Boxing

 

Another Day at the Job: Mayweather vs Castillo I

Mike Samuels

April 2002: Watching Floyd Mayweather versus Jose Luis Castillo last night was a hard thing for someone like me to do. I reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I have been a fan of Floyd Mayweather since watching in the 93' Golden Gloves some few miles away from my home. I remember my father telling me, "Mike, that kid right there is going to be something special. Just give him a few years." At the time Mayweather was a young, quiet, and confident kid who clung on to his father's every word.

You see, I wasn't quite convinced on how good Mayweather would really be, but he sold himself to me by signing a program of mine at a Golden Gloves venue in 1995. That made my day, and to this day I have that program with his John Hancock placed above my bedroom shelf. With that memory in the back of my head I knew that Mayweather would be something special and I made it my goal to follow him through the professional ranks. To this day, he has done some things that I've enjoyed, but he has also lost something that he once had. He has lost the direction that is vital in the game of boxing.

After Mayweather won the Super feather weight crown after just 18 professional fights, and after he did in a manner of greatness over a veteran champion, I was excited to see just what he would do next. Sad to say, I've been disappointed with how Floyd Mayweather has treated his father, the man whose blood runs through his veins, and the man who made his son everything that he is today. I come from a family of high values and I just didn't understand at the time, nor do I now, how Mayweather could throw his father out of his life. What made it worse was the next move on Mayweather's mind, the hiring of Rapper James Prince.

I knew after this had happened that Mayweather would lose the respect of the boxing world. I tried to understand his business moves, and even agreed to just let him do what he pleased. After all, he is an adult and as long as he wins in the ring what's the big deal? What Mayweather failed to realize is his stock would plummet after dumping his father and rejecting a contract from HBO, claiming the offer was something along the lines of "slave wages."

Even a blind person could see that the reason Mayweather has lacked "big pay days" and "Pay per view" events all come down to his attitude and the fact that he lacks direction. He is still young and believes that he doesn't need the help of anyone besides his friends. Yet this is an on-going occurrence in the sport of boxing. At one time Mike Tyson had everything anyone could dream of, but he listened to his friends and the results speak for themselves. Tyson went from being something great, to the "could-have-should-have been" something he isn't.

I'm not saying that Mayweather's in the shape Tyson put himself in, but what I am saying is, Mayweather had better do some thinking by himself and evaluate his next few choices. They could be very important.

Concerning the fight between Mayweather and Castillo last night, well, I'm really not surprised. You all know that I live, breath, and love Floyd Mayweather and I'm probably the only writer on this staff that will openly admit to sometimes wanting to be biased towards him. But that doesn't change the obvious. That being that Mayweather was out-pointed last night in Las Vegas, and should have left without Jose Luis Castillo's 135lb Lightweight title.

I didn't come uncorked by the decision. I didn't jump to this site and post as many hateful views on Mayweather on the message boards. In fact, I just took a deep breath and shook my head as if to say, "This isn't the first time something like this has happened." There are some differences with this fight and other "screw-jobs" that have happened in the sport of boxing. But what exactly makes this worse than such fights as Foreman/Shultz, Whitaker/De la Hoya, Trinidad/De la Hoya, Mercer/Lewis, Tapia/Ayala I, and Adams/Ayala I?

I sat at my keyboard thinking for a moment before answering my own question. The reason the world has shot down Mayweather isn't because the decision was wrong, it's because people have become sickened with Mayweather's mouth, and his arrogance, his hypocrisies, and they want him to fall. Last night everyone thought it would finally happened. Floyd Mayweather would be upset and everyone would be right about calling him "overrated." But when that didn't happen, most people responded the only way they knew how. Most responded by shooting down past accomplishments of Mayweather, bringing up his Spousal abuse case, and degrading him for not giving the title back to Castillo.

That's fine, but it's not correct. Floyd Mayweather has skill and talent, and after this fight he will now have the exposure he wants. But what he does in the ring has gotten him where he is. So the way he defeated Castillo last night shouldn't be the only thing anyone remembers him for, but sadly it will be. Take De la Hoya for example. Take Trinidad for example. Three years after "winning" a decision against De la Hoya all anyone talks about is how he really lost. I think it's a shame when that's all we can remember from the guys who make this sport what it is. After all, fighters who get "gift decisions" don't judge the fights themselves, they merely compete to see who the better fighter is. Sometimes it doesn't go as the majority of the audience sees it, but we all know that and being a fan of boxing we have to expect it. Although it's not right, it's a part of life and it's something we must learn to get over.

It's very clear that Castillo won last night. He landed more shots, threw more shots, and connected at a higher percentage. I believe the fight was close. I also believe it was closer than most fans think. What we need to realize is we judge the fights on an advantage. The men at the apron don't see the compu-box stats, they don't get to listen to everyone's view points as the rounds go by, and a lot of the punches that land aren't seen as clearly from their eyes. So sometimes that is why the point margins are so different from the regular viewing audience.

Surprising Maxboxing.com had it for Mayweather at 114-112, and even Boxing.com scored it in favor of the "Pretty Boy." I personally had it 114-112, Castillo. One thing I'm not going to do is get in a verbal war with the vast majority of the boxing public. I'm simply going to do what we all should do, and that's await the rematch and see how things unfold there. Perhaps Bob Arums "plan" to get a big draw will succeed, but no matter last nights fight will leave a bitter taste in all of our mouths.

At least when Tyson and Lewis step between the ropes we know that the fight won't be left in the judges hands.

Mike Samuels can be reached at Tyson180@aol.com

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