02.08.07 – By Vivek Wallace: How sweet it is. At long last, two of the best undefeated fighters in the game are preppin’ up for a December boxing showdown as Floyd Mayweather Jr. (38-0, 24KO’s) and Brit phenom Ricky Hatton (43-0, 31KO’s) get set to wage war.
Now that the moment of reckoning is only months away, with the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed, somehow, someway, a select group of skeptics still find a need to criticize the actual boxing matchup.
An avid fight aficionado and mouthpiece of the masses, I, as well as most others, would relish the opportunity to see two undefeated, highly gifted pugilist square off.
That being said, for those out there who question this matchup or either of the participants, here’s 3 quick reasons why true fight fans – with the help of both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton – will swiftly lower the volume on those skeptics who continue to make noise simply to hear themselves speak.
1.) Why should they fight?
Dammit, because the majority said so! For the longest time, dating back nearly two years ago, this fight was the one that matchmaker’s and fight fans wanted to see most. A classic match of epic proportions that would involve a skilled, ‘plow-ahead’ type body banger versus a ring technician whose skill level remains arguably one of the best in the game.
2.) What other matchups out there for the two boxing fighters present the dual effect of mega-attraction and mega-bucks?
Some might argue for Mayweather the proper fight was against Mosley but Mosley was honest enough to recently admit that when Mayweather called him out years ago, he had just come off of a few grueling consecutive matchups and he – Mosley – opted not to pursue the fight with Mayweather at the time. Now that Mosley’s calling Mayweather out, people expect Mayweather to jump to his cadence, but as Calzaghe recently told Hopkins who also did the same switch-a-roo after he saw his nemesis’ stock rise, ‘wait your chance since you didn’t take it when you had it’. Mosley is probably the better matchup for Floyd, but Hatton is easily the biggest global attraction. Face it, it’s a business, and if it doesn’t make dollars, to these guys, it probably doesn’t make much sense. Sucks but politics are what they are.
3.) Hatton’s great but why Mayweather?
Skeptics of the ‘Prettyboy’ claimed for the longest that he has sought out the easiest opposition. First, ring veteran Genaro Hernandez (38-1-1) was ‘too old’. Then one of the gutsiest fighters of our era – R.I.P. – Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales (40-5) was not prepared properly. Then Jose Luis Castillo (55-7-1) was allegedly robbed – despite a thorough loss in the rematch. Next we were told that Zab Judah (34-5) was just ‘hype’ and Oscar Dela Hoya (38-5) was ‘too old’ as well. For some reason, no one Floyd beats seems to be ‘good enough’ after he beats them.
Has anyone out there stopped to realize that since winning his first title in 1998 – WBC Super Featherweight – Floyd Mayweather Jr. only fought six guys with four or more losses?, and that list included the rugged Carlos Baldomir, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, and Oscar Dela Hoya. Ricky Hatton, on the other hand, has padded his record against unknown commodities who boasted records like 17-72-7, 8-48-3, 14-36-3, and multiple more in the 7 to 10 loss range, yet no one has questioned his greatness.
Regardless, both fighters have huge upsides and to a lesser degree, many questions attached as well so why not combine all of those questions with the fact that these guys are both undefeated and let them settle the score in the ring?
This fight is as big as it’s gonna get for both of them at this time and to use the words of Ricky Hatton’s own Dad against him, “when you only have a stature of 5′ 7″, there’s limitations to what weight you can put on before it starts to affect you”, which is why we saw the sluggish version of Ricky against Collazo. That being said, we know Hatton isn’t moving up to light middleweight, so why not face the man who stands atop the welterweight ‘mountain’ – the Champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr.? He may not be the fan fave across the board but he is the Champ and Hatton couldn’t ask for more of a challenge. Mayweather is a multiple division Champion, the consensus pound for pound Champ, and is also a natural welterweight, not a dieting light middleweight trying to fight the ‘little guys’. If Floyd’s accomplishments don’t make him eligible, apparently, they definitely make him equivalent.
Skeptics can come up with a million reasons why they shouldn’t fight but come December 8th, fight fans will give them a million more why they should.
(Got feedback: Write Vivek Wallace at vivexemail@yahoo.com or show some love at myspace.com/anonymouslyinvolved)