by David P. Greisman
Floyd Mayweather Jr., who at the age of 28 has a beautiful family, titles in three different weight classes and the distinction of being arguably the best boxer in the sport today, may just be the unluckiest undefeated pugilist in the sweet science.
He is underappreciated, an Olympic medalist recognized for his exemplary skills, yes, a pound-for-pound denizen touted for his unblemished professional record of 35 wins and 24 knockouts, but recent days have found him challenged by the press and not his peers.
It was nearly nine years into his career that this shining star finally received the well-deserved privilege of dancing on the grandest stage, reaping in enough pay-per-view dollars to buy the kind of bling that could possibly glare as brightly as his millionaire’s smile.
The six-round pummeling of Arturo Gatti was supposed to purchase recognition, celebrity and opportunity, megamatches and megabucks with Ricky Hatton, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Winky Wright and Oscar De La Hoya.
Turned down, he instead found himself in Portland, Ore., forced to settle with testing the waters at welterweight with former 140-lb. beltholder Sharmba Mitchell.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. must have HBO working as his publicist.
In the biggest waste of airspace since April 23, when HBO broadcast the seminal classic, “Four Rounds with Wladimir Klitschko and Eliseo Castillo,” the premium cable outlet televised Mayweather’s mismatch with Mitchell, an airing that was just six rounds of fighting but one full hour of propaganda.
From the beautifully produced vignette on Mayweather to the video package that followed a seemingly resigned Mitchell as he was led like a lamb to slaughter, the night was about inaugurating a new star for the network, so as to replace retired heavyweight Vitali Klitschko.
Even Larry Merchant, that last bastion of honesty and integrity, the man who once bit the hand that feeds him in labeling a Boxing After Dark broadcast as junk, was found lobbing softball questions at Mayweather like a testosterone-infused Barbara Walters.
Once the bell rang, Mayweather was caught in a difficult position, albeit not one related to his opposition. “Pretty Boy Floyd” was under the pressure of needing to dominate Mitchell, so as to retain his perceived perch as best in the world. Doing so against the “Little Big Man” was expected, but it was also characteristic of the roots of pundits’ criticism.
Mayweather hasn’t faced a world-beater since taking two against Jose Luis Castillo in 2002, and since then the biggest names on his ledger are DeMarcus Corley and Arturo Gatti.
A wealth of opportunity is in the vicinity, from junior welterweight to junior middleweight, and observers pondered if and when Mayweather would face a real test. But as Merchant would remind us, the Hattons, Judahs, Mosleys and Wrights wouldn’t put their names on the dotted lines.
The veteran sports journalist attempted to regain his reputation during the live show by bringing up Antonio Margarito, but the damage had already been done. With Mayweather in front of him, he gave Floyd a free pass to answer the interview questions without fear of being called out or challenged.
Mayweather could have been asked, for example, why he chose not to face Margarito, a gangly welterweight titlist that agreed to let “Pretty Boy Floyd” receive the lion’s share of the purse.
The figures would absolutely have been more than the amount that Mayweather received to perform in the boxing capital of Portland, a glorified sparring session that did little to further the legend.
Mayweather did as well as expected, outclassing Mitchell and stopping him on a body shot, but it was a no-win win, a mere treading of water for a superstar that desperately needs to go forward.
Even the classification of “superstar” is a bit dubious. Mayweather is extraordinarily talented, a name fighter, but he still found himself in the beautiful but distant Pacific Northwest, in front of a small crowd.
But these are points that are barely brought up by the broadcast network’s journalists, a group that set up a Kodak moment of a post-fight interview with the triumphant Mayweather framed by his children. All the right words were said, and then the show was over, a rush job that didn’t even leave time for Merchant’s characteristic closing quips, comments that are usually full of a reality that punctures promotional fantasy.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. must have HBO working as his publicist.
The 10 Count
1. The hurried broadcast seemed strange, and ended up making incorrect this columnist’s assertion that HBO would broadcast an Andre Ward fight on the undercard. While I apologize for the mistake, I cannot help but wonder why the network refused to show anything beyond Mayweather’s bout. The time slot had originally been set to also rebroadcast the canceled Vitali Klitschko-Hasim Rahman battle, so surely there was no conflict with other programming.
