By Don Colgan
Floyd Mayweather’s 6 round destruction of Arturo Gatti Jr this past June confirmed the near universal sentiment that the unbeaten 28 year old “Pretty Boy” is without peer in his weight classes and has achieved a level of pure domination equaled by few champions in ring history.
In terms of ring generalship, speed of hand, punching accuracy and conditioning, Mayweather rivals the Sugar Ray Leonard of 1978 and the “Mantequilla Napoles” of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Whether he can occupy their stature once his career is over is an issue strongly in doubt.
Mayweather is in a situation that has precedent. A decade ago Roy Jones Jr. was beginning his decade of domination in both the middleweight and light heavyweight class. Roy, like Floyd, was a study in brilliance and ring supremacy. Yet he never met a foeman truly worthy of his steel, one who dug deep into his heart and forced him to the precipice of defeat. You could point to the emergence of Antonio Tarver who defrocked Jones with a brutal two round knockout last May and registered a lopsided points verdict in their return earlier this month.
However, Roy was clearly in decline when he met Tarver last May. A deterioration accented by his one fight journey into the heavyweight ranks to fight the nondescript John Ruiz, where Jones gained over 20 pounds to gain a little recognized championship he immediately relinquished. A clash between Jones and Tarver in their primes would have solidly established Roy’s greatness or exposed him years earlier.
Mayweather needs to be taken the way Roberto Duran took Sugar Ray Leonard in June of 1979. Ray was a poster boy of American Olympic charm, combining celebrity and unmatched ring skills to project an air of utter invincibility. Prior to his epic Montreal battle with the indefagitible Duran, Leonard had earned the WBC Welterweight crown with a hard fought 15 round TKO over the talented Wilfredo Benitz, a champion in his own right who, in terms of ability, was light years ahead of any contemporary career foe of Mayweather.
Sugar was favored over Duran. The Panamanian was forecast to grudgingly submit to Ray’s power and speed. At Welterweight Duran had appeared to lose the brutal knockout power that accented his six year reign as Lightweight Champion. Still a terrible force inside the squared circle, with a relentless attack, iron chin and unyielding heart, it was expected that the Sugarman would prevail and possibly stop Manos De Piedra.
It didn’t come to pass. Leonard was goaded into a mano a mano collision with Duran in which the champion’s manhood, never mind his toughness, was publicly challenged. Roberto brought to bear every psychological tool at his disposal. He metaphorically took Sugar to the streets of Panama City. His vulgarity laced insults worked their way into Leonard’s mind. Sugar gradually lost sight of the battle and prepared for a war he was psychologically unprepared to fight.
He announced he would be Ray Leonard on June 20. He would plant his feet and punch with Duran. Angelo Dundee, Sugar’s trainer and the mentor of champions, bought into this game plan as well. “Remember, in this fight my guy’s the banger” Angie declared. Ray’s path to his first defeat was well paved.
It has appeared that the incomparable Mayweather would not have his Duran. Nor did such an opponent appear to be on the horizon. One could not suggest that Floyd, Jr had dispatched one extraordinary contender after another during his reigns. His most difficult assignments over the past several years, a pair of route going verdicts over Jose Luis Castillo, may hold the key to establishing a punctuation mark for Mayweather’s claim to greatness.
Castillo’s fourth round stoppage over Diego Corrales heralded the emergence of a far more formidable fighter than the Castillo who battled Mayweather in 2002. Jose Luis left hooked Corrales into oblivion, well inside the distance, and achieved a devastating victory which bore little resemblance to the 10th round TKO inflicted upon him by Corrales during their first bout.
Castillo has metamorphazied into a slugger with a dangerous left hook to compliment a relentless brutal body attack. Now a complete punch and brutally effective ringman, he is poised to play the role of Floyd, Jr’s Frazier, an opponent to provide lasting credibility to Mayweather’s claim to greatness.
The Castillo who overpowered Corrales is a threat to Mayweather’s domination and has the punch, and the overpowering attack, to cause trouble a plenty for the WBC Welterweight Titleholder should they meet.
Jose Luis will need weight should a third contest materialize. A jump in class and the addition of seven or eight pounds could have a profound impact on his attack, resulting in another dominating Mayweather performance. Yet watching Castillo wreck Corrales you had to see the eye of the tiger, the “Win at all costs” mentality that could greatly trouble Floyd, Jr. Castillo will be on a one man search mission for Pretty Boy’s heart, and is poised to take him into some dangerous territory should Mayweather-Castillo III materialize.
Floyd should view Jose Luis in an entirely different light. He should temper his swagger and acquire a renewed perspective on Castillo. Along with a healthy dose of respect in what holds promise to be the ultimate challenge of his career. Mayweather will have the opportunity to travel a different path to greatness. He will have to take climb the stairs against Castillo in a third bout, not take the elevator like Jones, Jr.
A stellar performance and third triumph over Castillo will permanently make the statement. Floyd Mayweather, Jr is a great fighter. For all time.
