Pound for Pound Best: So What’s So Dull About Mayweather Jr?
September 25th, 2009
By Chris Kelly: A Five-time WBC World Champion at five different weights, Ring Magazine champion at both lightweight and welterweight, IBF Champion at welterweight, Ring Magazine fighter of the year in both 1998 and 2007, A three-time National Golden Gloves winner and an Olympic bronze medallist in 1996. Ladies and gentlemen, boxing fans, I give you Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Do not be disillusioned, this is a man who has achieved more in his career than any other boxer of his generation, arguably of any generation. And during all this, Mayweather has not only never lost as a professional, he has never suffered a legitimate knockdown. It is, in fact, a rarity to ever see him under pressure in the ring at all. Agreed? Agreed.
So why then is he under constant scrutiny from the boxing community, being labeled as a “cherry picking, dull, safety-first” fighter?
The simple fact that Mayweather has beaten every fighter he has ever faced in the ring does not mean he cherry picks his opponents. However, the fact that he has a string of victories to his name (40-0 with 25 KO’s to be exact) over some world class opposition including Jesus Chavez, De La Hoya, Diego Corrales, Ricky Hatton, Jose Luis Castillo, Zab Judah, Aturro Gatti and Juan Manuel Marquez, proves that over the course of his career, Mayweather has done anything but cherry pick his opponents.
As for being a dull fighter, is the art of boxing not to hit and not be hit? what exactly is dull about an athlete perfecting his sport, a tradesman mastering his craft, absolutely nothing. Mayweather is not a safety first fighter he is the best defensive counter puncher of all time, something a true boxing fan will appreciate.
Tags: 44 Responses to “Pound for Pound Best: So What’s So Dull About Mayweather Jr?”
Leave a Reply
please use above banner to link back to us!
Remember this,Manny is the name and boxing is his game. bring it on !!!
We all really can’t take away anything from Mayweather’s skills. He definitely has them. I don’t think people are questioning his skill but more of his lack of entertainment. With the fast paced action of MMA, boxing has to keep up. If we continue to allow boxers to dance in the ring, our attention span will continue to shorten along with our patience.
If you go back to the 80′s and early 90′s, the heavyweight division was fun to watch. We had heavyweights constantly punching and knocking each other out. That’s what we all thought boxing was. We were entertained, no matter how slow they were. After the early 90′s, we boxing fans were entertained by speed and power. Times have changed. This is why we enjoyed the Marquez and Pacquiao fights, the Marquez and Vasquez fights, the Castillo and Corrales fights, and all the other fast-paced action. That’s why we turned to the smaller weight divisions. Now, we’re obsessed with fighters that punch and move all night long. That’s why we appreciate Mosley, Pacquiao, Williams, etc. when they continue fighting and get irritated immediately if they take too long to punch.
This is why Mayweather is considered boring to watch. It has nothing to do with his skills. But with the way things change, he easily becomes boring to watch when he waits too long to punch. He reminds me of an slr camera. These cameras are the best to get the job but if you notice, only real fans of photography would spend the money. Nowadays, only a few people wouldn’t consider Mayweather boring because they overlook all that and appreciate the art. With the price of ppv nowadays, I’d rather spend the money watching people constantly throwing blows instead of trying to appreciate art. If I wanted to appreciate art, I’d go to a museum and pay 5 bucks instead of 50 bucks to see Mayweather. If I spend 50 bucks to watch a boxing match, I expect it to be a fight.
Exactly JK!
Floyd has already cemented his legacy just with what he accomplished at ’30 and ’35. Yes, he’s faced a few cheese balls in Bruseles and Ndou…. but Corley was no slouch, Judah surely is no slouch, even Sharmba Mitchell has had a very successful career…. it’s just when PBF cruises against them, all of a sudden they’re bums… that’s not realistic.
I’m right there with you, the only one with a chance of beating Floyd is SSM.
And Williams is a damn middleweight. Let it drop.
Floyd fought Corrales, Castillo, Judah and Genaro Hernandez when all of them were in their prime and very dangerous. Hell, Corrales was undefeated with over 30 wins and knockout power in both hands when PBF demolished him. People have short memories. For that matter Ricky “GetHitman” Hatton routinely walks around at 190 and should have been much stronger at 147 than 140. He also outweighed Floyd on the night of the fight.
