In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on Terence Crawford’s accolades as a fighter vs. Floyd Mayweather’s; and who to keep an eye on at welterweight as a potential future contender given the current lack of depth at 147lbs.
We also discuss the headscratching decision that Jayson Vayson’s team made in stopping his fight with Oscar Collazo; whether Gabriela Fundora should aim to go up several weight classes to challenge Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano; and the disappointing choice of opponent for Floyd Schofield’s next match.
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TERENCE CRAWFORD SURPASSES FLOYD MAYWEATHER
I think by the time it's all said and done, Terence “Bud” Crawford will surpass Floyd Mayweather Jnr in boxing accolades. At least in terms of fighting styles, Crawford takes more risks and still comes with the W. Floyd would just box the shit out of you for 12 rounds, picking up rounds with just the necessary. Yeah, I get the defensive skills and all, but once Crawford smells blood, he goes for the kill most times. That alone makes a difference for how a fighter will be remembered.
-A.B. Counterhooks
Owen Lewis’ response: As usual when discussing Mayweather’s career, it’s best divided into two halves. In his “Pretty Boy” phase, Mayweather absolutely did take risks and go for the kill. Despite the fact that those fights were lower-profile than “Money’s,” I’d argue they were more exciting, too. Mayweather had the closest shave of his career in his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo, got buzzed by DeMarcus Corley and was evidently (if not officially) knocked down by Zab Judah, and he scored plenty of knockouts.
That said, your description of Mayweather’s career applies well to its second half. Yes, the opponents were bigger; yes, Mayweather’s hands were brittle; yes, he rose to nearly unprecedented levels of lucrative infamy. He still kept plenty in reserve and rarely sought out knockouts, to the displeasure of the majority of his viewers.
For all the shiny names on Mayweather’s resume, he fought plenty of them when they were beyond their best. Crawford daring to take on Canelo at 168lbs is the rough equivalent of Mayweather fighting Gennadiy Golovkin at 160lbs, which is not something “Money” did or ever seemed to entertain seriously. Mayweather is also one of the few all-time greats about whom one can justifiably say, when discussing fantasy matchups like Thomas Hearns or even Crawford, “I don’t even think Mayweather would have taken that fight.”
All this is to say that I personally agree with you: Crawford’s vicious finishing instincts move me more than late-career Mayweather’s unfailing efficiency. In terms of the wider boxing viewership, though, I think Mayweather has reached plenty more viewers than Crawford. He dominated pugilistic discourse for a decade, retirements and dull fights notwithstanding. Crawford has never been higher, but his time as a mainstream figure only really began once he wiped out Errol Spence two years ago.
That said, the Canelo win seems to have meaningfully moved the needle on Crawford for a number of people. Whether it’s ticked past Mayweather for the majority of boxing fans will probably depend on how Crawford’s career goes from here. Taking over yet another division could decisively prove his supremacy, while taking a loss could end the collective celebration of his skills. Let’s see.
WHO COULD BE NEXT IN THE LACKLUSTER WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION?
Besides Rohan Polanco, are there any upcoming prospects in the lackluster welterweight division to look out for? Personally I see Brian Norman Jr as the most consistent and action packed fighter along with Ennis who had moved up.
-Malvado
Lucas Ketelle’s response: The fun thing about watching prospects is that you can find someone new to chart the progress of.
Joel Iriarte is with Golden Boy Promotions and is about four to five fights away from big, consequential fights, but he is someone to take notice of at welterweight given his exciting style and deep amateur pedigree. Think of him as Jose Ramirez 2.0.
Olympian Pat McCormack is a solid fighter who just seems to be having a slow churn to the top of the sport, given his deep pedigree. He should find himself in a title fight next year, but I have been saying that for three years now.
Emiliano Moreno fights this Saturday on ProBox TV against Raul Garcia. He is a 5ft 11ins power-puncher who shares some traits with David Benavidez. If he can pressure the top fighters the way he has been pressuring contenders, he could turn into a real fun action fighter who captures a title in the division.
These three I listed above are on the brink of challenging the top 15 in terms of the sanctioning body rankings.
David Whitmire of Washington, D.C., is 10-0 (7 KOs) and is ready for a potential step-up fight in the future. Benjamin Johnson from Springdale, Maryland, is trained by Lamont Roach Snr and has stopped his first five opponents. Johnson was one of the most feared amateurs in the country.
Vershaun Lee was one of the best amateurs of his era who had ambitions of making it to the Olympics. He has also won at every level of the sport. He is someone who should emerge over the next few years. I am surprised he doesn’t have a promoter.
There are even more great fighters out there, but these are the ones who come to mind to add some life in a welterweight division that is rebuilding.
