03.11.03 – By Keith Terceira: Saturday evening, November 1, 2003, I ate a large unappetizing plate of crow. Like many in the boxing world I was not convinced that “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. had the strength to move up in weight class . Boy I was wrong in a pretty big way. The only saving grace was picking the seventh round. Not much of a save when you pick the wrong warrior.
Mayweather proved that he is constructing a legacy in boxing to rival any I have ever seen. N’Dou proved that his 31-1 record was built an unrelenting barrage of power punches that only a Pretty Boy could have defended against. And I proved why I don’t gamble.
From the opening bell and thru six and a half rounds N’Dou threw everything but the kitchen sink at Floyd and much to my amazement he smiled through most of them. This was one of those fights that midway through you start to feel that it’s a shame someone has to be on the losing end. Two great hearts battled, but one had a style and skill that’s purely dynamic.
Skeptics had been concerned as to power and strength questions as Mayweather moved up in weight class. These questions should be answered for most. What I saw is a smart, resilient fighter who can mix and switch tactics at will an at the right moment. A boxer that seems to be what he needs to be in any circumstance. In the seventh round Pretty Boy Floyd threw three of the most technically perfect right hand leads this writer has seen in years. Granted N’Dou was spent by this point having been hit all night with the right, but these three were perfect .
Hopefully N’Dou will recover from this loss with a slightly better defense, and mentally assured of his talent because he won some fans Saturday despite the results. I have the feeling when all is said and done he will be in an elite class of fighters who unfortunately were stepping stones in the creation of a legend. Just how big the legend becomes depends on where Mayweather decides to go with his climb. At 28 years old we could see Floyd for many more years. If he stopped now he could rule the next half decade in any of his prior weight classes, but his hunger for challenges is refreshing and exciting. Who will be the next stepping stone or the will someone derail the Legacy Express?
With every new construction some clearing and demolition has to take place first. The under card that night may just have unfortunately seen the destruction of Derrick Gainers career. Unless news surfaces as to illness or perhaps some unknown injury I can’t see any promoter thinking they will ever draw fans to a Gainer bout for years to come.. All the preflight hype for this bout should have revolved around the Halloween holiday because it looked like an accountant masquerading as a boxer. This was not the Derrick Gainer that we all were so accustomed to. His deer in the headlights execution was not what earned him a belt.
Derrick stole the thunder from Juan Manuel Marquez. His none combative appearance Saturday made a mockery of the sport, He whined about low blows that were not present and an accidental head butt that while painful for Derrick was just the anesthetic this bout needed to lay to rest his imitation of a champion. I think a lot of the complaining stemmed from his confusion on how he was going to fight Marquez. A word to Derrick Gainer, sometimes you can mess with your style to a point where instead of putting some fine tuning to it you start tearing it down to the point where the new is uncomfortable and the old just won’t come back when you need it. Stop listening to all the whispering in your ear and go with what got you there
Marquez looked every part the two belt Champion an deserves kudos for his performance. Notable is his 4 year struggle back to the top of his game. It’s a shame that the take on this night won’t be on his winning but on the Gainer lack of participation.