By Tom Donelson
Why was Michael Jordan one of the greatest basketball player in the world?   The answer is obviously talent but something else as well. He worked at his craft. He was the first to practice and the last to leave. He was the first in the weight room and the last out.   Even in winter of his career, he displayed a blue-collar work ethic.   He studied the game and his smarts were why he consistently beat his opponent.

Boxing is no difference.   How did Hopkins become one of the great middleweights? Simple, he rarely stepped outside the gym between fights and he studied the game.   Hopkins is one of the smartest boxers that I have seen and one of the best at adopting during a fight.   No fighting style remains a mystery to Hopkins inside the ring and he can box with you or brawl- it does not matter.   More importantly, he knows boxing.   A profligate student of the game, Hopkins never goes into a boxing match without a game plan and like a great chess player, he already knows your next move.

Then there is or was Ricardo Mayorga.   After his demolition at the hand of Tito Trinidad, I found myself reflecting on what could have been.   When I saw him demolish Vernon Forest, I saw a potential star.   He could punch with either hand, he was in constant movement and he had a chin of stone.   He had his chance to make his mark but since that night, stardom that appeared close simply disappeared.

In his rematch with Forest, he won by out slugging Forest over 12 rounds but his lost to Spinks saw a fighter who could not adopt.   Spinks out boxed and out thought Mayorga.   Mayorga showed no patience and threw punches from every angle but mostly he went head hunting.   Spinks consistently moved out of harms way and Mayorga lost enough points to fouls to ensure defeat.

The Spinks fight exposed a fighter who simply did not improve as fighter.   He never adapted and as he moved up in weight, he did not harness his energy.   When I first saw Mayorga fight, I thought of Rocky Marciano.   Marciano was a raw talent with sledgehammer punches.   Marciano learned to box and as he advance to the championship, he showed improvement in his defensive skills.   He showed patience when needed. When he fought Ezzard Charles in their first fight, he maintained his patience and kept pounding at Charles.   The final result was a decision but a hard earned one.   Marciano showed that he could out punch a boxer to win a decision.   The Rock did not just go head hunting but pounded the body as well as the arms.   Mariciano goal was to wear an opponent down and every punch had a purpose.   Mayorga simply stayed a head hunter.

Mayorga could have been that special fighter that excited a crowd just by showing up. When Mayorga showed up eight pound overweight for a welterweight championship fight, my first thought was “how could a fighter blow an opportunity to win a championship?”   That night, Mayorga had the opportunity to win a share of the welterweight title and set up a revenge fight with Spinks. Instead, he showed up out of shape and had to go the distance against a junior Middleweight who was essentially a sparring partner.    Mayorga received his big money fight with Trinidad but his fate was sealed. As a fighter, he moved up to a weight where his punching power would lose his sting and Trinidad exposed Mayorga cave man style.   Trinidad treated Mayorga as his personal punching bag and Mayorga proved to be a fighter who failed to learn the basic of defense.   Mayorga idea of defense was to stick his head out and dared Trinidad to hit him.   Trinidad obliged and pounded Mayorga’s face and body with half of the punches that he threw. Trinidad gave Mayorga a boxing lesson-a boxing lesson that crippled a once promising career.

When a fighter shows up for a title eight-pound heavy this is a fighter who is not serious about his sport.   He showed a lack of professionalism and eventually that catches up with a fighter. What you do out of the ring eventually shows up in the ring.   If you want to know why Hopkins is a champion and Mayorga is an ex-champion, just look how these men conducted themselves outside the ring. Hopkins was always looking to improve and sharpen his craft.   Mayorga did not take his game to the next level when he was a champion. Maybe Mayorga was never at the level that I thought and maybe I overestimated him.   My point is that Mayorga had an opportunity to make his own mark on the sport and in the end, he became a meteor that flashed upon the sky and came crashing down.