Mayweather editorial - when will he step up?

[drez24]

Maxboxing article, I thought it was an interesting read. I understand this topic has been exhausted but I just want everyone's opinion in poll form.
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What Floyd Mayweather’s small but vocal fan base and HBO’s boxing announcers called a “virtuoso performance” this past Saturday, I called a waste of time – practically masturbating in public.

Mayweather’s one-sided beating of faded former 140-pound titlist Sharmba Mitchell served no purpose (other than to line the Pretty Boy’s already fat pockets with more easy money). This opinion elicited a reaction from Mayweather’s diehard supporters – all four of them. In the interest of fair play I’ll print the emails in this commentary piece, but before I do that I’d like make a statement to Mayweather’s most ardent fans who believe that I have some sort of beef with their favorite fighter.




I have no hatred for Mayweather, only opinions of his recent ring work. Right now, I’m not impressed with him. That’s all. There’s no agenda against him or bias towards him. If you think he’s the best fighter in the world, good for you. If you think he’s the best fighter who ever lived, I’m happy for you. If you think I have some kind of personal problem with him, you’re wrong, but you have every right to think that I hate him and you are more than welcome to let me know this.

All I ask is that you realize that from my perspective, you are no different from any other fan of elite fighters whose primes preceded Mayweather’s. Oscar De La Hoya had his Golden Boys. Roy Jones had his Roy Boys. Mayweather has his Pretty Boys. I know you think your guy is the best in the business, and maybe you are right, but you dudes are no different than the fanatics who jumped my ass for criticizing De La Hoya, Jones, Felix Trinidad, the Klitschkos and many other stars who have come and gone. No matter how awesome you think your guy is, the time will come that he will be brought down to earth, and when that happens, I know that I won’t be bothered with your frustrated emails any longer.

I know, I know, you think Mayweather’s unbeatable. He’ll wipe his pretty little butt with every top dog from 140 to 154 pounds. I know you really believe this, so I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at Mayweather because he’s the one who is supposed to believe this. However his actions (or non-action) over the past three years tell me otherwise.

Your emails:

DOUGIE’S A STRAIGHT UP HATER

man are you biased. your a straight up hater. that is all i have to say, thank you. – Lam Vo

You’re wrong, but thanks for keeping it short.

NOT FAIR TO MAYWEATHER

Ok Ok yes Mayweather is fighting opponents without a chance in hell to win, however he is getting much too much flak for not fighting better opposition. Not once have I seen any criticism of other 140lb fighters. It always Mayweather vs this one or that one. How about asking when is Cotto going to fight Mayweather rather than the other way around. How bout Hatton v Cotto, or Cotto v Tszyu or Hatton v Witter. How bout getting on Judah for not fighting Magarito, or Margarito for not fighting Judah. My point is only Mayweather is getting flak for not having a big fight, and none of the other 140-147 fighters are. I agree Magarito-Mayweather would be a very interesting fight, however wouldn’t Judah-Margarito be just as entertaining.

Am I wrong? Is the criticism of Mayweather warranted? If so why not of Hatton, Cotton and Judah. Just want to know your thoughts – Russell

When you call out Winky Wright and Oscar De La Hoya and threaten to fight them at 154 pounds but are not willing to fight Antonio Margarito for $7 million at 147 pounds you are going to get some criticism – at least from me. I’m not going to expect the same things from Cotto and Hatton that I expect from Mayweather because A) they haven’t been on the world-class scene since 1998 like PBF, and B) they don’t claim to be the best fighter in the world, pound for pound, the way your boy does.

Mayweather is not getting flak for not having “a big fight” this year. He had a big fight, the Arturo Gatti blowout. He’s getting flak for not having a COMPETITIVE fight in the last THREE years, and for not doing his part to get in the ring with the fighters he knows will bring the heat. There’s a difference.

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM WITH MAYWEATHER?

You say that the Mayweather bout was not really a welterweight bout because Mitchell was not a "real" welterweight, well, one of your loves, Erik Morales, fought a guy named Zahir Raheem in his first "lightweight" bout and if I remember correctly, Raheem was a featherweight. I don't "get" all the problems with Mayweather. Mitchell, before he got blown out by Kostya Tsyzu, was thought of as being a real threat to Kostya. He is a slick southpaw, also. And, I think it's great to watch the talent of the pretty boy.

You had Erik Morales up on the P4P list for beating Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez but wait... Mayweather already beat them. How 'bout the fight of the decade?... Jose Luis Castillo vs Chico... wait... Mayweather already beat both of them!

