by Yero Moody: Wow! What a wonderful day in boxing it was on May 2. A day many fans had been waiting for a long time. The formal announcement of the return of former pound for pound king, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and the showdown between the now pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.
Most boxing insiders and fight fans that I’ve spoken to never really believed that Mayweather, Jr.’s retirement was permanent. He is a man who adores the spotlight and center stage too much to abandon it at the height of his career. My personal assessment would also include that deep down he knows he has not totally cemented his legacy in the fashion he stated many times that he wanted to. That being regarded as the “best fighter ever”.
In the minds of many of his detractors and fans alike he still has yet to have that career defining fight that often times defines one’s career. There has been no Hagler-Leonard, Ali-Frazier, Morales-Barrera, etc. level of fights in his career to date. He has tried to get some of the big names to fight him and many said no or their promoters didn’t want it. Fighters such as Kostya Tsyzu, Joel Casamayor, Acelino Freitas, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and yes Miguel Cotto when they were both under Bob Arum. To Cotto’s credit, it was Arum who didn’t want the fight to happen at that time. To De La Hoya’s credit, he later agreed to fight him, albeit much later, than when Mayweather first began pursuing him when Mayweather was still at 135 lbs. and De La Hoya was at welterweight. In turn Mayweather has also said no to fighters that fans like myself, wanted to see him fight. Most notably being Antonio Margarito, long before he got exposed as the overrated club fighter I always said he was! Later on after first saying no to Mayweather, Mosley decided to pursue him. Unfortunately, for us fans, Mayweather declined.
If you have followed the fight game and know the history then you know fighters turning down one another for whatever reason is nothing new. Sugar Ray turning down Aaron Pryor, De La Hoya turning down Winky Wright and Mayweather at one point, Pacman declining on a third fight with Juan Marquez, etc. I could go on and on but the point being that I don’t think these fightes were afraid of one another in all of those cases, although some fans believe otherwise. I don’t think Mayweather is afraid of Cotto or Mosley. Proof of which, he already pursued fights with both of them. I also don’t think he was afraid to face Antonio Margarito. I think he wanted a bigger fight with a bigger name which is why he chose De La Hoya.
Mayweather did choose to fight Angel Manfredy, the late Diego Corales, Jose Castillo (twice), Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. I believe he thought these fighters would give him the tough level of competition that fans wanted to see. It turns out his skill level was far too superior for even those great fighters. If you go back prior to his fights with De La Hoya and Hatton it was utterly amazing at how many people picked him to lose those fights. Then some of those very same people turned around and said he was “cherrypicking”. Needless to say that “fans” like that will never give Mayweather credit no matter who the opponent.
Mayweather’s return is two-fold in my assessment: 1.) He wants to prove to all those who doubt that he is still the best pound for pound fighter in the world despite Manny Pacquiao’s ranking.
2.) He knows deep down he hasn’t done enough to be considered as the best fighter ever. A goal he stated many times he wanted to achieve. In fact, if he would’ve stayed retired I wouldn’t have even regarded him as the best fighter of this generation let alone of all time. He is the most skilled fighter of this generation but not the best fighter. In order to be the best you have to beat the best fighters. He hasn’t done that totally yet. As I pointed out earlier, some of it not his fault, but some of it is with his choice of opponents. His toughest fight by far was against Jose Castillo in their first fight. A fight in which he barely won with basically one arm as he hurt his arm and hand during the fight.
I have no doubt at all that Mayweather will fight Manny Pacquiao! Despite what Mayweather says Juan Marquez is a mere tune-up. He happens to be #2 on the pound for pound rankings and the man who gave Pacman his toughest fights in recent times. This is the perfect prelude to the big showdown between Mayweather and Pacman. I also believe that Mayweather cannot afford to avoid the man at 147 lbs., Shane Mosley. Unless Mosley loses again, he is clearly the best fighter in the division, even with his loss to Miguel Cotto which I felt should have been a draw. I don’t think Mayweather or any other natural welterweight fighter should consider fighting Paul Williams. He is absolutely a middleweight fighter and much too big. As far as skills go, Mayweather is more skilled than Paul Williams but Mayweather is a small welterweight. If Mayweather beats Marquez, Pacman and Mosley he can then ride off into the sunset as the best fighter of this generation. I don’t think he’ll ever be considered as the best fighter of all time because of the accomplishments of some of the older fighters like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Sugar Ray Robinson simply can’t be matched. If Mayweather were to have some stirring trilogies, really close fights, and maybe avenge a loss or two should he lose, then maybe.
Pacman v. Hatton: My Post Analysis: For those of you who read my article entitled ” Hatton v. Pacquiao: The Ultimate Fight Breakdown” I want to thank you for reading and I would like to clarify some things. In this particular article I wanted to give you, the reader, an insight into what I believed were the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters and who would win based on those insights. In doing so, I realize that some the fans of the fighter I picked to lose, Ricky Hatton, would pick apart my article and accuse me of bias. The last article I wrote on here drew a similar reaction from Antonio Margarito fans. I was the only writer on here to predict that Mosley would easily defeat Margarito and possibly even by TKO.
I was called a moron, a novice and of course a biased writer. It’s not bias if you specifically state who you believe will win the fight and why. That is merely a prediction. I gave a very accurate assessment of both the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters in this fight. As I stated in the article Hatton is prone to come in head first very aggressively and his head is a very easy target for fast fighters. This article was not meant to bash Ricky Hatton or his fans. I stand firmly behind all of my articles as well as my predictions, right or wrong. Had I been wrong I would have printed a follow up article as is it my custom to do so. I’m not afraid to eat crow. I will however, emphatically state that my predictions are right far more than wrong. Hatton simply does not have the skill set needed to beat elite, fast fighters. Which is why, as per my prediction, Hatton was easily and brutally defeated.
Questions or Comments: e-mail yero_m@yahoo.com