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GREAT ARTICLE:Activity is Achievement!
Activity Is Achievement
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Posted By Avi "Shoefly" Korine 4:30 PM
In the fallout of the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations there has been a lot of talk on how the two fighters are perceived. We don't need to go into who was to blame for the failure of the fight, opinions are fixed and to me there is enough culpability to share between the two parties.
What has been clear, however, is that Manny Pacquiao has generally gotten more favorable treatment from fans and media. Pacquiao is an exciting fighter with a humble persona, it's no wonder he is well liked. Mayweather is more combative outside the ring and has a cautious gameplan inside. Some also point to a racial element in some of Floyd's treatment, which I happen to agree with.
But I think there is another, larger factor in the way they are perceived. Manny Pacquiao just fights more. Boxing fans like to see their favorites in the ring and active. It keeps them on our mind and reminds us why we like them. While Mayweather has never been out of the public consciousness over the last few years he has rarely been in the ring.
Let's take a look at how often the Ring's top five pound-for pound fighters have fought since 2006.
Manny Pacquiao: 10 fights
Floyd Mayweather: 5 fights
Shane Mosley: 6 fights
Bernard Hopkins: 5 fights
Juan Manuel Marquez: 9 fights
Pacquiao has simply remained more active and grown popular in the eyes of the public. He has earned his position by fighting. Unlike many other fighters who become stars Pacquiao hasn't reduced his activity to a crawl, he has continually engaged in fights. While not every single one of his opponents has been elite competition, the ones who weren't are offset by the ones who were.
The tendency over recent history has been for boxers who become what I call, "event fighters" to engage in the sport only sporadically. This is most clearly shown in Oscar De La Hoya, who has fought only ten times since 2001. With success comes caution.
Ten fights in four years is not exceptional, it should be the minimum we expect from our elite champions. The problem is very few meet even that relatively low standard. Other big attractions like Ricky Hatton, Israel Vazquez, Vitali Klitschko, and Rafael Marquez have been similarly inactive.
Many of these fighters have good reasons for not fighting particularly often. Floyd Mayweather retired for nearly two years. Some blame Floyd for this, saying he was avoiding stiffer competition, but I think that's unfair. Mayweather has been a professional for a long time now, and if he wants to take a little time off that's fine.
But now that he's back it's incumbent on him to keep fighting, and fight often. Mayweather, along with Pacquiao, are the two prime movers in the sport and their activity lifts everyone else. Manny fought Miguel Cotto in November and already has a fight scheduled six weeks from now.
Floyd Mayweather was supposed to return to the ring last July before his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez was pushed back until September. With the Pacquiao fight falling through it looks like May will be the earliest he will get back in the ring. That's nearly ten months after he was supposed to comeback.
Not all of this was Floyd's fault, obviously, but his inactivity does partially explain why fans are upset with him. I love watching Mayweather fight and consider it a minor tragedy that I've been able to see him in the ring only five times over the last four years. I just want to see him perform and my only real criticism of him is that I haven't been able to do so.
Floyd often talks about not getting the respect he deserves and in some cases he is right. His early career was exceptional and his accomplishments should be honored. But Floyd is still a fighter in his prime, and talking about a lack of respect and love is not the same as fighting to get it. Floyd has the chance to fight Mosley in May and Pacquiao later this year. I hope he does so and shuts all the critics up. I hope he then continues to fight often.
As Pacquiao has shown, that's the best way to gain respect.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Posted By Avi "Shoefly" Korine 4:30 PM
In the fallout of the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations there has been a lot of talk on how the two fighters are perceived. We don't need to go into who was to blame for the failure of the fight, opinions are fixed and to me there is enough culpability to share between the two parties.
What has been clear, however, is that Manny Pacquiao has generally gotten more favorable treatment from fans and media. Pacquiao is an exciting fighter with a humble persona, it's no wonder he is well liked. Mayweather is more combative outside the ring and has a cautious gameplan inside. Some also point to a racial element in some of Floyd's treatment, which I happen to agree with.
But I think there is another, larger factor in the way they are perceived. Manny Pacquiao just fights more. Boxing fans like to see their favorites in the ring and active. It keeps them on our mind and reminds us why we like them. While Mayweather has never been out of the public consciousness over the last few years he has rarely been in the ring.
Let's take a look at how often the Ring's top five pound-for pound fighters have fought since 2006.
Manny Pacquiao: 10 fights
Floyd Mayweather: 5 fights
Shane Mosley: 6 fights
Bernard Hopkins: 5 fights
Juan Manuel Marquez: 9 fights
Pacquiao has simply remained more active and grown popular in the eyes of the public. He has earned his position by fighting. Unlike many other fighters who become stars Pacquiao hasn't reduced his activity to a crawl, he has continually engaged in fights. While not every single one of his opponents has been elite competition, the ones who weren't are offset by the ones who were.
The tendency over recent history has been for boxers who become what I call, "event fighters" to engage in the sport only sporadically. This is most clearly shown in Oscar De La Hoya, who has fought only ten times since 2001. With success comes caution.
Ten fights in four years is not exceptional, it should be the minimum we expect from our elite champions. The problem is very few meet even that relatively low standard. Other big attractions like Ricky Hatton, Israel Vazquez, Vitali Klitschko, and Rafael Marquez have been similarly inactive.
Many of these fighters have good reasons for not fighting particularly often. Floyd Mayweather retired for nearly two years. Some blame Floyd for this, saying he was avoiding stiffer competition, but I think that's unfair. Mayweather has been a professional for a long time now, and if he wants to take a little time off that's fine.
But now that he's back it's incumbent on him to keep fighting, and fight often. Mayweather, along with Pacquiao, are the two prime movers in the sport and their activity lifts everyone else. Manny fought Miguel Cotto in November and already has a fight scheduled six weeks from now.
Floyd Mayweather was supposed to return to the ring last July before his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez was pushed back until September. With the Pacquiao fight falling through it looks like May will be the earliest he will get back in the ring. That's nearly ten months after he was supposed to comeback.
Not all of this was Floyd's fault, obviously, but his inactivity does partially explain why fans are upset with him. I love watching Mayweather fight and consider it a minor tragedy that I've been able to see him in the ring only five times over the last four years. I just want to see him perform and my only real criticism of him is that I haven't been able to do so.
Floyd often talks about not getting the respect he deserves and in some cases he is right. His early career was exceptional and his accomplishments should be honored. But Floyd is still a fighter in his prime, and talking about a lack of respect and love is not the same as fighting to get it. Floyd has the chance to fight Mosley in May and Pacquiao later this year. I hope he does so and shuts all the critics up. I hope he then continues to fight often.
As Pacquiao has shown, that's the best way to gain respect.
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