By Jim Cawkwell

 

Believing Floyd Mayweather, Jr’s brilliance to be beyond reproach made his tentative approach to Zab Judah a surreal spectacle. Judah’s early dominance inspired a feeling that perhaps the demystification of Mayweather was at hand. One sensed that perhaps now aged twenty-nine, Mayweather might suffer the effects of the sudden coalescence of time that offers but a brief window of opportunity, and speed that preserves when possessed and punishes otherwise. However, the matter of Judah’s illegitimacy died in the debating as Mayweather, the man most equipped to face the threat, made fools of Judah’s detractors with justified hesitance.

 

With Judah’s reputation acquitted, Mayweather began the task of unraveling the problem before him; a trial that proved worthy of his immense talents. The mayhem of the now infamous tenth round may not soon be forgotten, but nor should it overshadow the excellence of both men’s efforts in the nine rounds preceding it. When Mayweather launched himself into an extended straight right hand, he left himself vulnerable for the delivery of Judah’s counter right hook, and the much-sought drama so long denied by Mayweather’s own virtuosity.

 

Not since the marauding advances of Jose Luis Castillo had Mayweather been forced to respond to such adversity. His rhythm found, Mayweather methodically exposed Judah; weakening then stripping away the pretentious façade. In doing so, what Mayweather revealed in Judah invalidated whatever credibility Judah had acquired. What followed was but another shameful chapter in the fighting life of Zab Judah, and sadly, of boxing as an institution.

 

Bloodied and bowed by a superior talent, Judah chose a tactic unfit for the great pedestal on which he stood, but one borne of the gutter in which his reputation has long dwelt and shall now return. The despicable low blow appeared as pre-meditated as any seen in a prize ring, and the rabbit punch that followed was nothing if not pure malice. A cowardly response befitting an individual of Judah’s renowned immaturity.

 

We are taught that the first rule of boxing is control. However, the first to lose theirs was not one of the numerous and unnecessary sycophants cluttering the ringside area, but one whose command of himself should have remained resolute beyond any provocation.

 

Roger Mayweather understands the terrain of the boxing ring. He has mastered the range of impulses unique to the demands of becoming a successful professional fighter, administering controlled aggression to win world championships at the highest level of the sport.

 

It is unrealistic to expect a family member to restrain themselves upon witnessing the abuse of one of their own, but this situation occurred in an intense environment in which exceptional fighters demonstrated extraordinary talents. Incensed as he was, Roger Mayweather had all the necessary experience to see for himself that his nephew, Floyd, had not sustained life-threatening injuries from Judah’s foul play.

 

If allowed to officiate, experienced referee Richard Steele would have offered Floyd ample time to recover from his discomforts and deducted a point from Judah’s score for such a blatant infraction. With the fight almost beyond Judah’s reach, Floyd need only have seen out the final two rounds with only the loss of the rhythm that might have forcibly ended Judah’s evening. Instead, Roger Mayweather’s impulsiveness was the catalyst to the utter chaos that enveloped the ring and provided shameful punctuation to an otherwise memorable night of boxing.

 

Poetic justice saw Judah fail against Carlos Baldomir in January and decrease his future earnings against Mayweather. It struck again when Judah opted to once again befoul his profession, as his million dollars and change remains on ice pending an official review.

 

Much else of that regretful turn of events will come under scrutiny this week. Hopefully, Judah himself will grant poetic justice a delightful trilogy as a fine further decreases the earnings already severely diminished by his own arrogance.

 

Yoel Judah, Zab’s father should also receive his due punishment for the part he played in sustaining the madness by failing to restrain himself. Of course, the Mayweathers will have a price to pay. It is likely that Roger Mayweather will have his license suspended indefinitely and have to pay a significant fine for his part in the proceedings.

 

Meanwhile, fond as he is of diamond encrusted possessions, the damage done to those jewels closest to him having survived an attack from the former undisputed welterweight champion should remain the only punishment that Floyd Mayweather endures. If not for his cool and professional temperament amongst a sea of idiocy, the Thomas and Mack Center might have seen much worse.

 

The early rumblings were of the infliction of a disqualification loss upon Mayweather’s currently unblemished record. I cannot think of a more unjust recommendation for a committee to implement. Aside from the Las Vegas police, Floyd Mayweather was perhaps the only man in that ring able to retain his senses when those older and supposedly wiser than himself abandoned their dignity and respect for the sport.

 

The term “pound-for-pound” was invented in an attempt to adequately characterize the fighting genius of Sugar Ray Robinson. The memory of Robinson lives on because of his deeds, but also because each era finds a fighter that they dare to compare to the old master. Today, Floyd Mayweather is that fighter and what he has achieved, and the legacy he may build in the years to come cannot be tarnished in circumstances introduced primarily by the indiscipline and dishonor of Judah.

 

It was a tumultuous night in which, as usual for boxing, controversy prevailed. The perpetual redemption campaign of Zab Judah seems destined to plague his professional career. Don King once remonstrated with all and sundry that Mike Tyson fell victim to a long count, denying him victory over James “Buster” Douglas and a grasp on the heavyweight championships. King’s vehemence is lost on Judah, who successfully duped the buying public once more. Like Tyson, Judah is the prodigal pugilist until matters no longer fall in his favor; the product of his frustration has no place in the mainstream boxing market.

 

Despite their subtlety in contrast to the menacing ugliness that the event produced, not all of the positives were lost. Though Floyd Mayweather will come undone one day, it will not be soon, as in evidence against Judah was an irrepressible will to win complimentary to Mayweather’s incomparable skill.

 

If Top Rank’s word holds, Mayweather’s next encounter will come against stable-mate, WBO welterweight champion and Mexican monster, Antonio Margarito. Orthodox, built like a truck and able to hit as hard as one, Margarito presents a physical challenge that Mayweather will have to master if he is to transcend to his physical limit as a light middleweight. In terms of speed and craft, Margarito will appear ponderous next to Mayweather, but the Mexican will not be easily swept aside as were Mayweather’s other orthodox conquests of late.

 

Like those select few before him, Mayweather carries the distinction of being the premier boxer of his time. As time exerts its inevitable influence, the speed of his reactions, the fluidity of his movements and the authority he enjoys over his contemporaries will decrease enough to make the adversity he faced against Judah a more frequent visitor to Mayweather’s fights.

 

One senses that the arc of Mayweather’s career has yet to begin its downturn into the inescapable descent that all fighters must face. How he negotiates that path and whom he will encounter along the way represents a journey upon which we will all embark.

 

From now until the end, wherever Floyd Mayweather turns, he takes with him the burden of history.

 

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