Safe Side Of The Ropes

I’ve found it pretty difficult to pick up the keyboard this week and comment on Floyd Mayweather’s domineering victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in Vegas. There was something about the whole event that left me cold and as about as keen to put finger to key as Floyd would appear to be in taking on fighters his own size with a chance of beating him.

On Saturday night we witnessed a fully fledged welter play with an older, smaller, blown up lightweight, albeit a great one. This reminded me in part of Oscar De la Hoya all those years ago, picking a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez, a great old warhorse who was similarly outgunned in all departments by a guy who should have been embracing more legitimate challenges (something Oscar would of course go on to do, so hey there’s still hope for Floyd right?).

Rather than shooting for the Pulitzer, I’ll just throw down a few points and then we can all move on from this one:

• I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again…..no doubt countless times……cross weight ‘pound for pound’ battles are bad for the sport, you’re basically selling the public rotten fruit. Juan Manuel Marquez may have been the second finest fighter in the sport pre-Saturday evening, but he didn’t achieve that kudos fighting anywhere near 147 lbs. As a welter, Marquez is 0-1 and any praise has to be tempered with that fact. Pound for pound fights, aside from generating oodles of cash, leave more questions than answers and leave the victors of such clashes with an asterix beside the ‘W’, which benefits no-one. Boxing needs clarity, which is hard enough when it’s being run by salesmen passing grape juice off as fine wine most of the time.
• Unless boxing can sort out the mess it finds itself in, in terms of weight divisions and title belts, the public won’t ever be able to recognise anyone BUT the top guys on that imaginary list (hence the damn thing appearing in my sidebar) and therefore these types of fights will keep happening, which robs the sport. If fight fans can see what’s happening in our confusing little world, they’ll return to watch, if all they see however is illogical bullshit, they’ll continue looking elsewhere.
• Floyd Mayweather is a truly astonishing fighter, an almost perfect fighting machine physically, it’s the mental aspect that hinders him. This isn’t, may I say, when he’s between the ropes (when he’s in there doing his thing, he’s a genius) rather when he’s outside them bragging to everyone that he’s the most dazzling as well as the greatest thing the world has seen since Evel Knievel advertised sliced bread. I nearly lost the bottom half of my jaw when one of my non-boxing obsessed pals astutely pointed out during the Mosley-Mayweather post fight melee, that ‘Money’ seemed insecure. It’s this which keeps him from true all time greatness.
• Imagine a fighter such as Ray Leonard or Ray Robinson faced with a murderers row of prospective opponents such as Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. Those two legendary pugilists would be compelled to engage this lot to settle superiority, it’s what great fighters do, they measure themselves against other great fighters. It’s the perfect route for Floyd to attain the status he prematurely shouts of having already achieved and I’d fancy his chances against any of them. We’d finally see him in a fight also, whichever one of the four he plumped for.
• Cutting the little wizard some slack, isn’t he doing exactly what many of his forefathers wished they had? Namely winning big fights, taking as little punishment as possible and making a fantastic amount of money? How many stories have been written about fighters who stayed too long, ended up penniless and took too many tough fights?
• While I’m giving Floyd props, is he now the greatest defensive fighter of all time? There’ll be Benitez, Pep and Whitaker fans out there who’ll scoff at me for even suggesting it but for me he’s pretty close if he’s not there already.
• Also, if this was a ‘tune up’ as has been suggested by Team Mayweather, then I can kinda see the logic. Doesn’t explain though why poor US fans were charged a premium to see what amounted to a warm up (mind you, could have been worse I guess, could have been Tyson-McNeeley 2)
• There are surely only two options left for Floyd in going forward; the Pacman/Cotto winner or Shane Mosley. What happens however if Pac and Miguel rematch due to the closeness/success/excitement of their bout, surely then Sugar Shane gets his big fight? Mmmm, don’t bet on it, something tells me that if Floyd were offered a Hatton rematch he’d take it, that’s how cynical his matchmaking has left me.
• Mayweather has fought a light middle, a light welter and a lightweight in his last three bouts. Enough already. This ‘clash of the pound for pounders’ crap is hurting the sport and his rep. If we ever get back to same day weigh-ins with a mere eight divisions and one champ atop each of them fighting guys his own weight before I croak it, I’ll die a happy chappy. 
• I thoroughly enjoyed Shane Mosley rounding on ‘Money’ post fight. There are those who see it as being inappropriate and distasteful however I’m not one of them, it was the first time my pulse had risen since the first bell rang. Shane’s tried being a gentleman and all that got him was ignored. I wouldn’t have begrudged him if he’d taken out a felt glove and slapped Floyd around the chops…….in fact I’d have whooped and hollered in the most childish way imaginable…….
• JMM is gutsy as hell and ought really to be looking towards the horizon. Getting dropped and seriously buzzed early before getting up to finish twelve hard rounds is a one way ticket to physical difficulties later in life. Marquez is a true warrior, a fan favourite and should enjoy his money……especially the 600k Mayweather donated him.
• Which reminds me, the two pound advantage Mayweather effectively paid for under the table was sickening. Mark my words, one of these days one of these cross weight dalliances will end up in the little guy taking a Joey Gamache type walloping on PPV, leaving the media to ask why it had been allowed to happen, long after the horse had bolted. I hate bullies which is one of the reasons I love this sport so dearly, rarely do they prosper under the ring lights (or if they do, they’re eventually given their comeuppance). Weight divisions as Manny Steward so rightly pointed out are there for a reason, to discard them for wealth undermines the sport and does away with the so called level playing field. Mayweather basically bought extra physical advantages (on top of those he already had), how disgusting is that? What’s worse is that it was allowed to happen.