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I rarely post on here, but will give it shot based on the Berto-TBE announcement yesterday. I'm not that old, but I sure to wish for the days when fighters sought the fights that would dare them to be great. For instance, when I was a juvenile, Sugar Ray Leonard sought fights that would always test his mettle. This is even true when in the 90's he was seeking a middleweight belt beyond his grasp. Oscar fought all comers, and even went up to MW to fight BHop. This may not be true of every boxer, but these 2 particular fighters sought to fight the best and were rewarded handsomely.
I'm surely not going to buy this Berto fight. I've watched Berto since 2008, saw his fight against Collazo live in Biloxi, and witnessed him fall off a cliff since. He does make exciting fights because he is so flawed. But, is there any greatness that can be achieved by fighting Berto? If Soto Karass knocked him out and Ortiz knocked him down, does it make Floyd any less great if he cannot do the same?
We all know that this won't be Floyd's last fight. It's perfect business sense to take $30M+ to take on Berto. After that, Floyd is free to go for 50-0 and set up a bidding war for his services. As such, one would have to be quite naive to think that this will be Floyd's farewell. This is merely just an attempt to draw as many viewers as possible for this epic mismatch.
Another argument that I cannot fathom is the "Pac fought Algieri; why can't I take an easy fight?" Specifically as to Pac, there is no doubt he needed to be built back up after the crushing KO from Marquez. But, Floyd has faced no such rebuilding process. Thus, this justification for this mismatch is without merit and fails to utilize reasonable logic to sell me on this fight.
Let's give credit where credit is due: Floyd beat Cotto at 154. Floyd beat Canelo at 152. Indeed, he's stepped up in weight class to take on arguably the 2 best guys in the JMW division. No one can take that away from him. He beat De la Hoya, Marquez and Hatton. He beat the only perceived rival of his era in Manny. There is no question his resume speaks for itself.
However, is it reasonable for us to want more when we've been offered Berto? I would have reasonably considered purchasing the event if it included Thurman (who I am not sold on at this point; he appears to have potentially plateaued to me, but it may have to do with matchmaking), Brook, Porter or even Danny Garcia. Khan talks a good fight, so that may have made it interesting, but if Manny annihilates Khan and Khan doesn't look very impressive in beating Algieri, what does that say of Khan's chances when Manny was unable to beat Floyd? (Other potential opponents with no chance of facing Floyd, such as Tim Bradley, won't be given any thought, although that might be a decent scrap).
Although highly improbable, but likely impossible, do you want to see Floyd truly challenge himself and fight GGG? What if Floyd fought the winner of Cotto-Canelo at MW for the lineal championship? Or the eventual winner of GGG vs. the Cotto Canelo winner? If he fought either Cotto or Canelo at MW, I think he beats both again. Both of those fighters have tried and failed to succeed. A weight advantage would only appear to assist Canelo if they fought again. GGG is the great unknown. However, Floyd would be installed as the favorite and I believe he could still win.
Greatness and legacy is what we seek in pro sports. Duncan, Manu, Tony Parker and Pop leave it all on the line every year in order to go for a championship and legacy. Brady and Belichek do the same in pro football. Is it so wrong to have TBE actually earn that title by fighting outside his comfort zone and seeking greatness?
Have at it.
I'm surely not going to buy this Berto fight. I've watched Berto since 2008, saw his fight against Collazo live in Biloxi, and witnessed him fall off a cliff since. He does make exciting fights because he is so flawed. But, is there any greatness that can be achieved by fighting Berto? If Soto Karass knocked him out and Ortiz knocked him down, does it make Floyd any less great if he cannot do the same?
We all know that this won't be Floyd's last fight. It's perfect business sense to take $30M+ to take on Berto. After that, Floyd is free to go for 50-0 and set up a bidding war for his services. As such, one would have to be quite naive to think that this will be Floyd's farewell. This is merely just an attempt to draw as many viewers as possible for this epic mismatch.
Another argument that I cannot fathom is the "Pac fought Algieri; why can't I take an easy fight?" Specifically as to Pac, there is no doubt he needed to be built back up after the crushing KO from Marquez. But, Floyd has faced no such rebuilding process. Thus, this justification for this mismatch is without merit and fails to utilize reasonable logic to sell me on this fight.
Let's give credit where credit is due: Floyd beat Cotto at 154. Floyd beat Canelo at 152. Indeed, he's stepped up in weight class to take on arguably the 2 best guys in the JMW division. No one can take that away from him. He beat De la Hoya, Marquez and Hatton. He beat the only perceived rival of his era in Manny. There is no question his resume speaks for itself.
However, is it reasonable for us to want more when we've been offered Berto? I would have reasonably considered purchasing the event if it included Thurman (who I am not sold on at this point; he appears to have potentially plateaued to me, but it may have to do with matchmaking), Brook, Porter or even Danny Garcia. Khan talks a good fight, so that may have made it interesting, but if Manny annihilates Khan and Khan doesn't look very impressive in beating Algieri, what does that say of Khan's chances when Manny was unable to beat Floyd? (Other potential opponents with no chance of facing Floyd, such as Tim Bradley, won't be given any thought, although that might be a decent scrap).
Although highly improbable, but likely impossible, do you want to see Floyd truly challenge himself and fight GGG? What if Floyd fought the winner of Cotto-Canelo at MW for the lineal championship? Or the eventual winner of GGG vs. the Cotto Canelo winner? If he fought either Cotto or Canelo at MW, I think he beats both again. Both of those fighters have tried and failed to succeed. A weight advantage would only appear to assist Canelo if they fought again. GGG is the great unknown. However, Floyd would be installed as the favorite and I believe he could still win.
Greatness and legacy is what we seek in pro sports. Duncan, Manu, Tony Parker and Pop leave it all on the line every year in order to go for a championship and legacy. Brady and Belichek do the same in pro football. Is it so wrong to have TBE actually earn that title by fighting outside his comfort zone and seeking greatness?
Have at it.
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