(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Chester Rivers: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) said it best during their promotional stop in Los Angeles for “The One.” Floyd stated that Golden Boy Promotions keep building up their fighters and he keep knocking them back down. This is the plain and simple truth. We’re all guilty of sipping on the Golden Boy promotional kool-aid in relation to the possible defeat of Floyd Mayweather.
Do anyone remember the lead up to the Victor Ortiz fight? In the build up, all we heard was Floyd’s troubled history with left handed fighters. Victor was coming off the biggest victory of his career with a gutty 12 round decision over welterweight champ Andre Berto. The Golden Boy media machine saturated the public with stories of Ortiz’s guts and glory. They told us stories of Ortiz being abandon by both parents and using that pain and life disappointments to build his heart and character. This is the same Victor Ortiz who quit against Marcos Maidana on a live boxing card when the pressure became too great. Golden Boy built up this idea of Ortiz being a legitimate threat to Mayweather only to have it coming crashing down in the fourth round of their infamous “Sucker Punch” fight.
Next up Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. Golden Boy Promotions once again built up their fighter to convince all of us that it was Guerrero’s destiny to defeat Mayweather. Golden Boy also used Guerrero’s faith in order to build favor with the general God fearing public. This Facade was destroyed with a trip to New York which resulted in the arrest of Guerrero on weapons charges. At that point, the fight could no longer be viewed as the good guy vs.the ex con. Many experts thought Floyd would dominate Guerrero and they were exactly correct. Mayweather exorcised The Ghost over twelve pot shotting rounds.
Now it’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s turn to try and dethrone the sport’s ppv king. Personally speaking, this fight should not be happening now ! Golden Boy has planted two seeds in the brains of the boxing public. First, Canelo has fast hands. Up to this point, no one in boxing considered Alvarez a fast fighter. It wasn’t until his fight with Austin Trout that we entertained the thought of Canelo as a speedster. Second, Canelo will have a huge weight advantage. Weight in boxing is only effective when the opposition is stationery. The heavier man could use his weight to lay on his opponent and cause him to tire faster. The heavier man could also use his weight as leverage enabling him to generate more power when delivering his punches. Weight on the other hand could work against the bigger man if the target is nimble and mobile. Alvarez will have to carry that extra weight to stalk Mayweather around the ring and throwing hard shots and missing will also cause Canelo to tire faster.
Why is this fight happening now? Mayweather knows Canelo is improving as a fighter but is technically not ready to fight someone of his skill set. Mayweather and Ellerbe are also aware of Canelo’s huge Mexican fan base.The two factors combined should generate a ratings and PPV bonanza for Mayweather, Showtime and Golden Boy. High rewards for little risk. Ask yourself how big would this fight be a year from now ? Saul could come into that fight a year more experience and possibly the undisputed junior middleweight championship. Mayweather would be a year older and a year closer to uncertainty.
De La Hoya commented that Canelo is boxing’s biggest star. That comment woke up a hibernating Mayweather. Up to that point Floyd seemed very subdued during the 11 city press tour. The tone of Floyd’s rant sounded as though he once again has something to prove. Not since his remarks to Arturo Gatti ” I’ll embarrass you in front of your own fans” have we heard Mayweather so angry. Floyd threw the proverbial gauntlet at Saul’s feet stating “See ya September 14”. Knowing Floyd’s history when he has something to prove i.e: Gatti, Corrales and Ortiz, leads me to believe this fight should not be happening now.
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