Cotto got manhandled by Clottey, and Pac has already shown he can be countered all day long. Only Mosley would be a decent challenge and Forrest and Cotto showed that all you have to do is keep a jab in his face. Money is the best fighter out there right now.
If floyd can fight de la hoya at 154 then he should try fighting Paul williams there, no way in a million years would he, cus he would never win against P Will. Manny has got a small chance , because of his speed.
Floyd surely aint the best who ever did it he aint no sugar ray leonard, sugar ray robinson, Muhammed Ali, duran, roy jones junior. They all faced bigger opponents and beat them. Mayweather only fought De La Hoya, who had 2 defeats out of four, it aint like beating Hagler for Leonard or Ali beating Foreman or Fraiser, Duran beating Leonard. He is over cautious he aint even better than pernall whitiker who he copied his style of Floyd made it less atractive and more negative.
I like Floyd a lot and he is one of my favorites at the moment. But Sugar Ray Robinson would have knocked Floyd out cold. Robinson was the greatest of all times. He was actually faster than Floyd. He could knock out the toughest chins in boxing!!! His defense isn’t quite like Floyds because he liked to engage and go for knockouts. Robinson without a doubt should never be mentioned with anyone else because he had no peers!!!
Floyd is the best hands down.No one can beat him so plz stop all the hating and give the man his props I want to hear what your excuses will be when he beat Pac man and Mosley. Hate him or Love him he is the best that ever did it.
Good for you whut? I’m sure you’ll really make an impact.
Well all you Floyd nut huggers should buy an extra 10 PPV’s to make up for the rest of us that don’t want to pay $50 to see his dull defensive style. Fine if he mastered that style of boxing then great but the business and entertainment aspect of it asks of people to pay money to watch. If Floyds next fight is not with Manny then I’m not interested in watching him fight again and won’t pay to watch.
Hey! most of us never got to see Ray Robinson fight,and it could be that floyd is that skilled,but Sugar Ray fought every great fighter that wanted to fight.Prediction.Sugar Ray by split decision.
no 1 wit eyes could deny dat mayweather has plenty of talent but he lasks excitiment.. i truly belive he talks trash to try make it exciting cause he lasks it in the ring u can box circles around fighters but without the entetainment of a knockout at anytime of the fight, the casul fans dont want 2 know… u could say in a way he is cursed he has to much skill for boxing haha
In response to RayP haha
You’re 100% right about not comparing Quintana to Mayweather.
Believe it or not, I could see PWill making ’47 and still being effective. I can even see him using his insane output of punches for 12 rounds. PWill isn’t Diego Corrales, the guy has amazing coordination and crisp footwork, he can box.
I just have trouble seeing how Mayweather will be able to use his counter-punching ability against someone like Paul Williams.
Then again, I can’t even see that fight reaching “talk it over with my team” status.
HenryL,
The argument can be made for almost all fighters now. Mosley paid zero mind to PWill’s invitation but it’s about time Mosley rejected a lesser known fighter who is a superb boxer that can make a little noise off Mosley’s name (Wright & Forrest).
Pacquiao fought Hatton who has beat nobody at ’40 or ’47 (Tszyu was a wrestling match in the UK & Collazo exposed Rick). Pacquiao fought David Diaz of all lightweight champions to choose from when he moved up. And DLH certainly wasn’t the best WW when they met at ’47.
Another cool aid drinker writer. These people who think Floyd is great do not see the real picture. He doesn’t fight the best in his division that’s why he wins all the time, it’s as simple as that.
DJ for the record, I think Mayweather will beat Williams as well. Ok, pick yourself up off the floor, I’ll explain.
First off Williams will have a hell of a time making weight. Bet on it. That aside, how many fights has Williams lost? Only one against a slick south paw. Can you compare Quintana to Floyd? Get the picture?
Da Contender Shane has been calling out Floyd for years. Why not take that fight? Weak argument there.
Manny has no shot at beating Floyd. None. Nada. Zilch.
Shane will give Mayweather a hell of a fight but if Cotto outboxed him then I feel Mayweather will do the same. Mosley forgets his game plan during fights and starts winging shots as hard as he can. Not good against a pin point accurate fighter like Floyd. Besides, although I would love to see Mayweather fight Shane let’s not forget that Shane is 37.
