By Frank Lotierzo

This past weekend, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (34-0) won the WBC light welterweight title from Arturo Gatti, (39-7) when Buddy McGirt, Gatti's trainer stopped the fight after the sixth round, saving his fighter from further punishment. Mayweather, who won a Bronze Medal at the 1996 Olympics, has now won a world title in three different weight division's. And a fourth may not be to far in the distant future.

 

In the ring, Mayweather won every minute of the 18 he and Gatti fought. Prior to the fight, Mayweather's name usually occupied the second slot on most of boxing's top-ten pound for pound list. Personally, I think the p4p debate is pointless, but I'll address it since it has been so commercialized by HBO that, most writers and fans think it's relevant.

 

Now, Mayweather will leap ahead of Bernard Hopkins in some polls who usually held the top spot, based on his showing against Gatti. What if Hopkins beats Jermain Taylor impressively next month. Does Mayweather's domination of Gatti have bragging rights over Hopkins if he wins a clear cut unanimous decision over Taylor?  I guess it depends on who you are a bigger fan of, which makes the p4p debate in reality a joke. Yet some will argue it to no end.

 

"Mayweather seems to be untouchable, He fights as naturally as a fish swims -- and sometimes that fish is a shark,  Mayweather's stunning performance -- an effort that should leave no doubt about his box-office appeal as a pay-per-view attraction for many more fights to come. Those are some of the statements and quotes that have been uttered since Mayweather beat the fighter he classified as being only a C-plus compared to him. 

 

I ask, which is it? (1) - Is Arturo Gatti really an upper-tier title holder and Floyd Mayweather is just so great, that he made Gatti look like a C-plus fighter, (2) Floyd Mayweather is an A-plus fighter and Arturo Gatti is a C-plus fighter and that's what happens when A meets C. Throw in that Mayweather couldn't have matched up better with another top-ten light welterweight in the world from a style vantage point.

 

Obviously the answer is (2). Which is why those now declaring Mayweather the greatest fighter since Sugar Ray Leonard will say he's overrated if Ricky Hatton goes the distance with him if they fight. Saying in hindsight, Gatti was tailor made for Mayweather and all the wars he had at junior lightweight took a lot out of him by the time he fought Mayweather. That's much closer to where reality lies than the typical overreaction sweeping the boxing world this week.

 

The only way anyone should be trumpeting up Mayweather the he has been since the fight, is if you're his relative, public relations spokesman or his promoter.  I am no more impressed nor do I think any higher of Floyd Mayweather as a fighter a couple days after his fight against Gatti then I did a couple days before it. Why should anyone? Was there hysteria proclaiming Sugar Ray Leonard was as great as Sugar Ray Robinson after he almost killed former welterweight title challenger Dave "Boy" Green (33-2) with one of the most devastating left-hooks in boxing history? Hell No!

 

Before Floyd Mayweather is mentioned in the same sentence with the likes of Armstrong, Robinson, Duran and Leonard, he needs to do more than beat a fighter he was almost a 5-1 favorite over the afternoon of the fight. If any serious boxing observer thought Mayweather rivaled those just mentioned, although I think it's indefensible and very shortsighted, it's not as ridiculous as converting to that belief based on his last fight. Basing Mayweather's greatness on just how he fought versus Gatti has no credibility at all. What makes Mayweather deserving of such high praise for beating a fighter he was supposed to beat, a fighter whose every weakness in the ring is Mayweather's strength and was opposing him just for that reason.

 

The media and fan reaction to the so-called biggest victory of Floyd Mayweather's career is proof beyond a doubt that the plan to make him boxing's next super-star worked perfect. Because of the hype surrounding this fight, fact and reality were completely ignored or thrown out. The goal was to show case Mayweather in front of the most fans possible against an opponent who in reality had no chance of winning, but would not fold in a round or two.

 

Arturo Gatti, who has given boxing fans more than their money's worth of exciting fights over the years, has been defeated by three fighters, excluding Oscar De La Hoya, who are not in Mayweather's class. Angel Manfredy, Ivan Robinson and Micky Ward were nothing where close to being a 5-1 favorite to defeat him like Mayweather was. Exactly what is it that, other than having the biggest audience of his career to fight in front of, makes Mayweather a legendary fighter because he defeated Gatti. When Manfredy and Robinson defeated Gatti, he was 26, not 33 and hadn't been yet hammered by De La Hoya or fought three wars with Micky Ward.

 

Those who now view Mayweather as a fighter for the ages, what was it that he didn't do in his fights with at least two fighters who would've been favored over Gatti. I don't recall anyone declaring Mayweather being the equal of Sugar Ray Leonard after stopping Diego Corrales (33-0). To think that way after Gatti, but not Corrales, makes no sense what so ever. How about his rematch with Jose Luis Castillo? I thought Mayweather lost the first fight by a couple points. However, I thought he showed a lot coming back eight months later and clearly beat him.

 

The time to start showering Mayweather with high praise was much more deserving and warranted after his fights against Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. The reason he didn't get all the praise after those fights is because he wasn't as overwhelming and dominant.

 

Floyd Mayweather is without question a complete fighter and he may not have reached his peak. What cannot be lost or forgotten is the reason why he fought Gatti, for at least four hundred thousand dollars less than he was paid. Something that was more than worth it for him to take shorter money in this fight. This time last week only boxing fans knew who Floyd Mayweather was. Thanks to Arturo Gatti, that's all changed.

 

In Gatti, Mayweather fought an opponent with a huge following who was also known and respected. On top of that, he enabled Mayweather to be in the main event of a big pay-per-view card, something that had escaped him through his first 33 fights. Most importantly, Gatti along with everything else, happened to fight a style that not only insured Mayweather final victory, but in doing so helped him look greater and more unbeatable than he did in any other fight of his career. Not to mention he also had a title belt.

 

If anyone believes Floyd Mayweather is head and shoulders above any other fighter in boxing today, you better have thought that the day before his fight with Gatti, because based solely on how he performed in that fight, it has no validity.  In case there is a faction of fans and writers who believe Mayweather is as great as he looked in his last fight, I hope you can handle being let down, because he's not.