Mayweather’s Victories Over Maidana Prove Little

By Anthony Mason - 09/14/2014 - Comments

floyd677By Anthony Mason: As expected, Floyd Mayweather Jr defeated Marcos Maidana for a second time. Considering that Mayweather’s own uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, said that Maidana had not beaten anyone of note, there isn’t much to celebrate about. It is very ironic that Floyd does what several boxers have done before, but is somehow given special treatment and extra credit for his accomplishments.

Having not even 50 fights in almost 20 years, one would at the very least hope that Mayweather would stay undefeated at this age considering the opponents he fought.

It is not Floyd Mayweather’s fault that he is the product of a weak era where “there’s nobody out there” as Marvin Hagler himself has stated. But in the same way that we cannot knock Floyd for that, we cannot give him extra credit either.

Maidana was practically shut out by Devon Alexander and lost to Amir Khan, but somehow Mayweather is considered special for struggling against Maidana in the first fight before beating him in a rematch. Due to his smart self-promotion, he will be praised for a rather ordinary accomplishment compared to the real all-time great boxers. Maidana would have been a middle of the pack journeyman if he was fighting in the era of the Big 4, the Armstrong Era, the Robinson era, the Whitaker era, and many, many more.

This special treatment is nothing new. The unwarranted extra credit of Mayweathers’ victories has been present for his entire career. Diego Corrales was dominated by Clottey, lost to Casamayor, and was knocked out by Castillo in 4 rounds. Somehow Mayweather is given special treatment above all of these fighters and his victory is treated as something unique or special.
Mayweather himself stated before his fight with Gatti that Gatti was a paper champion and a C-class fighter, yet he is considered special for this victory. Mayweather defeated Judah who has lost all of his notable fights to Tzyu, Baldomir, Cotto, Clottey, and more, but only Floyd is given special treatment for beating Judah.

Baldomir never beat an elite opponent, and lost to Vernon Forrest immediately after he fought Mayweather. Boxing fans with knowledge recognize Forrest as a very good boxer, yet only Mayweather is given extra credit as a so-called all-time great.

Oscar De La Hoya had lost 2 of his last 4 fights, and 3 of his last 4 in actuality considering his gift decision over Sturm. No one recognizes Sturm as a highly accomplished boxer for beating De La Hoya, but Mayweather gets special treatment for beating a more washed up version of De La Hoya.

Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright beat a prime Shane Mosley twice apiece, while Mayweather fought a very past prime and nearly 40 year old Mosley. Yet Mayweather is given way more credit for his victory over Mosley than Forrest and Wright’s far more credible victories. Cotto immediately lost to Trout after fighting Mayweather, but Trout is never given the unreasonable praise that is given to Mayweather for his good, but blown out of proportion victory.

The business and hype of the sport should not cloud the objective judgment of a fighter’s accomplishments. I am definitely not saying Floyd is not an accomplished boxer, but when put in perspective his career does not stack up with the top of the list of all-time greats. The drama of his last two fights with a relatively ordinary opponent like Maidana also does not hide that.



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