Fight Lover's Forum 06.25.09: Floyd Mayweather Jr. & His Legacy

Posted by A. Shakoor on 06.25.2009

There are a lot of “big time” fights being talked about in the 140s for boxing, and names like Cotto, Pacquiao, and Mosley are constantly discussed. But will Floyd Mayweather, Jr. get involved? 411’s A. Shakoor discusses why at the age of 32, Floyd needs to start cementing his legacy. Check out the full column for all the details!



Mayweather's Legacy:

With all of the talk of Pacquiao, Cotto, and Mosley and who's gonna fight who, I feel the need to look at the man on the outside looking in. Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather is on the sideline, seemingly irrelevant. This is a man who was at the center of the boxing universe two years ago. Everything revolved around him but now the show is going on without him, for now. How does Floyd feel about his status? A man with his pride and ego can't be happy about it. Only he can do something about it. He's 32 years old. It's time for him to start cementing his legacy.

When I found out that Floyd Mayweather had to pull out of the July 18 matchup against Juan Manuel Marquez(JMM), I was glad. Don't get me wrong, I hate to see any fighter injured, and I wish Floyd a speedy recovery. I do feel bad for JMM. He was about to fight for the biggest payday of his career, and get a real chance of a lifetime. However, as a boxing fan, I'm interested in fighters striving for true greatness. I'm fascinated by the legacies of so-called greats. A victory of JMM would have done nothing to add to the resume of Pretty Boy Floyd. It would have been more of the same, and the act is getting stale.

HIS HISTORY

If Pretty Boy Floyd were to retire today, where would he rank as an all-time great? The answer is "not very high". I think he knows it, though he publicly states otherwise. He is undeniable a great fighter, but he isn't an iconic, all-time great fighter. He'd be a hall-of-famer sure, but he wouldn't be considered one of the true legendary fighters. That is why he came back. Despite all of his big-mouthed bluster he knows better, because PBF is a student of his sport's history. How can he be considered a true great, when he's never fought a hall-of fame fighter, in that fighter's prime, at his own weight-class? This is what keeps him separate from people like Leonard, Hearns, Sweatpea, and even Mosley or Oscar. Leonard and Hearns had each other, Hagler and Duran. Sweepea had Chavez, Oscar and Azumah Nelson in their primes. Mosley and Oscar had each other, and no intellectually honest person can accuse either of them of not fighting the very best in their weight classes over the course of their careers.

Unfortunately, Mayweather is still letting his desires for caution and self-preservation override his need to prove his greatness. Mayweather has never proved himself against another great fighter in that fighter's prime. Take a look at his most competitive fights and great performances. Jose Luis Castillo gave PBF all that he could hand in their first encounter, and the rematch was even closer. Castillo, as tough and game as he was, is not considered a great fighter, but rather a tough, solid, GOOD fighter. Floyd's best performance against another elite fighter was probably against the late Diego Corrales. Corrales was a warrior, but his glass jaw, and personal demons kept him from achieving any level of true greatness as a boxing talent. Mayweather also weathered an early storm to beat Zab Judah in their encounter, but Judah was never considered great after Kostya Tszyu exposed him. PBF destroyed Arturro Gatti. I love Gatti. All boxing fans love Gatti. But Gatti was a B- fighter with A+ heart. That destruction proved nothing. Floyd's best performance in the lower weight classes would include victories over Jesus Chavez and Genaro Hernandez. Those are two very good fighters, but honestly, it would be a stretch to call them hall-of-famers, and who would consider them to be truly great?

Mayweather did beat two future hall-of-famers in his last two fights. However, Oscar was not only well past his prime, but took 5 of 12 rounds in their fight. Hell, one of the judges, and many viewers had Oscar winning. That fight was so close, that it was set for a rematch prior to Floyd's abrupt "retirement". The knockout of Ricky Hatton was very impressive, but for the fact that Hatton was clearly out of his league in regards to talent and weight. I don't give Mayweather a ton of credit for beating a blownup 140 pounder who looked horrible in his one prior 147 pound fight against Luis Collazo. Also, I know Hatton will someday be in the hall-of fame, but should he be? Wouldn't such an induction be based more on his iconic personality as opposed to his resume? Other than Kostya Tszyu, what other greats did Hatton beat, or even come close to beating? Instead, he failed miserably when he took a shot at an elite opponent. That's a column for another day, but you get the point. Mayweather was impressive against Hatton, but in the end, that victory wasn't all that impressive.(I think that sentence makes sense, so let it marinate for a minute.)

HIS RETURN

Mayweather should have announced his return by seeking a fight with the current 147 pound king, Sugar Shane Mosley. Floyd's reasoning for not fighting Shane are bogus.(Shane has five losses and isn't a PPV attraction). Shane Mosley was headlining PPVs with Oscar back when Floyd was fighting unknowns on basic cable. Two of the three fighters that beat Shane are going to the hall-of-fame.(Vernon Forrest could make it 3 for 3 if he eventually goes up to win a middleweight title and beats Pavlik or Abraham). Also, Mayweather never fought any of the guys that beat Mosley. His logic is ludicrous. Floyd is the prior king at 147 and it only makes sense to take on Mosley to reclaim his crown. Mosley just knocked out Antonio Margarito, a fighter Floyd avoided for years. Mosley lost a close, close decision to Miguel Cotto, a man Floyd refused to fight before retiring. There is no excuse why a Mayweather v. Mosley fight wasn't signed and sealed upon Mayweather's return.

PBF also could have immediately demanded a fight against Pacman upon returning. There would be so many storylines: Roach vs. the Mayweather brothers. Former pound-for-pound champ vs. new pound-for pound champ. Pacman just beat Oscar and Hatton much more easily than Floyd ever did.

This fight sells itself. Instead what did Floyd do? He took a throwaway remark from Juan Manuel Marquez, treated it like some type of monumental challenge, or "calling out", and acted like we as boxing fans should be impressed with such a matchup. Juan Manuel Marquez is a class guy, a really great fighter, and will be a first ballot hall-of-famer. He is also 35, been severely stunned in two of his last three fights, and has never, ever fought above 135 pounds. I know many may disagree, but this had PBF TKO written all over it. If Marquez pulled off the upset, or made it close, PBF is exposed as a washed-up, overrated joke. If PBF won the fight easily, so what? It's Ricky Hatton all over again, except this time an even older warrior had jumped TWO weight classes. So what?

WHAT NOW?

Again, Floyd Mayweather is a student of the sport and its history. Deep down inside he knows that simply being undefeated isn't the sole measure of greatness. He knows that he's mocked as the man who has avoided Margarito, Mosley, Cotto, Paul Williams, and so far, Manny Pacquiao. Despite all of his bragging and loud talk, he knows that he'll never be considered one of the elite all-time greats until he gets busy these last couple of years at polishing up his resume. Right now, Pacquiao just sent a low-ball offer to Cotto that may never be accepted. Mosley is asking, no, begging, for a high profile fight. All three of these guys are going on the HOF(I'm optimistic about Cotto). Two of the three greats are in their physical and competitive primes, and Shane Mosley is sure fighting like he is. They can't all fight each other at the same damn time. Floyd needs to fight the odd man out of the current 3-way bargaining in his next fight. There are no excuses. He has a chance to create a legacy as an all-time great. It's up to him, and he knows it. Does he have the will and courage to go out and do it? We as fight fans hope so.

It's interesting timing for this article, because the Mayweather legacy caused quite a bit of behind the scenes debating amongst the 411mania.com boxing writers. I'm sure my thoughts here will fan the flame, and perhaps the "closed door" battles will spill out into the public forum of the comments section. Please feel free to give your thoughts.