By Carlos Boogs
Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) took part in what he claimed was the final fight of his career. He announced his retirement after winning an easy twelve round decision over Andre Berto.
According to WBA 'regular' welterweight champion Keith 'One Time' Thurman, a good portion of fans will find someone to fill the void that Mayweather left behind.
He says there are certain aspects about Mayweather that fans will obviously miss, like the trash talking and the lifestyle being flaunted and the showcase of boxing ability - but Mayweather's actual in-ring style was not very fan friendly. A lot of fans purchased his pay-per-view events with the hope that someone would beat him.
"To a degree [he will be missed], maybe. They might miss the All Access, they might miss his hard work, dedication, they might miss the fact that you can't really mimic the beautiful counters that he does. It's like saying who's going to be the next Muhammad Ali. You know what I'm saying? So you do miss that kind of stuff," Thurman said.
"But, at the end of the day - his [style to] fight was not a lot of peoples' [favorite style to] fight. I think with this next generation, I think there are a ton of athletic people who are going to be able to fill the void at 147, especially at 147."
"Eventually in his career, Floyd started dominating the 147 division and because he moved up so much to be a part of that division, that's where the lack of [doing] damage comes from, that's where the lack of knockouts comes from. The last real knockout he got was Ricky Hatton and Ricky Hatton is a 140-pounder anyway. That's why fighting fighters at 147, Floyd was not able to produce the excitement that fans are really eager for. Boxing, UFC, kickboxing - at the end of the day it's blood, sweat and tears."
"People want to see people get hurt. You boy 'One Time' is bringing that to the game. There are other fighters bringing that to the game. It's a beautiful chapter the Mayweather chapter, the [Oscar] De La Hoya chapter - all the greats - but we are opening up a new chapter and I believe that it's going to be fun. I think the world of boxing is going to be in good hands."