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I make it a point to stay out of Mayweather threads, but I'll make an exception. As long as Mayweather plays the heel he will be criticized to a greater degree. However, it would be irresponsible to almost ignorant not to see why Floyd would get more grief for fighting Juan Manuel Marquez, then Miguel Cotto fighting Manny Pacquiao.
1) Manny is the 140lb champion, moving up to face arguably the best 147lb fighter. Manny has fought above 135 his last two fights.
2) Whether you want to believe that De La Hoya and Hatton were shot or not (Mayweather and Pacquiao's last two opponents) Manny was far more impressive in victory (TKO8,KO2) then Mayweather was (SD12-was trully a UD,TKO10).
3) Cotto has fought at the Welterweight limit in his last 8 fights, going 7-1, with the lone loss being against Antonio Margarito, who has tainted his impressive victory by cheating in a subsequent bout (I will argue that he lost to Clottey last weekend). 6 of those 8 opponents were against top 10 Welterweights and 3 against top 3 Welterweights. Now he will be facing the current light welterweight champion.
4) As for Floyd, he retired as the Welterweight champion, with one defense against the light welterweight champion (this fight was historic, as both men were undefeated) he gets full respect for that and for taking on De La Hoya. However, there were several big fights still to be made at welterweight with several fighters that many thought could defeat or at the least challenge Mayweather. Yet he chose to retire (really postpone) and that left a bitter taste in in the mouths of the masses.
5) Floyd whether is detractors like it or not, is the most visible fighter in America, dwarfed by Pacquiao on a world level, but the money comes from either Germany, Russia, or the states. Floyd is a very intelligent man and his entire existence outside of the ring is entertaining. With that said, Floyd goes on ESPN and acts a fool in another interview with Brian Kenny. When Floyd was actually making a vaild argument, he clapped his way through it...what the hell.
6) Juan Manuel Marquez has done more than given Pacquiao fits, it can be argued that he is trully 0-2 against JMM, with the second fight being a hotly disputed decision and the draw a bit more on point. But, Marquez is the 135lb champion and is moving up 12 pounds to fight a man who hasn't fought a welterweight contender since he won the crown against Baldomir 2 1/2 years ago. Thats the complaint, that the former Welterweight kingpin come back and rightfully claim the top spot in the hottest division and his home division
Cotto has some unfinished business at welterweight, first and foremost against Mayweather himself. A rematch with Clottey is more than warranted, and Berto is on the edge of credibilty. Manny however, doesn't have anything pressing going on at 140. Timothy Bradley is clearly his number 1 contender, but he has a very good fight coming up with Nate Campbell, and the winner of that should be Manny's first fight defense of his 140lb title next year. But I doubt it.
Marquez has a lot to do yet at 135lb. Valero looms large, as does Katsidis, Funeka, and Khan when he comes back down. So Marquez taking this fight isn't something I agree with on those terms, but he isn't getting enough attention for moving up instead of Mayweather getting hated on for not fighting in his weightclass. It's a big jump and an admirable task for a great fighter, but it's an attempt to lure his greatest foe in the ring again.
Cotto gets a break because he has fought the best in his weightclass that others including Mayweather has refused to. Mayweather needs to return to 147 if he wants to regain the respect he once greatly earned. Pacquiao shouldn't make anyone come down to a catchweight, how about he fight Cotto where Manny can weigh-in at 144 and Cotto at 147, as long as it's with-in the welterweight realm. Marquez should move on and take another great action fight at 135 against either Katsidis or even Joan Guzman (Valero has yet to earn anything to be honest, but would be fun to watch agasint JMM).
The amount of hate spewed toward Mayweather isn't completely warranted, but this isn't a double standard. Floyd isn't living up to his own standard whether he realizes that, and that is his downfall at the moment.
1) Manny is the 140lb champion, moving up to face arguably the best 147lb fighter. Manny has fought above 135 his last two fights.
2) Whether you want to believe that De La Hoya and Hatton were shot or not (Mayweather and Pacquiao's last two opponents) Manny was far more impressive in victory (TKO8,KO2) then Mayweather was (SD12-was trully a UD,TKO10).
3) Cotto has fought at the Welterweight limit in his last 8 fights, going 7-1, with the lone loss being against Antonio Margarito, who has tainted his impressive victory by cheating in a subsequent bout (I will argue that he lost to Clottey last weekend). 6 of those 8 opponents were against top 10 Welterweights and 3 against top 3 Welterweights. Now he will be facing the current light welterweight champion.
4) As for Floyd, he retired as the Welterweight champion, with one defense against the light welterweight champion (this fight was historic, as both men were undefeated) he gets full respect for that and for taking on De La Hoya. However, there were several big fights still to be made at welterweight with several fighters that many thought could defeat or at the least challenge Mayweather. Yet he chose to retire (really postpone) and that left a bitter taste in in the mouths of the masses.
5) Floyd whether is detractors like it or not, is the most visible fighter in America, dwarfed by Pacquiao on a world level, but the money comes from either Germany, Russia, or the states. Floyd is a very intelligent man and his entire existence outside of the ring is entertaining. With that said, Floyd goes on ESPN and acts a fool in another interview with Brian Kenny. When Floyd was actually making a vaild argument, he clapped his way through it...what the hell.
6) Juan Manuel Marquez has done more than given Pacquiao fits, it can be argued that he is trully 0-2 against JMM, with the second fight being a hotly disputed decision and the draw a bit more on point. But, Marquez is the 135lb champion and is moving up 12 pounds to fight a man who hasn't fought a welterweight contender since he won the crown against Baldomir 2 1/2 years ago. Thats the complaint, that the former Welterweight kingpin come back and rightfully claim the top spot in the hottest division and his home division
Cotto has some unfinished business at welterweight, first and foremost against Mayweather himself. A rematch with Clottey is more than warranted, and Berto is on the edge of credibilty. Manny however, doesn't have anything pressing going on at 140. Timothy Bradley is clearly his number 1 contender, but he has a very good fight coming up with Nate Campbell, and the winner of that should be Manny's first fight defense of his 140lb title next year. But I doubt it.
Marquez has a lot to do yet at 135lb. Valero looms large, as does Katsidis, Funeka, and Khan when he comes back down. So Marquez taking this fight isn't something I agree with on those terms, but he isn't getting enough attention for moving up instead of Mayweather getting hated on for not fighting in his weightclass. It's a big jump and an admirable task for a great fighter, but it's an attempt to lure his greatest foe in the ring again.
Cotto gets a break because he has fought the best in his weightclass that others including Mayweather has refused to. Mayweather needs to return to 147 if he wants to regain the respect he once greatly earned. Pacquiao shouldn't make anyone come down to a catchweight, how about he fight Cotto where Manny can weigh-in at 144 and Cotto at 147, as long as it's with-in the welterweight realm. Marquez should move on and take another great action fight at 135 against either Katsidis or even Joan Guzman (Valero has yet to earn anything to be honest, but would be fun to watch agasint JMM).
The amount of hate spewed toward Mayweather isn't completely warranted, but this isn't a double standard. Floyd isn't living up to his own standard whether he realizes that, and that is his downfall at the moment.
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