Mayweather – Flawed or flawless?
The way Floyd Mayweather fights may not impress those who loved the way Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis fought. But Mayweather struggles not to impress; he fights to win. And he delivers. It will be hard not to recognize that he is the master of the trade. To argue against Mayweather’s boxing skills would be to argue against the facts: 40 wins in 40 fights in his professional career.
While the likes of Julio César Chávez (undefeated in his first 91 fights), Willie Pep (undefeated in his first 62 fights) or Mike Tyson (undefeated in his 42nd fight) might boast better records, the stories behind Mayweather’s rampage they should provide an unquestionable argument for what makes it special. At least 22 world champions, or at least world champion hopefuls, never mind the rest, have tried to top him. None of them were successful.
Some analysts once pushed the notion that Mayweather’s being a product of failure and experience has made him the exceptional fighter he is today. He comes from a family of boxers. His father, Floyd Sr., has campaigned in the welterweight class. Floyd Sr’s career, overall, could be rated above average. But being active at a time when Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard were at the top of his careers almost meant the rest of the field had little chance of outshining either or both. In fact, when Floyd Sr and Leonard finally met, Floyd took a beating from Leonard with such savagery that it must have forced Floyd Jr to absorb, more than anything else, defensive value. That, in a simplistic way of looking at it, should explain why Floyd Jr probably surpassed the feats of Benny Leonard and Willie Pep as the game’s defensive geniuses.
Jeff and Roger Mayweather are uncles, the latter being the most successful among the 3 majors. Roger rose to become a two-time world champion. However, he has also experienced in-ring failures and punishments, like the one he received from Kostya Tszu. (Tszyu was the same wrestler who created the “Chicken Dance” in 2001, using Zab Judah as a chicken.
He was 30-1 (25 KOs) when he faced and lost to Ricky Hatton (2005), who in turn lost to Manny Pacquiao (2009).
Floyd Sr and Roger graduated from boxing to become trainers. If the number of wrestlers they’ve helped win championships was any indication, then there’s no doubt they’ve both been successful as trainers as well, perhaps even more successful than wrestlers. And Floyd Jr was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to benefit from the experience and know-how of Floyd Sr, Roger and Jeff.
Floyd’s rise to superstar status has increased his value as an artist. And he knows it. After defeating Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, he withdrew rather than accept rematch offers that didn’t meet his idea of fair compensation. Regardless, he resurfaced to fight and eventually knock out Ricky Hatton towards the latter part of that year.
Floyd Jr had been at the top of most pound-for-pound rankings (the one published by Ring Magazine was the most accepted, if not the most credible) since 2005. When he retired for the second time after the Hatton fight, Manny Pacquiao took his place in the pound-for-pound rankings.
He resurfaced once again in 2009 to fight Juan Manual Márquez, whom he defeated by a 12-round unanimous decision. Some say his comeback was fueled by a desire to reclaim his pound-for-pound title; Others argue that Floyd Jr., who has earned “Money” as his official nickname, is hatching some schemes designed to capitalize on his celebrity status. And there are those who think that he is motivated by both pride and money.
Excerpts from “Manny Pacquiao – The Greatest Boxer of All Time”
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