Give Mayweather some credit.. he's the best boxer on the planet, and if you don't find it fun to watch his skill level, then that's your problem, but, I make sure I watch all of his fights, he's incredible to watch. And Tony Margarito? The guy lost to a southpaw that isn't really even that good in Daniel Santos, and has been 2-1 in his last 3 fights. You really think that pretty boy is scared of him? Gimme a break. Thats' all. Peace – Bob

Mayweather’s action (or non-action in Margarito’s case) speak a lot louder than your words, Bob. Like I told Jay from Florida in this week’s Monday Mail Bag, if you think Margarito will get beat by Mayweather because he lost a close technical decision to a 6-foot-1 junior middleweight who has punching power then you don’t understand that styles make fights or that size definitely matters in boxing. Not only would Margarito give Mayweather hell, so would Santos!

Before I get to my “love”, Erik Morales, I should note that his fans used to hound me about not ranking him higher in my pound-for-pound list. They hated that I rated Barrera, who didn’t look so hot in their rematch, so far above him. (This was in mid-2003, before Barrera was KTFO by PacMan, and before Morales stepped up to 130 pounds.) However, after ’04 and the first quarter of this year, I believe I elevated El Terrible to where he belongs, top five pound-for-pound, based on his victories over Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, and the close and competitive 24 rounds he battled with Barrera and Pacquiao. (He has since fallen from the top five due to his loss to Raheem, who by the way had been fighting at lightweight before he fought El Terrible, but not out of the top 10; I give the man credit for taking on a young contender with a difficult style – when is the last time Mayweather has done that?)

I’m well aware that Mayweather beat Chavez and Hernandez back in 2001. Mayweather was the no. 1 junior lightweight in ’01; in fact, that year I ranked him no. 5 among the best the 130-pound fighters of all time (behind only Alexis Arguello, Sandy Saddler, Julio Cesar Chavez and Azumah Nelson).

However, I give more credit for recent accomplishments in my pound-for-pound list, and personally, I think Morales’ victories over Chavez and Hernandez were more impressive than the Pretty Boy’s. Why? Two reasons: 1) They held world titles when Morales fought them, thus Terrible unified two major belts (something Mayweather has never accomplished), and 2) Morales is a natural 122 pounder who beat two natural 130 pounders (and, in my opinion, more mature and confident versions of Chavez and Hernandez than Mayweather faced).

Regarding Corrales-Castillo I, why should Mayweather get any credit for the blood, sweat and tears THEY shed in the ring this past May? I give Mayweather credit for beating the January of 2001 version of Corrales. I give him credit for edging out the 2002 version of Castillo. Anything Corrales or Castillo has accomplished in the ring since ’01 and ’02, the credit goes to them, not Mayweather. (I don’t see anybody retroactively giving Javier Jauregui credit for what Castillo has accomplished since he twice stopped the Sonora mauler.)

[drez24]

You used to be one of my biggest fans and I let you down, Billy? I know how you feel. I used to be one of Floyd Mayweather’s biggest fans, and he let me down.

He showed world championship potential before he had 10 pro fights and he lived up to the promise barely two years after he left the amateurs. He looked like a future hall of famer as a young champ and by the end of ’01 had many observers, myself included, referring to him as a future all-time great. He didn’t have an easy time winning his second world title at 135 pounds, but he chose the right champion to take it from. It’s what he’s done (or hasn’t done) since those two fights with Castillo in ’02 that has let me down.

I’m not a gullible sort, Billy. Mayweather had two years to do something other than engage in nightclub brawls, baby mama drama and call out Oscar De La Hoya and Arturo Gatti. At the start of this year, when he took on a guy (Henry Bruseles) who I knew couldn’t hold his own in a sparring session with Mayweather, I saw the writing on the wall. I dropped Mayweather’s ass from the no. 2 spot in my merit-based pound-for-pound list, and I have not regretted that decision.

Having Mayweather in the no. 5 slot instead of the no. 1 spot and calling the Mitchell fight a waste of time makes me a “hater” and even a “racist” in your book. OK. Fine. That’s your perspective. I don’t agree with it but I have accept that there are people like you in the world. I hope you understand that from my perspective you are a complete nut, or more specifically, one who hugs the nuts belonging to Mayweather.

You may find this hard to believe but seven or eight years ago some would have considered me to be a Mayweather nut-hugger.

In ‘97 and ’98, I thought nothing of driving from L.A. to Las Vegas just to watch the young man train at Johnny Tocco’s Gym (before the place was renovated). In the summer of ’98, I had no problem flying to Atlantic City (actually to Philadelphia where I caught a cab to New Jersey) just to see Mayweather take on Canadian veteran Tony Pep, his final preparation for Genaro Hernandez (who he won his first world title from later that year).

