02.12.06 – By Yero Moody: As I read the post fight comments of various writers, experts and fans after the Mayweather V. Baldomir fight it became clear that Floyd had not left a great impression on everyone in the manner I’m sure he’d hope to have done. Many felt it was a boring technical performance by Mayweather that inspired sleep and not awe. Some of his more rabid detractors even accused Floyd of “running.”
Due to Floyd Mayweather’s flashy style in and out of the ring and his bragadocious manner he has created alot of naysayers and negative press. Some of it well deserved and some of it based on personal dislike. Anything he does directly and indirectly draws a response. He was even criticized in a negative manner by some people for giving away turkey dinners to needy families in his former neighborhood stating that Floyd was only doing it for publicty. Ignoring the fact that he had been doing this for 5 years with virtually no publicity until this year! This is an example of the type of intense ridicule he constantly faces from those who dislike him personally. When you have fans, writers and even some “experts” scrutinizing a person in such a manner it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get unbiased viewpoints when speaking of Floyd. Either you love him or you hate him.
I took note of the fact that it wasn’t until Floyd turned down Bob Arum’s offer of $ 8 million that the scrutiny intensified to an almost boiling point. Floyd Mayweather was then given the new nickname of “Fraud” Mayweather by many writers and fans alike. After Floyd’s one sided domination of Carlos Baldomir was the first time I had heard anyone accuse Floyd of “running” in a fight. In the mind of this writer it is a very biased and unfair assessment. I say that because almost all of the writers who had accused Floyd of “running” had written negative stories concerning Floyd and immediately jumped on the bandwagon of calling Floyd a fraud prior to his fight with Baldomir. Also, not one of those writers wrote a single article about Antonio Margarito’s refusal to fight his mandatory challenger Paul Williams or referred to him as fraud. I would call out names but due to my professionalism I will refrain. This, in my opinion shows bias against Floyd. As a person I can see why many people would personally dislike Mayweather but when you are a professional you should be objective and unbiased.
This leads me back to the accusations that Floyd ran against Baldomir. Many fans and writers are not boxers nor expert analysts so they merely state their opinions based on what they want or hope to see. So, because Baldomir was viewed as a rather “easy” opponent for Floyd many were expecting Floyd to score the knockout. However, upon closer analysis, we have to dissect the fight and all the circumstances surrounding it. Lets examine the size advantage. Floyd was fighting a middleweight because Baldomir came in at 162lbs. on fight night compared to Floyd who was 149lbs. That is a significant size diffrerence especially when you consider that Floyd is not a brawling knockout artist. He is a pure boxer! Anyone expecting Floyd to go in there and bang with him was not basing their expectations on reality and probably were hoping that Floyd would get knocked out! In addition to the size advantage Floyd Mayweather was fighting with one hand after about the fifth rd of the fight. He seemed to have injured his right hand while connecting a hard shot to Baldomir’s head. Can anyone realistically expect him to score a knockout with one hand? We all know Floyd’s history of brittle hands so what I’m saying is nothing new.
Allow me to introduce the expert opinion of the former pound for pound best fighter in the world, Bernard Hopkins, concerning how he sees Floyd’s style of fighting. This is an excerpt from a recent interview he did with Jose Reyes.
REYES: Do you think Floyd will stick around (exchange hard punches with Oscar) to get hit? Maybe he will (get on his bicycle) run around?
B-HOP: “Floyd don’t run from nobody, Floyd is not a guy that runs, I have never seen Floyd run. I have seen Floyd counter punch, I have seen Floyd move. I have seen Floyd use his speed, use his quickness but I have never seen Floyd box. Floyd don’t box, he hasn’t had to box, over the years because he had fighters, most of them, that stood in front of him trying to outmatch his wit, his speed and his accuracy of being able to counter. Never to pull the guy in and make the guy miss and make the guy pay. Oscar De La Hoya is not a one-punch methodical fighter. Oscar De La Hoya throws punches like a machine gun firing. He is not going to be there to get countered with the roll. You have got to look at it. Oscar De La Hoya is being trained by a guy (Floyd Sr., Jr’s. father) who taught Floyd Mayweather Jr. So, If I’m a mechanic and I put a car together, I can teach the guy how to drive the car. A guy not driving the car, would be in the situation that he would have to find his way. But I’m the guy that made the car, and I could be the guy that could destroy the car, I know the potholes in the car, I know how the car handles, I know how the car grips, I know how the car takes off and I’m going to teach the driver how to handle the car.”
What a coincidence Bernard I’ve never seen Floyd run either. He has been in there with opponents who were not able to cut off the ring and sieze him. Castillo is given false credit for beating Floyd in their first fight but again Floyd was injured and in their second fight he thoroughly dominated Castillo. This is also why I say that Floyd’s biggest threats are De La Hoya and Mosley because of their vast experience in big fights, their ring savvy, their skills and their ability to adapt.
Many say Margarito is and they might be right but what do they base their opinions on? We have yet to see Margarito fight a highly skilled slick boxer like Floyd Mayweather so no one knows what he will do. I know its not totally his fault but he is now presented with a golden opportunity should he decide to take on the challenge of his mandatory Paul Williams or relinquish his WBO belt.
On Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) 2006 Mayweatherl and De La Hoya will have the opportunity to prove their naysayers wrong or right. In Floyd’s eager desire to finally fight an elite level fighter he has given De La Hoya all the advantages. De La Hoya has picked the date which is a Mexican Holiday and very significant to Mexicans. The venue will be at a location that is highly populated by Mexicans either Vegas or L.A.. De La Hoya has selected Reyes gloves which are punchers gloves and could be muderous on Mayweather’s brittle hands. Some detractors of Mayweather are saying that the only chance that he will have of beating the bigger, stronger De La Hoya is to “run” and avoid exchanges. As Bernard Hopkins pointed out thats not Floyd’s style and I predict he won’t run on May 5th either. He will use excellent defense, punch from angles that allow him to hit but not be hit and utilize superior counterpunching to beat Oscar De La Hoya in dominating fashion. I’m personally glad that he is fighting Oscar and not Margarito right now because due to Floyd’s superior skills and Margarito’s lack of fundamental skills, Floyd would beat Margarito very easily much like he did against Castillo in their second fight. Margarito may indeed develop into a very good challenge for Floyd especially if he can beat Clottey and Williams but right now, he’s not. No doubt Floyd’s detractors will have something negative to say but unbiased objective writers like myself and others will give you the truth as seen through our eyes. I call it like I see it and not from my personal dislike/like of a fighter.