Anyhow, Pac will get beat by Cotto. Pacs belly is full. I think Cotto may give Mayweather the best fight of the bunch but still will lose to Mayweather. See, I think Mayweather is excellent but I would love to see him prove it. No more easy fights against old or smaller guys.
waspzz,
I wouldn’t say boxing would be nothing. You’re absolutely right though, the audience brings the glitz and glam to the sport. The bright lights, the build up that has boxing fans posting online and talking about the upcoming bouts at work really add to the sport.
But ultimately… Boxing is the truest form of hand to hand combat. They had UFC 103 playing on a tv right next to the HBO card and you could just see the difference in mastering a craft as opposed to watching a bar fight.
Sure, the entertainment adds to events, but boxing will always be around, no matter who thinks its on its last lifeline.
its true that mayweather really has skills and true boxing fans really appreciate it BUT I would have to agree with Micheal that boxing is also about entertaining audiences and not just winning..
whats the point of all prize fighing anyway??
why is it shown in PPV? in front of a crowd? in the television? or even in the movies?
it is supposed to be witnessed by alot of people so that they would be entertained..
because without the fans, without the audiences, boxing would be nothing..
If Pacquiao does beat Cotto… you already know there’s going to be people out there saying, “Cotto had to lose those extra pounds” or “Cotto was damaged goods already.”
Same thing they’d say if Mayweather beat Cotto.
Or Paul Williams
Or Shane Mosley (which could have been a coin flip in their fight)
It’s just when PBF wins, he wins by landslides, I mean, not 8-4 or 9-3…. I’m talking 11-1′s and shutouts
mayweather: defensive. runner. boxer.
pacquiao/cotto: WARRIORS. FIGHTERS.
PEOPLES CHAMPIONS.
Haha. I know what you mean RayP…. It’s just that if we really put both Pac’s and Mayweather’s resume under a microscope, we could pinpoint gimme fights for each over the last five years. It’s not like Larios or Jorge Solis had a chance with Pac…. Barerra II… why? David Diaz, when Pac could’ve fought Casamayor, an undefeated Baby Bull, or even a strong contender in Nate Campbell.
You know I wrote a letter to the editor because I get the errors as well. There are times I cannot post.
Remember Floyd fought DLH at 154. DLH and PAC fought at 147, a weight DLH had not fought in for years, thus he had nothing left in him. DLH was already mounting losses, he’s a fat cat that is over the hill. What do rather do have a great dinner and wine or train for a fight? This will be Pac’s undoing as well. Pac did look rather puffy in the recent pictures he took, not to mention he seems to take a lot of pictures with gorgeous Phillipine women.
RayP how are you are you posting at will hahaha? I keep getting wordpress error so I cant respond to your viewpoints
DJ your point is understood. I for one think that Pac is picking up Mayweather’s left over crumbs but his acsend will end with Cotto on November 14th.
Matty simple. Fight 2 out of the following Mosley, Cotto, Clottey.
I do not believe Williams will ever fight at 147 again, this he is not included. Berto still needs to earn his strips. I thought Collazo beat Berto. Margarito is a glorified club fighter without the loaded hand wraps so he’s not included.
Compare Mosley and Cotto’s resume in the welterweight division against Mayweather’s. See what I mean?
I hear you RayP. The reason why I call those that have these “good facts”, “bashers”, is because when things are said about Pacquiao, Mosley, JMM, Cotto, etc… you as well take the pro-PBF comments with a grain of salt.
Pac dismantled DLH and did a worse number on him than Mayweather… Mayweather fought him first all under DLH’s rules and not at a catchweight (yes, ’7 was a cathweight for Pac-DLH).
so who do you want him to fight in order for him to be given the credit he deserves?…if he batters mosely you’ll all say hes too old…if he tears up pac man you’ll say hes too small just like you’ve all done with marquez…and if he beats cotto you’ll all say he was never the same after he was cheated and beaten up by margarito…apart from those three there is no one worth fighting for mayweather and even if he beats them there will always be excuses
DJ did you have question in your mind that Marquez would beat Mayweather?
Yes Mayweather did a great job but why not attempt to do that same type of work against the best within your own division?
Come on folks take the blinders off and put the shoe on the other foot. I will repeat this again. We all perceive Mayweather to be a great fighter. Who can deny his performances? The thing is how do you for sure that he is not doing it with mirrors? You know, fighting older and smaller opponents. Here’s an easy question. Mayweathers last 2 opponents dominated what divisions?
if he fights and beats mosley than the idiot above will add that to mayweathers past there prime list.. meanwhile he went up to 154 to fight oscar who was only 3.5 years older than him
anyone who has ever boxed or been in a ring appreciates and loves the skills of mayweather…half the jokes who criticise him on these blogs wouldnt even know how to lace up a pair of gloves let alone understand the subtle tactics and defensive genius of a fighter like mayweather
It’s amazing. Just because we do not fully agree with the article does not mean we are bashing. We are putting out good points and backing them up with facts.
