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By Cliff Rold - In the wake of his exciting and decisive knockout victory over World Junior Welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KO) of Manchester, England, World Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO, WBC titlist) of Grand Rapids, Michigan is on top of the world. For now at least, only two real questions continue to dog him:
How does he do against #1 Welterweight contender Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KO, WBA titlist)?
How would Floyd have done against Fighter X?
There are of course other questions that could emerge over time. Should his level of competition dramatically fall off; should he fail to face a Cotto or similarly challenging foe next year, the lengthy run of poor opponent choices fans suffered through between Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 and Zab Judah in 2006 will likely rise to be chief among them in some new form.
Those questions must wait though. Floyd’s last four fights give fans no reason to think that, if Cotto keeps winning and selling tickets, such a fight is beyond the realm of what’s possible. If anything, Cotto’s increasing power as a draw and Floyd’s emergence in 2007 as possibly Boxing’s biggest draw make that bout all but inevitable with nothing but rhetoric and smoke to blow in the meantime. Where there’s money, there is likely to be Mayweather.
That leaves Fighter X, the man no contemporary fighter can ever defeat no matter the when of that contemporary status. As reigning king of the welterweights, Floyd’s fighter X is often Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns these days. When he or one of his eminently articulate hangers-on speak too boldly, it’s Ray Robinson or Henry Armstrong. They are names that carry with them the power of memory and the breath of awe.
They are also entirely unwinnable for Floyd because they are not possible. Many of his most ardent fans get defensive when such names arise, drawing from such comparisons veiled and not-so-veiled insults. The comparisons are actually the opposite.
Framed another way, when fans and pundits begin seriously comparing modern fighter’s chances to the absolute legends of the game it is the ultimate compliment. Mayweather-Armstrong is actually a match worth thinking about. That means Mayweather must be pretty damn good. [details]
How does he do against #1 Welterweight contender Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KO, WBA titlist)?
How would Floyd have done against Fighter X?
There are of course other questions that could emerge over time. Should his level of competition dramatically fall off; should he fail to face a Cotto or similarly challenging foe next year, the lengthy run of poor opponent choices fans suffered through between Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 and Zab Judah in 2006 will likely rise to be chief among them in some new form.
Those questions must wait though. Floyd’s last four fights give fans no reason to think that, if Cotto keeps winning and selling tickets, such a fight is beyond the realm of what’s possible. If anything, Cotto’s increasing power as a draw and Floyd’s emergence in 2007 as possibly Boxing’s biggest draw make that bout all but inevitable with nothing but rhetoric and smoke to blow in the meantime. Where there’s money, there is likely to be Mayweather.
That leaves Fighter X, the man no contemporary fighter can ever defeat no matter the when of that contemporary status. As reigning king of the welterweights, Floyd’s fighter X is often Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns these days. When he or one of his eminently articulate hangers-on speak too boldly, it’s Ray Robinson or Henry Armstrong. They are names that carry with them the power of memory and the breath of awe.
They are also entirely unwinnable for Floyd because they are not possible. Many of his most ardent fans get defensive when such names arise, drawing from such comparisons veiled and not-so-veiled insults. The comparisons are actually the opposite.
Framed another way, when fans and pundits begin seriously comparing modern fighter’s chances to the absolute legends of the game it is the ultimate compliment. Mayweather-Armstrong is actually a match worth thinking about. That means Mayweather must be pretty damn good. [details]
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