2. Perhaps it was a good thing that Andre Ward’s match went unaired, as his six-round unanimous decision victory came with difficulty. Ward was knocked down in the fourth round by inexperienced journeyman Darnell Boone, an occasion that will either signal future problems for the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, or help him learn how to deal with adversity.
3. I got a bit ahead of myself last week in noting that Oleg Maskaev is the mandatory opponent for WBC heavyweight titlist Hasim Rahman. In a confusing story, Maskaev is, but he isn’t, as the WBC has voted Maskaev and James Toney as the two mandatories. The sanctioning body has voted for Toney to be Rahman’s first mandatory challenger, with the winner facing Maskaev as their next defense. The declaration for “no intervening voluntary defense” is a magnificent guarantee, and should be done more often…
4. What should never be done, however, is the WBC’s anointing of the retired Vitali Klitschko as “World Champion Emeritus,” guaranteeing the right to be the official mandatory challenger to the champion should he ever return to the sport. In other words, every other heavyweight is required to work his way up the twisted system of rankings, hoping for a shot, navigating promoters and politics. Meanwhile, Klitschko can sit idly, wait for unification to possibly occur, heal his wounds and then announce that he is back. Let’s just hope that this mess is avoided, and that Klitschko can join Lennox Lewis in making commercials for Red Stripe. Sanctioning bodies and their shaming of the sport: It’s boxing! Hooray, boxing!
5. Johnny Tapia, once a great junior bantamweight champion and now an over the hill pug, is saddening the boxing world by announcing that he will return to the ring in December. In September, his last bout, Tapia was knocked out on a body shot by the unheralded Sandro Marcos. Tapia is managed by his wife, a relation that may make it difficult for her to say no, that enough is enough, words that need to be said to Tapia by someone close before he gets seriously hurt.
6. Unifications begin this week, when junior welterweights Ricky Hatton and Carlos Maussa tumble in the rough. Despite the difference in Hatton’s smothering of longtime king Kostya Tszyu, as opposed to Maussa’s knockout of an over-trained under-focused Vivian Harris, this bout has intrigue written all over it. Will Hatton give Maussa space to taunt and showboat, and if so, will Maussa be able to get away with such hubris in Hatton’s home country? If Floyd Mayweather is indeed facing Zab Judah next year, then the winner of Hatton-Maussa should absolutely gun for Miguel Cotto or, if the opportunity arises, Jose Luis Castillo or Diego Corrales.
7. The unification trend continues in December with junior featherweights Oscar Larios and Israel Vazquez, into January with cruiserweights Jean-Marc Mormeck and O’Neil Bell. But the biggest news is that super middleweights Jeff Lacy and Joe Calzaghe have signed to clash in February, an oft-delayed, much-anticipated bout that could see the winner take his popularity and momentum, and migrate to light heavyweight.
8. Rob Calloway, a victim of Hasim Rahman’s 2004 blue collar comeback tour, sent out an open letter to James Toney decrying Toney’s abandonment of their December bout in favor of Hasim Rahman and heavyweight glory. While Calloway may insist that Toney’s choice is due to him knowing that “I would have brought more to you than you want to risk,” Calloway should count himself lucky. Since being dropped for the count by Rahman in June of last year, Calloway has rattled off nine straight victories against insignificant opposition, paydays that would be much more difficult to receive following an embarrassing drubbing by the rotund ring scientist. Never have I ever seen a press release where a fighter declares himself “10 Time Boxing Champion,” especially when each and every belt was regional, minor and earned against fellow club fighters.
9. Word is that Ishe Smith is a promotional free agent, no longer shackled to his contract with the producers of reality show The Contender. Good, now he can stop whining on the Internet, and instead put his energy to good use on the next season of Bravo’s Battle of the Network Reality Stars.
10. With a heavy heart, one recalls that last week saw the passing of former junior bantamweight titlist Agapito Sanchez, shot to death in his native Dominican Republic. After a career that saw Sanchez face a virtual Who’s Who of the featherweight ranks, including Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera and Oscar Larios, he earned his last major victory in July, a knock out of prospect Artyom Simonyan. Sanchez was 35 years old.