JAYSON VAYSON’S TEAM WRONGLY STOPPED OSCAR COLLAZO FIGHT
This is some of the most ass-backwards logic I have ever heard (“Jayson Vayson’s under-fire team stand by divisive stoppage”).
“We stopped it because he was hit hard once, so what if he gets hit hard again right after?” Huh? If every corner thought this way, no fight would ever see its conclusion. Their reasoning for stopping the fight was because they had a bad feeling he might get punched a couple times more in a boxing match? That’s just absurd. And the whole “We don’t want him to get damaged” is just as deranged.
Vayson was fighting for the unified and lineal strawweight championship of the world. This was his big break, his Super Bowl. And he was putting up a great fight; he was consistently tagging Collazo with hard, accurate counters. He even landed a very solid left hook-straight right in the round he was stopped in.
This was his big moment, his chance to write his name into the history books, and his corner says, “What if he gets damaged?” It’s a fight, for crying out loud. Every fighter gets a little taken out of them from every fight, from every camp. What Vayson’s corner did was utterly baffling, and he should seriously consider hiring new cornermen.
-Dorrian_Grey
Lance Pugmire’s response: You really nailed the analysis of this bumbling decision. It is boxing. There were world titles on the line. It was Vayson’s first venture to the U.S. It had all the makings of a Hollywood story – even if the judges were not cooperating by scoring it five rounds to one as the competitive bout headed into the seventh.
Yes, Vayson depleted himself of fruit and soup in the weeks before making 105lbs for the first time since 2018, but his rehydrated version was landing effective punches on Collazo, especially in the sixth round. Who cares if referee Thomas Taylor is checking in on the fighter’s condition? The corner is supposed to know their fighter best.
And as far as their concern that he appeared to be losing his balance? What about the perfect and painful power shots he landed upon the world champion? The hope is that Vayson stays in the game but separates himself from this group of overly cautious caretakers who treated a world title fight like a fretting parent overseeing a child’s pillow fight.
GABRIELA FUNDORA SHOULD MOVE UP (WAY UP) IN WEIGHT
Gabriela Fundora is so tall, maybe she can get a fight with Amanda Serrano or Katie Taylor, unless they're retired.
-Liondw
Jake Donovan’s response: Despite her tall, slender frame, Gabriela Fundora is VERY comfortable at 112lbs and in fact is more inclined to fight next at 108 before she eventually moves up the scale. That said, with Amanda Serrano moving back down to featherweight – and presumably for the remainder of her legendary career – I wouldn’t mind seeing that fight down the line.
For now, there is plenty of opportunity for Gabriela within the next 12-18 months at 108 and 115. Evelin Bermudez is now a three-belt titlist at 108, while former unified titlist Yesica Nery Plata challenges WBC titleholder Lourdes Juarez in October, with MVP promoting the event. It’s conceivable that MVP signs/recruits Bermudez to crown an undisputed champ – an attractive option for Fundora next year.
There is also the talented, entertaining and personality-rich Mizuki “MiMi” Hiruta, the reigning lineal/WBO champ at 115. That fight is already gaining traction in the SoCal area and will only grow bigger in time. No need for Fundora to immediately chase paydays – she has the chance to become THE bank.
FLOYD SCHOFIELD VS. JOSEPH DIAZ JNR IS VERY DISAPPOINTING
What a step down for Floyd Schofield. He ducked Shakur Stevenson, stepped down and beat Tevin Farmer, and now he’s stepping down again. Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jnr is a complete shell of a fighter who doesn’t even belong in this weight class. Very disappointing career trajectory for Schofield.
-famicommander
Jake Donovan’s response: I really don’t get the plan for Floyd Schofield. You almost get the sense that his team is waiting out this batch of lightweights. In a vacuum, there is time to grow and develop at 23 years old and just 19 fights in. However, he also has the misfortune of being surrounded by uber-talented fighters who’ve already accomplished far more at similar points in their career.
I do know that a fight with JoJo has been in talks for two years, dating back to when they shared the July 2023 show in San Antonio (originally to be headlined by Eimantas Stanionis-Vergil Ortiz, until Vergil’s fight week fallout). While I get the unfinished aspect of the fight and it largely being undercard filler for Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin, it’s a massive letdown from previous rumors of Schofield being in talks with IBF titlist Raymond Muratalla – never mind the debacle with Stevenson earlier this year.
It’s easy to blame Floyd Snr (and he never helps himself anytime he’s near a microphone and/or camera). Golden Boy needs to be questioned as well, though. William Zepeda reached a similar point where he became a threat but then saw his career progress level off until they were finally ready to face Shakur (which came on AT LEAST the fourth try).
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.