Four years ago, I looked forward to driving eight hours up the California coast to cover Mayweather’s final 130-pound title defense against Jesus Chavez, which took place in San Francisco. I was in awe of his abilities. I thought the talent Mayweather exhibited against a relentless warrior who was willing to die in the ring that night went beyond athletics. I likened him to a genius artist. I had no problem stating this in my fight report and a in a follow-up column on the Pretty Boy. (Look the articles up on Google.com if you don’t believe me.)

These up-state and out-of-state trips either preceded MaxBoxing or came before this website made any money at all, so none of the travel expenses I incurred were ever reimbursed. You know what? I didn’t care. It was worth it just to be in the presence of future hall of famer.

Back then, I didn’t mind when Mayweather won completely one-sided contests because he was in against worthy opponents. He put on a meaningful virtuoso performance when he dominated Diego Corrales almost five years ago. He did again, though to a lesser extent, vs. Chavez. After those two fights, I recall telling friends of mine that the thrill I got from watching Mayweather box must be the way fans in the ‘40s and ‘50s felt when they witnessed Ray Robinson, Willie Pep, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore fight.

Now I liken Mayweather to Roy Jones. His Royness is the guy that HBO coined that “virtuoso” nonsense for when Jones was pissing on one hapless 168-pound and 175-pound alphabet mandatory challenger after the other.

Like Mayweather, Jones possessed once-in-a-lifetime talent. Every now and then, he would prove it with a worthy virtuoso performance. He did it vs. James Toney 11 years ago and to a lesser extent vs. John Ruiz two and half years ago.

Those fights were perceived as competitive matchups going into the bouts. The fights drew enthusiastic crowds to the venues that hosted them, and they justified the belief among the boxing world that the “virtuoso” was among the best, if not THE best, fighter in the world.

The sad thing about Jones is that he did very little in-between his bouts with Toney and Ruiz to uphold this recognition, sparking heated debates between hardcore fight fans and the gifted boxer’s followers about whether he deserved to be called “the best”, pound-for-pound, in the sport.

Is Mayweather headed down the same path? Will he continue to negotiate and price himself out of meaningful matchups with the best fighters in and around his weight classes as Jones did years ago? Will Mayweather tease fight fans by bringing up intriguing matches with the likes of Ricky Hatton, Zab Judah and Winky Wright the way Jones once did with a proposed heavyweight foray vs. James “Buster” Douglas, a rematch with Bernard Hopkins, a light heavyweight showdown with Dariusz Michalczewski and a cruiserweight catchweight bout with Vassiliy Jirov between ’97 and 2002?

If Mayweather is only “talking the talk” with no intentions of “walking the walk” he’s making a mistake because the public is not buying his act as a virtuoso.

HBO announced that a “crowd” of 6,000 attended his bout with Mitchell that was held in Portland, Oregon and by the looks of who was ringside you can bet that half of those folks didn’t pay to get in.

You can’t blame the locals for passing on Mayweather-Mitchell. People want to be entertained with a competitive fight when they pay ridiculous prices for tickets, parking, food and beverages in order to watch a live boxing match.

This fight scribe, who watched the bout form his grandparents’ home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was about as entertained as Michael Jordan seemed when HBO’s cameras focused in on the bored basketball icon sitting ringside.

What’s sad about that scene is that Mayweather is on the same athletic level in boxing that the prime Jordan was in basketball. Nobody in boxing can match Mayweather’s combination of talent, skill, technique and dedication to his craft. However, Mayweather will not reach Jordan’s icon status if he continues to fight “has-beens” and “never-weres”.

If he intends to live on the accomplishments he made in ’01 and ’02 he may as well retire right now. He’ll get into the hall of fame. I would vote for him. But he won’t be considered an all-time great. Not by this fight scribe.

But why would Mayweather want to retire when he can be paid millions of dollars to face the likes of Mitchell and Henry Bruseles, a second-tier 140-pound prospect who was not fit to be his sparring partner? Nobody turned out for Mayweather’s beatdown of Bruseles earlier this year, either. His one-sided pummeling of Arturo Gatti was well attended but it was fans of the ringworn warrior whose butts filled the seats of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

This was a year when more than 20,000 fans filled arenas in St. Louis and Chicago to watch much lesser talents than Mayweather exchange blows. More than 10,000 fans attended fights in St. Petersburg, Florida and filled the Staples Center in L.A. (on three occasions) for fights they could have watched in the comfort of their own homes on Showtime, HBO or ESPN. How sad is it that a fighter as great as Mayweather can’t draw more than 6,000 on his own name?

Say what you will about Jones, but the former champ drew more than 12,000 to the same arena where Mayweather fought Mitchell when he fought the unknown Clinton Woods in 2002.

