Floyd Mayweather quit fighting for his legacy.

[KingTito]

Do you really believe that Floyd's legacy is going to be hurt by fighting DLH and Hatton again?

All of these anti-Floyd posts remind me of an interview I read from Rakim back around '98. He was talking about hip hop and where it was at and where it was going. Then he said something along the lines of "I could write nothing but Micky Mouse rhymes from now until the day I die and that wouldn't change the imprint I left on hip hop one bit. How many MC's could say that?"

It's the same with Floyd. Some fans, media members and tv executives could rip on Floyd all they want. Floyd could fight nothing but tomato cans for the rest of his career and that wouldn't change the imprint he left on the sport one bit. But keep in mind he's not fighting tomato cans...he's fighting Oscar De la Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

If you feel the need to rip on Floyd that's your own problem.

You obviously didn't read the first sentence of my post. I'm not hating on Floyd. I'm simply saying that he is not fighting the best fighters out there. Hatton or De La Hoya aren't even in the Welterweight rankings, the division he supposedly owns. He's fighting the big money fights. If you honestly believe that De La Hoya and Hatton are his best competition and the fights he should be fighting, then it's you loving Floyd not me hating on him.

[Sin City]

ROTFLMAO!

That's not true on a lot of levels. First of all, Margarito, Williams and Cintron mean nothing historically. That's like beating Corley, Gatti and Baldomir again. Second, even if he were to beat Cotto people would bring up the fact that he turned down the Winky Wright fight. There are people who'd want to see him move up and fight all of the top 10 at 154.

There's never an end to it. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. People will always questions Floyds resume. There's no reason to question his resume right now and you're doing it. The questions will never end. As long as he's on top people will nit pick.

that's B.S. and you know it..
why do you have to post lies to support your b.s.?
your a mindless drone dude.. if you really think the way you do then you are most likely A) a preteen who just started watching the sport but only watches Mayweather B) ******ed or C) Both A and B.

[siablo14]

ROTFLMAO!

That's not true on a lot of levels. First of all, Margarito, Williams and Cintron mean nothing historically. That's like beating Corley, Gatti and Baldomir again. Second, even if he were to beat Cotto people would bring up the fact that he turned down the Winky Wright fight. There are people who'd want to see him move up and fight all of the top 10 at 154.

There's never an end to it. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. People will always questions Floyds resume. There's no reason to question his resume right now and you're doing it. The questions will never end. As long as he's on top people will nit pick.

also being the champ we expect him to face all of his number 1 challengers

[javelin_fangs]

You obviously didn't read the first sentence of my post. I'm not hating on Floyd. I'm simply saying that he is not fighting the best fighters out there. Hatton or De La Hoya aren't even in the Welterweight rankings, the division he supposedly owns. He's fighting the big money fights. If you honestly believe that De La Hoya and Hatton are his best competition and the fights he should be fighting, then it's you loving Floyd not me hating on him.

You're the one putting words in my mouth. I said, Floyd has nothing to prove. Back from '98 - '03 when he fought nothing but top contenders fans were ripping him for being undefeated without the ability to sellout arenas or PPVs. Then in '04 and '05 he was chasing the Gatti fight and eventually did well on PPV. In '06 and '07 he became a crossover star.

Now, people are ripping him for being a crossover star. You can say what you want but you're ripping him for being a crossover star. He doesn't have to prove anything. He already took on all comers. He already beat linear champions.

Cotto is the fight he should fight, but Cotto is not a crossover star nor has he ever been a linear champion. Hatton and DLH are and have been. So, adding a second win over both of those guys to his resume while Cotto becomes a crossover star is not the worst thing that could happen to boxing. The fight is going to happen...just not yet.

BUT, even if it didn't happen...just like Rakim didn't put out another classic, it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't have any negative effect on Floyd's legacy. Floyd already did what he had to do in the sport of boxing. Anything from now on is just icing on the cake. Just like anything Rakim does from now on is just icing on the cake. You can't take what they did man...you can't.

[javelin_fangs]

also being the champ we expect him to face all of his number 1 challengers

You expect him to fight all of his number one challengers. Those of us who've followed his entire career since the '96 Olympics know he already did all of that. We just want to see him fight the historically significant fights (Cotto is our preference).

I guess the big thing is that I've been watching his entire career. He's a three time fighter of the year. If he wants to take a break...good for him. Whereas, I highly doubt you watched all of his fights live. So, you're still looking for something else. That's on you man.

I want to see Floyd fight Cotto, but Margarito? Williams? Quintana? Give me a break. Don't waste our time with that nonsense.

[siablo14]

you got that right if he is staying at ww he better face anyone who is his number 1 challenger, if he does not want to do that he better do what oscar does and release the belt and then call out ppl on his free will.

[javelin_fangs]

that's B.S. and you know it..
why do you have to post lies to support your b.s.?
your a mindless drone dude.. if you really think the way you do then you are most likely A) a preteen who just started watching the sport but only watches Mayweather B) ******ed or C) Both A and B.

