boxing’.” Basically saying no I ain’t fighting them, my legacy is set in stone why bother, I’m just going to retire. Then a few months later a massive press conference is called to announce Hatton V’s Mayweather in a super fight titled Undefeated. Being English myself, I was shocked and really happy that finally the Hitman was going to get to fight a major player in the sport and it being Mayweather, brilliant I thought but why Hatton?
Why not Cotto or Mosley or Margarito why make the little man come up in weight to fight you when you said he wasn’t in your league a few years before? I think it was because we saw what happened to Ricky at welterweight against Luis Collazo, he was just not as strong as he was a light welterweight and at 5ft 7 and a small 65 inch reach would pose little threat to Mayweather.
Plus, I think the money had something to do with it. A reported $15 million dollars, plus a share of the profits to fight Hatton. Numbers he would never get against Cotto or Shane or Margarito. So it was a small risk with the biggest rewards. Although Ricky did make Floyd uncomfortable at first, I think Cortez was a bit too intrusive in the fight and that did make a real difference.
I think it would have been a points win for Floyd had Ricky not started to lose his composure that night. Still never mind, he made his cool $15 million dollars and gave his speech again of how he wasn’t going to let boxing retire him ya da ya da ya da, and this time he retired before another Super fight with De La Hoya could be finalized, although I bet he wishes he took the fight now after what Manny did.
Now he is back again telling us in another press conference that he is to fight three weight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Once again making the smaller man come up to fight him, but this time he is making Marquez go up 2 divisions to fight him. At least De La Hoya came down a division to fight Manny. It’s been kept tight lipped the actual weight for the fight Marquez saying its 144 Mayweather saying its 147 who knows! I do know this however; Mayweather may have made a mistake because Marquez is a clever dog with old tricks that wins fights.
He seems to come on stronger as the fight goes on, and is very clever as to when to counter and when to attack. Without doubt, I believe the fight will be entertaining and whoever wins should definitely fight the winner of Cotto and Pacquiao.
Although if it’s Floyd who wins, I wouldn’t count on it, I can already hear another version of “I won’t let the sport of boxing retire me I’m going to retire from the sport of boxing”. I love watching Floyd work, and I love his ego he deserves to have it, but it’s time to give the fans what they want. I’d rather have seen Floyd against Pacquiao or Floyd against Mosley than Floyd against Marquez.
As far as Margarito, Shane did turn down that fight which at the time would have been his biggest payday. But the ariticle doesn't say why he didn't fight him or why he really left Top Rank either. It's no secret that Floyd and Bob Arum can't stand each other. Floyd wanted out of TR for that reason alone because he knew down the line it would stop him from getting the biggest payday of his career against Oscar. Oscar can't stand Arum either. He passed on the Margarito fight, bought out his contract and 2 fights later fought Oscar and made over 20 million. The Marquez fight is nothing more than a setup for him and Pacquiao down the road. Marquez gave Pac his two toughest fights and everybody knows thats. Fighting him makes sense if you're going to fight down the line, plus he's making 15 million by doing it. There's a lot of fights that I would've loved to see Floyd have but I'm not going to say its all his fault that they didn't happen as the media always does. Boxing is a business first and people always seem to forget that.
)
. Next thing PBF will be saying his nickname isn't cool enough.