Should a fighter who can’t draw more than 10,000 on his name alone make $2.5 to fight the likes of Bruseles, or $3.75 to take on a shopworn fighter like Mitchell?

Is it any wonder Mayweather turns down $7 million to fight a rugged and dangerous fighter like Antonio Margarito? Can anyone really blame him? I can’t.

But I can’t call myself a Mayweather fan anymore, either.

I love to witness awesome talent like Mayweather but I’m a fight fan at heart. I’d rather watch a real fight than a virtuoso performance by a great fighter.

Mayweather hasn’t been in a real fight for three years. I broke down and watched the Mitchell fight live, but if Mayweather’s next fight is against a “no-hope” opponent, I vow that I will not bother watching that crap at all.

I’m more than willing to fly to Manchester on my own dime for the honor of covering a 140-pound showdown between Mayweather and Hatton. I’ll go anywhere in the U.S. to see Mayweather fight Zab Judah or Margarito.

Anything other than those fights and that caliber of opponent is a waste of my time and a waste of Mayweather’s talent.

[BLOODSHED]

Dougie IS a hater. If I looked like him, Id hate on Floyd too. I dont know how many black people there are with pony tails but Dougies one.

[KidBlackie]

Floyd will step up when his confidence finally matches his skills. He won't step up as long as he think's he's a big draw. The pay disparity with Mitchell is shameful, but right now Floyd doesn't realize that he's blown 3 yrs of his prime legacy to fight 2nd tier fighters. He will when he steps up to be stretched out!

[machotime]

Mayweather has not fought many reputable fighters. He wants greatness but he also wants too much DINERO$$$$$. He said that he would fight Judah but he stated "I would fight Zab but I deserve 3/4 of the purse, and he needs me I dont need him". THat sounds like a boxer that needs to humble himself. Also, nobody wants to fight Margarito b/c he will knock the hell out of Judah, Mayweather, Hatton, or any other prospect of contender. The fight that should and will happen this year is Mayweather- Judah, Judah really wants to fight him. I think PBF is scared of not looking so "pretty" in the ring with a real contender.

The reason why so many of us expect him to fight bigger names is b/c he is 35 fights in. He is in his prime, he should fight the best if he does not, he will be just another name in boxing. Sorry but PBF needs to humble himself and earn the respect of the boxing world.

Fights Mayweather should look for:

1. Mayweather- Judah
2. Mayweather- Hatton
3. Mayweather- Cotto
4. Mayweather- Witter

If he does this Next year, any combination these fights, he will surely win the respect of many, and stamp his face and talent permanently on the boxing world.

[nezahualcoyotl]

Dougie IS a hater. If I looked like him, Id hate on Floyd too. I dont know how many black people there are with pony tails but Dougies one.

Bloodshed....Dubee a.k.a. Suga Wolf Pimp (YBB)from the Yay area rocks the pony tail too lolz...So dougie's in GOOOD company haha.

The saddest thing in this world is wasted talent.

[boxingjunkie31]

Mayweather has not fought many reputable fighters. He wants greatness but he also wants too much DINERO$$$$$. He said that he would fight Judah but he stated "I would fight Zab but I deserve 3/4 of the purse, and he needs me I dont need him". THat sounds like a boxer that needs to humble himself. Also, nobody wants to fight Margarito b/c he will knock the hell out of Judah, Mayweather, Hatton, or any other prospect of contender. The fight that should and will happen this year is Mayweather- Judah, Judah really wants to fight him. I think PBF is scared of not looking so "pretty" in the ring with a real contender.

The reason why so many of us expect him to fight bigger names is b/c he is 35 fights in. He is in his prime, he should fight the best if he does not, he will be just another name in boxing. Sorry but PBF needs to humble himself and earn the respect of the boxing world.

Fights Mayweather should look for:

1. Mayweather- Judah
2. Mayweather- Hatton
3. Mayweather- Cotto
4. Mayweather- Witter

If he does this Next year, any combination these fights, he will surely win the respect of many, and stamp his face and talent permanently on the boxing world.

well one out of four isn't bad I guess.even if it is Baldi's leftover

[Guest]

well one out of four isn't bad I guess.even if it is Baldi's leftover

Too bad Hatton and Cotto won't step up. And if you have a problem with the Judah fight, why would anyone want to see Witter?

[boxingjunkie31]

Too bad Hatton and Cotto won't step up. And if you have a problem with the Judah fight, why would anyone want to see Witter?

I would rather see Floyd fight this cat name Baldimor...he is the toughest som' ***** at 147 and has the lineal championship cuz he beat Judah

[outofit]

haha just thought i'd bump this thread, needs a new option on the poll, "when he anounces retirement without beating any title contending fighters" who's the best he's fought Gatti?