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I was kind of undecided on Mayweather prior to the Judah fight. His patient demolition of Zab (after being put under intense early pressure) baited my curiosity and after that I watched all of his fights. Against Oscar he coasted. I was a touch disgruntled that he didn't capitalise on his obvious advantages. But then boxing is a potentially lethal sport. Why risk your health against a heavier hitter when you can just keep the scorecard ticking over and your chin safely out of harm's way?
Against Hatton I was impressed. Indeed, I thought Floyd was right at the pinnacle of his prime. Ricky gets a lot of bagging in here for one reason or another. His performance that night is held up as an indicator of his true worth as a fighter. But people need to understand that that night Floyd would have made anybody look like a Mexican roadsweeper. He was untouchable - in every sense of the word. Ricky could have had more hands than Vishnu and it wouldn't have made much difference. The way Floyd - unexpectedly - chose to give Ricky the inside only to nullify his work with textbook defensive manoeuvres was worth the PPV alone. Best of all - the 'check hook'. I've replayed that punch countless times. At times I wonder whether Floyd wrote the script for the fight and Ricky was hired simply as an actor with a bit of stuntwork thrown in for good measure. In the lead up to that punch it's almost as if one of Floyd's entourage had Ricky dangling on the end of string like a marionette: move forward ... move forward ... move forward ... lunge in - [strings cut]. The best executed punch I've seen in years. Bravo!
But the cherry on the top came after the fight. With thousands of boozed-up Brits disgruntled over Hatton's loss the potential for trouble - especially after some of Floyd's comments during the promotion of the fight - in that arena was high. When Floyd took the mic I winced. The boos were deafening before he'd even said a word. But Floyd defused the situation entirely with a magnanimous speech which - magically - had the fans cheering for him during the following press conference. That night sold to me Floyd the Fighter, Floyd the Promoter and Floyd the Human Being. The guy is peerless and I am a convert.
Against Hatton I was impressed. Indeed, I thought Floyd was right at the pinnacle of his prime. Ricky gets a lot of bagging in here for one reason or another. His performance that night is held up as an indicator of his true worth as a fighter. But people need to understand that that night Floyd would have made anybody look like a Mexican roadsweeper. He was untouchable - in every sense of the word. Ricky could have had more hands than Vishnu and it wouldn't have made much difference. The way Floyd - unexpectedly - chose to give Ricky the inside only to nullify his work with textbook defensive manoeuvres was worth the PPV alone. Best of all - the 'check hook'. I've replayed that punch countless times. At times I wonder whether Floyd wrote the script for the fight and Ricky was hired simply as an actor with a bit of stuntwork thrown in for good measure. In the lead up to that punch it's almost as if one of Floyd's entourage had Ricky dangling on the end of string like a marionette: move forward ... move forward ... move forward ... lunge in - [strings cut]. The best executed punch I've seen in years. Bravo!
But the cherry on the top came after the fight. With thousands of boozed-up Brits disgruntled over Hatton's loss the potential for trouble - especially after some of Floyd's comments during the promotion of the fight - in that arena was high. When Floyd took the mic I winced. The boos were deafening before he'd even said a word. But Floyd defused the situation entirely with a magnanimous speech which - magically - had the fans cheering for him during the following press conference. That night sold to me Floyd the Fighter, Floyd the Promoter and Floyd the Human Being. The guy is peerless and I am a convert.
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