By Tom Drury: I recently watched an interview with Virgil Hunter (trainer of Amir Khan, Alfredo Angulo and number two pound for pound fighter on the planet Andre “SOG” Ward) it was quite a heated interview with Hunter challenging the media/fans “perceptions” and putting forward his argument based on his “reality” as a trainer.
The interviewer, Radio Raheem, was asking Hunter’s opinion on the upcoming Angulo vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez bout while putting forward his opinion of Angulo being over-matched and him coming off a loss against the talented Cuban Erislandy Lara. Hunter’s reply was that Angulo is under no circumstance over-matched and will be a very tough opponent for the young Canelo (who is coming off a dominating loss). Lara had never been on the canvas during his professional career, yet was floored twice by Angulo and some would say on the verge of been finished off before the fight was stopped.
I bring up this recent interview with Hunter due to his comments on perception not being reality (which we all know is true) many fans get caught up in this perception which is hyped by media/promoters. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the biggest victim of perception, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has been hyped into a superstar by the media and his promoters, due to this hype, the majority of fans genuinely believed he was the biggest threat to Mayweather’s undefeated record. The reality is Canelo was never a genuine threat; his skills are limited to those of Mayweather and on fight night he was totally dominated. I’m quite sure Mayweather will have had harder work in sparring.
Due to the dislike of Mayweather’s personality (which I think is great) this perception is totally out of control. The biggest current perception is that of Manny Pacquiao been a threat to Mayweather’s throne. The reality is Pacquiao would be dominated. Pacquiao has recently been beaten by Timothy Bradley (and will be again if the rematch is made), put to sleep by Juan Manuel Marquez and taken the distance by a limited Brandon Rios, leaving him 1-2 in his last three outings. Pacquiao’s skills are not on Mayweather’s level and while it would make a great event for the celebrity world it would turn into an anti-climax for the hardcore boxing fan and a very one-sided affair in favour of Mayweather.
The “Reality” surrounding Mayweather is his record is made up of victories over undefeated, (1) ranked challengers, mandatories and champions, he is the highest paid athlete in the world, he holds the ppv record and gate record, he is 45-0, he is the pound for pound best fighter on the planet and is the greatest pugilist of this generation and only second to the great Ray Robinson.
Without question there is only one tough challenge out there for Mayweather Jr. and that is Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley. Timothy is without doubt the toughest man in the welterweight division and has a very awkward style. He doesn’t get overwhelmed or fear any opponent and does anything needed to win. I am not for one second saying Bradley will defeat Mayweather; what I am saying is this is a fighter that is under the radar going about his business and winning. Bradley will give Mayweather a very tough fight and will not leave PPV subscribers feeling shortchanged.
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