And who, name one who consistently averages 40% or higher for a connection percentage throughout their boxing career? Who has ever landed 60% of their punches over 12 rounds?? We all know Mayweather is better than stellar on the defensive end, but he holds his opponents to 20% or less in their connection stats.
60% ha!
about time we have a writer givin props where its deserved. floy mayweather jr is the boxer of all time, if he beats cotto after cotto tears apart the little filipino man
Much respect on the article. Don’t worry about the bashers… they could be closeted UFC fans…?
I’ve always found it quite hilarious how people judge Mayweather’s resume. One would think that having your head repeatedly beaten over 12 rounds causes more damage then a quick knockout. Regardless of the results, everybody’s aim is to win.
Now looking back at all through Mayweather’s career, aside the knockdown that was missed by the ref in the Judah fight, Mayweather has never hit the canvas like you stated Chris. What’s even more amazing, is that outside of Castillo I and DLH (which was a terribly scored fight), Mayweather hasn’t lost many rounds to any fighter, at all.
They said JMM was too small, it doesn’t matter, he was ranked #2 pound for pound. Anybody that high on the list should find a way to win ONE round, just one. As great a fighter as JMM was, it would just be nice if people could realize that PBF may just be THAT good.
Why do we want to see Mayweather-Pac now? When May schools Pac too, he’ll still be under scrutiny.
agree with rayp he is a bussines men he thinks first in the money then safety by picking opponents the the fans.
same as pacman is doing now safety y money first not fighting top fighters so sad boxing is going this way..
Mayweather is a great fighter, no question. Many out there feel that way about him but the problem is that Mayweather has not had a real fight in some time. Really! Here’s a quick list of accomplishment at Welterweight and beyond.
Mayweather has fought 4 fights at Welterweight.
Mitchell – He was 35 year old at the time and well past his prime.
Baldomir – He was 35 years old at the time and well past his prime
Judah – Has proven that he is simply lacking what the top welters have but gave Mayweather a decent fight.
Hatton – Folks we all knew he was a junior welterweight with overrated skills.
Mayweather also fought Oscar. He was 34 years old at the time. The fight took place at Super Welterweight. Again a man well past his prime as Oscar’s fight record proves.
There are the facts. Look the man talks too much. He needs to put up against a top quality welterweight. Is he P4P best? Quite possibly. Is he proving it by fighting old men and smaller guys? No. Therefore, do not proclaim yourself to be king unless you have conquered the best your respective division has to offer. Yes, he is making money by doing it his way with minimal risk, granted, it’s smart business but he should admit that he is merely playing the business aspect of his profession rather than conquering the best.
I’m trying to remember one top 5 welter Mayweather’s faced…hmmmm….
Michael – How can you say “the art of boxing is about entertaining audiences.”
Have you ever been in a ring, amateur or professional?
A boxer fights for himself first. Get the win. Then worry about having or having not impressed the audience.
The art of boxing is not “to hit and not be hit”, stupid. If the art of boxing is about entertaining audiences. Without audiences, what is boxing?
Spot on Chris!
Some boxing fans just like to hate. Whether this is because the boxer has a different nationality, or because they prefer another boxer.
I hope Mayweather faces and beats Mosley next time out. It will at least put an end to all the cherrypicking/picking on smaller boxers hating.
Saying that, no doubt people will come out and say Mosley was past it, or Mayweather was cheating somehow.
“Do not be disillusioned, this is a man who has achieved more in his career than any other boxer of his generation, arguably of any generation.”
Ha what a joke, that’s the whole problem with Floyd, he talks a lot but achieves relatively little compared to what he is capable of skillwise. What is so dull about him? He takes no risks when choosing his opponents and then he takes no risks when he enters the ring, his defensive skills can be admired but they do not inspire excitment, and I agree he is an excellent counter puncher but yes he is a safety first boxer.
Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones both achieved more in this generation alone, no point in even bothering to compare him to legends of times gone by.
For the amount of talent he has, his career post-Castillo has been garbage.