From the cheap seats: Bragging rights?

Ben Pierce

10.12 - This edition of the "Cheap Seats" will feature a little different perspective from the usual column, though hopefully with the same sarcasm and usual wit! The column is always meant to express my own opinion and most of you know that I am not usually shy in making that known!

As I watched and listened to Floyd Mayweather Jr. proclaim his own greatness and tell us once again that he is the best "pound for pound" boxer in the world after his victory last weekend over Jose Luis Castillo, I went from the throngs of anger and disgust to a sense of comic relief. I laughed at his self-proclamation, but I also had to wonder… why is it we have so many braggarts in the sport boxing?

I know there is a sense of bragging in many other professional sports, but I don't like those braggarts either…and it is not to the same proportion as we have in boxing.

Boxing's braggarts seemed to have started with Muhammad Ali and the bragging has only worsened through the years.

As the great Ali once said, "It is not bragging if you can back it up." Well… I think Ali had some minor trouble in that area from time to time and the boxers of today suffer even more problems backing up their words than Ali did years ago.

Personally, I have a hard time believing a lot of the hype in boxing and an even harder time believing those who constantly proclaim themselves to be the best. Mayweather Jr. has never been shy about telling everyone that he is the best and if he mouth opens in a pre-fight or post-fight interview…you can be sure he will be proclaiming his own glory.

But Floyd Jr. comes by it naturally. There is no bigger braggart in the sport than his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr.

The elder Mayweather also cannot open his mouth without telling you he is the best…the best trainer in the world. He will even go as far as to disparage other trainers to build his own ego. He will go even farther and disparage his own family to satisfy his ego and proclaim himself to be the best.

Mayweather has belittled his own brother's training methods and even said his son, Floyd Jr., is not the same boxer without him as his trainer.

He has called Jack Mosley a joke and said Emmanuel Steward belongs in the "Hall of Shame". So the apple does not fall far from the tree in this case.

But lets get back to the son of the self-proclaimed best trainer in the world. I have watched Mayweather Jr's last several fights with close inspection and though he is highly skilled, if he is pound for pound the best in boxing, then I am the next Heavyweight world champion.

Mayweather has not looked impressive in his last few outings and I get the distinct impression that he is one punch away from being the next Shane Mosley, Zab Judah or Hector Camacho Jr.

Mosley, Judah and Camacho Jr. are all highly skilled boxers who eventually stepped into the ring with the wrong fighter and got into trouble. They faced adversity in the ring, and did not know how to deal with it. They have all also recently suffered their first loss in boxing, save Mosley who lost two fights in a row to the same man.

I predicted Mosley, Judah and Camacho Jr. to lose and I also predicted Floyd Mayweather Jr. to lose. Mayweather may not have lost this past weekend to Castillo, and he may still be undefeated…but it is just a matter of time.

The mental factor in boxing is so important and many times overlooked by the casual fan. But over-confidence is a fight loser…out of the ring distractions are a fight loser and both lead to lax training and preparation for a fight. I think Mayweather suffers greatly from the above problems and is primed to lose the next time he enters the ring with a top-level foe.

Oh, but Floyd Jr. is not alone in stroking his own ego or in his journey seeking fame and glory through self-proclamation.

Bernard Hopkins will tell you he is the best ever, but a close inspection of his record tells you that he has not fought that many top level boxers, so his claims are without merit.

Roy Jones Jr. will tell you he is the best in boxing and he may well be…but who has he proven it against lately?

Zab Judah thought himself to be untouchable, until Kostya Tszyu touched him on the chin and sent him into the newest dance craze in boxing.

Prince Nassem Hamed would gladly proclaim that he was better than everyone but Allah…until Marco Antonio Barrera taught him a lesson in boxing.

I could go on and on about those who love to sing their own praises, but I think we have given them enough press. Let's look at some of the other boxers that have taken a different road, those who have quietly trod the path to greatness without the need for self-boasting. They are the boxers that deserve the recognition.

Oscar De La Hoya came into the professional boxing world with great glory and expectations. He succeeded where many have failed and reached the pinnacle of popularity and the pinnacle of success in the boxing. But when have you heard him proclaim himself as the best in boxing? I never have…

Felix Trinidad took the long, hard road in boxing and defeated some of the top names in the sport on the way to the top…but did you hear him constantly praising himself?

And now we have the Klitschko brothers. Two hard working brothers who are quietly trying to prove their worth in boxing and receiving little of no respect while the gangsters, ex-cons and braggarts in the sport receive majority of the praise from fans.

Will someone please tell me what the Klitschko brothers must do to receive some respect in the Heavyweight division?

Many in boxing said they needed to step up their competition and they did that.

Some in boxing said they needed to come to the United States and fight, so they did that also.

And yet these two brothers who have quietly done everything that has been asked of them, still receive little or no respect from so many in boxing.

Would it be better if they were constantly proclaiming themselves to be the best...should they claim to be "pound for pound" the best? Is it necessary for them to become braggarts who proclaim their own greatness to be appreciated in the sport of boxing?

I hope not, because these gentlemen have too much class to do that. They let their accomplishments inside and outside of the ring, speak for themselves.

When I reflect upon some of above mentioned sportsmen and so many others like them, who never needed to speak of their own success, it reminds me of a childhood hero. I was as a child and still am a big fan of the University of Alabama football program. I grew up as a big fan of their legendary coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant. He was a great football coach and a great man.

When Coach Bryant's football team would lose a game, it was always his fault. " I did not have them prepared…I was out-coached…I let the boys down." This was what you would hear Bear Bryant tell the press and the many fans after suffering a loss. And when his football team won, which they did so many times, he never took the glory. You could expect to hear Bryant say, "These boys played their hearts out today…. I could not have asked for a better effort…this is a great team victory".

This man who molded the lives of so many young men and had such great success in coaching football never need the credit for his accomplishments…they spoke for themselves.

I know boxing is an individual sport and not similar to team sports in many ways, but there are similarities between the two and there will always be similarities and disparities among men. I think we need more people in boxing…trainers and boxers alike, who are less likely to sing their own praises and more likely to allow others to note and comment on their accomplishments.

Maybe I am asking too much, but I know that I definitely have more respect for those that simply let their accomplishments in the ring speak for themselves.

As Mark Twain so aptly wrote…"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid."

I think we need less cackling by many in our sport and more "asteroid" type actions in the ring.

If you want to be the best in boxing, you have to beat the best. If you do that everyone will recognize your greatness and you will never have to say a word.

Questions/Comments: benp1000@msn.com