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Life is nothing more than a series of choices and consequences produced by those choices. If you have lived long enough to be posting on this board you should already know this well. When faced with a choice it is human nature to choose in a fashion that seems in our own best self interest, but there are times when doing so would cause great harm to others. This is when the irony of life begins to show itself for the ugly little bastard it really is. In those instances we define ourselves as human beings.
Now I know your saying WTF right now. Your wondering how you accidentaly got from a boxing forum to a philasophical new age *** site. Relax, I'm getting there. Many here know my disdain for boxers like Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones, and Bernard Hopkins to name a few. Instead of randomly defending every little post concerning these guys,, I have decided to summarize why that sentiment exists.
There is more to greatness than ability. There are intangibles that define greatness to a point where ability, or God given talent takes a back seat to the genuine greatness that encompasses the person as a whole. Ali had it, and so did Sugar Ray Robinson. Others have had it aswell to one degree or another. Their names are etched in our memories. Names like Micheal Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretszky, and many many others. In the sport of boxing it is much Harder to achieve that peak we define as greatness. Many excel, Many more fail miserably and go on to other things, but one thing remains. The truly great leave no doubt as to their place in history.
Why did Gatti have the following he did? He gave what he had-all of it. That in and of itself is a greatness and he will be rewarded for that as he should be. He has the admiration of those he preformed for, and he will be remembered kindly even though he will never be considered a great in the sport, but make no mistake-he was great in his own way!
This leads to the gist of this thread. Jones, Hopkins, and More recently Mayweather all have one thing in common. Their greatness is disputed as vehemently by detractors as it is heralded by supporters. Some say Hopkins is an all time great, Others just great, and still other claim he was a fraud that benefited from a division left by the two biggest fighters of the time(Jones and Toney). By comparison, How many will argue that Marvin Hagler was not an all time great? I have never seen anyone deny Haglers greatness- there is a reason for that!
Roy Jones was touted as Jesus Christ reborn. Every time a Tomato can fell the chants of GOAT would begin. As with Hopkins The detracted gritted their teeth and claimed one day there would be justice, and it came to pass that the detractors found vindication in the back to back KO's Jones recieved not long after running out of tomato cans! Were the Fans of Jones wrong in their assessment of his greatness? Time will tell!
Now we have Floyd Mayweather. I will not argue his resume, or the fact that i feel he is more untested than either Jones or Hopkins where when they Held the title of best in the sport. What I will say is that the upcomming fight should answer many question about his legitamacy. Should he beat Hatton convincingly his stock will rise in my opinion, but should he lose convinvingly i will feel justified in my opinion of his ability to achieve greatness.
Mayweather has made it a point to project himself in a manor that does anything but define greatness. To this point, He has literally defied every tenet that defines greatness. Yes, He is still unbeaten, but does that mean anything in and of itself? Winning doesn't define greatness if the quality of the opposition is in question.
Floyd Mayweather is a solid Boxer. He has great natural ability and a decent resume, but how many other would be greats were in a similar position only to watch it slip away and in the end look very ordinary in the process? Remember that the next time you think the Ghost of ALi or Robinson has returned in the form of Floyd Mayweather!
Now I know your saying WTF right now. Your wondering how you accidentaly got from a boxing forum to a philasophical new age *** site. Relax, I'm getting there. Many here know my disdain for boxers like Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones, and Bernard Hopkins to name a few. Instead of randomly defending every little post concerning these guys,, I have decided to summarize why that sentiment exists.
There is more to greatness than ability. There are intangibles that define greatness to a point where ability, or God given talent takes a back seat to the genuine greatness that encompasses the person as a whole. Ali had it, and so did Sugar Ray Robinson. Others have had it aswell to one degree or another. Their names are etched in our memories. Names like Micheal Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretszky, and many many others. In the sport of boxing it is much Harder to achieve that peak we define as greatness. Many excel, Many more fail miserably and go on to other things, but one thing remains. The truly great leave no doubt as to their place in history.
Why did Gatti have the following he did? He gave what he had-all of it. That in and of itself is a greatness and he will be rewarded for that as he should be. He has the admiration of those he preformed for, and he will be remembered kindly even though he will never be considered a great in the sport, but make no mistake-he was great in his own way!
This leads to the gist of this thread. Jones, Hopkins, and More recently Mayweather all have one thing in common. Their greatness is disputed as vehemently by detractors as it is heralded by supporters. Some say Hopkins is an all time great, Others just great, and still other claim he was a fraud that benefited from a division left by the two biggest fighters of the time(Jones and Toney). By comparison, How many will argue that Marvin Hagler was not an all time great? I have never seen anyone deny Haglers greatness- there is a reason for that!
Roy Jones was touted as Jesus Christ reborn. Every time a Tomato can fell the chants of GOAT would begin. As with Hopkins The detracted gritted their teeth and claimed one day there would be justice, and it came to pass that the detractors found vindication in the back to back KO's Jones recieved not long after running out of tomato cans! Were the Fans of Jones wrong in their assessment of his greatness? Time will tell!
Now we have Floyd Mayweather. I will not argue his resume, or the fact that i feel he is more untested than either Jones or Hopkins where when they Held the title of best in the sport. What I will say is that the upcomming fight should answer many question about his legitamacy. Should he beat Hatton convincingly his stock will rise in my opinion, but should he lose convinvingly i will feel justified in my opinion of his ability to achieve greatness.
Mayweather has made it a point to project himself in a manor that does anything but define greatness. To this point, He has literally defied every tenet that defines greatness. Yes, He is still unbeaten, but does that mean anything in and of itself? Winning doesn't define greatness if the quality of the opposition is in question.
Floyd Mayweather is a solid Boxer. He has great natural ability and a decent resume, but how many other would be greats were in a similar position only to watch it slip away and in the end look very ordinary in the process? Remember that the next time you think the Ghost of ALi or Robinson has returned in the form of Floyd Mayweather!
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