I'm a mindless drone? Let me tell you something, I'm the one posting stuff other than ver batim recitations of either Jim Lampley or Larry Merchant's closing monologues.

If Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Carlos Quintana and Kermit Cintron all end up fighting and beating each other then history will remember them the same way it remembers Mark Breland, Aaron Davis, Maurice Blocker and Marlin Starling. That's a fact. Sweet Pea and Buddy McGirt didn't have to beat any of them to be remembered as the best welterweights of the early '90s. Tito Trinidad only beat Maurice Blocker and nobody counts that as one of his better wins.

You feel me? History won't remember these guys either. The problem is I've been watching boxing too long to make sense to someone like you and not the other way around. Now, go head...get mad and pout with another post about how unintelligent you think I must be since I believe Floyd Mayweather's career achievements are impressive.

[KingTito]

You're the one putting words in my mouth. I said, Floyd has nothing to prove. Back from '98 - '03 when he fought nothing but top contenders fans were ripping him for being undefeated without the ability to sellout arenas or PPVs. Then in '04 and '05 he was chasing the Gatti fight and eventually did well on PPV. In '06 and '07 he became a crossover star.

Now, people are ripping him for being a crossover star. You can say what you want but you're ripping him for being a crossover star. He doesn't have to prove anything. He already took on all comers. He already beat linear champions.

Cotto is the fight he should fight, but Cotto is not a crossover star nor has he ever been a linear champion. Hatton and DLH are and have been. So, adding a second win over both of those guys to his resume while Cotto becomes a crossover star is not the worst thing that could happen to boxing. The fight is going to happen...just not yet.

BUT, even if it didn't happen...just like Rakim didn't put out another classic, it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't have any negative effect on Floyd's legacy. Floyd already did what he had to do in the sport of boxing. Anything from now on is just icing on the cake. Just like anything Rakim does from now on is just icing on the cake. You can't take what they did man...you can't.

I see what you're saying, but by saying that Floyd is fighting ODLH and Hatton again while Cotto builds his resume is simply proving the point that I'm trying to make: that he's fighting for money. Everyone knows who he should be fighting. Quite frankly, I think he needs to prove his legacy some more. If he wants to go down as an ATG along the likes of SRL, Duran, Ali, Robinson, etc. he needs to fight more, because I don't think he's done enough to be thrown in that class. Talent wise, perhaps, but not competition. You need great competition to make you great. He's lucky enough to be in an incredible division, and he's simply just wasting time and blowing his chance to be thrown in that category.

With that said, I understand him fighting for money, but I think he has more to prove and he should fight the best. The talent in this division surpasses the talent in any division he's been in by far. If he wants to say that he's the best, then he should stop making excuses and prove it.

[javelin_fangs]

you got that right if he is staying at ww he better face anyone who is his number 1 challenger, if he does not want to do that he better do what oscar does and release the belt and then call out ppl on his free will.

If he continues fighting he owes it to current fans and boxing's tradition to face Miguel Cotto. That's it. Being stripped of his belt won't mean anything. A year from now, if he's signed to fight Cotto, NO ONE will care if he gets stripped of his belt. NO ONE will think of Andre Berto as the true 147 lb. champion if the belt is around his waist instead of either Floyd Mayweather or Miguel Cotto.

[javelin_fangs]

I see what you're saying, but by saying that Floyd is fighting ODLH and Hatton again while Cotto builds his resume is simply proving the point that I'm trying to make: that he's fighting for money. Everyone knows who he should be fighting. Quite frankly, I think he needs to prove his legacy some more. If he wants to go down as an ATG along the likes of SRL, Duran, Ali, Robinson, etc. he needs to fight more, because I don't think he's done enough to be thrown in that class. Talent wise, perhaps, but not competition. You need great competition to make you great. He's lucky enough to be in an incredible division, and he's simply just wasting time and blowing his chance to be thrown in that category.

With that said, I understand him fighting for money, but I think he has more to prove and he should fight the best. The talent in this division surpasses the talent in any division he's been in by far. If he wants to say that he's the best, then he should stop making excuses and prove it.

Ok, let me put it to you like this...14 unique wins over people who have held a major title at some point in their career and 7 unique wins over people who have held a legitimate/linear weight class title at some point in their career. How many more of those would he need to rack up?

The fact that Ray Robinson beat Jake LaMotta 4 times impresses historians more than beating 6 inferior top 10 contenders once. The fact that he fought Basilio 3 times, Fullmer and Pender twice, Olsen 4 times, etc. is what impresses historians about his resume. Earlier in his career at the lighter weights he was beating all comers, but Robinson is mostly remembered for rivalries against other top tier fighters (even though some of his worst performances came against those fighters).

Now, think about Floyd's history again. He already took on all comers. And now he's trying to make memorable rivalries and be well compensated for them. As long as he fights Cotto, I'm fine with it. And I'm proud of him for getting that doughie because I'm tired of the story of boxing legends being that of some old punch drunk guy who either pissed away all of his money or being too punch drunk to enjoy it. If that makes me "******ed" as some of you seem to think I am for being a Floyd fan then I'm a proud "******ed" Floyd fan.