A tribute to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr.

By Boxing News - 05/13/2015 - Comments

Image: A tribute to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr.By Babatis Banda: Floyd Mayweather Jr. has proved from time and time again that he is the best of his era. He has never been shy to say how good or how great he is even when he knew there would be some backlash.

Love or loathe him, he has always had his hands raised after each and every fight. In some moments, he seemed he had reached his summit and the only way was down the hill, but he always upped his game the next fight.

I have watched him, literally from a boy into a man beating them all up. I have seen him fight in front of hostility and they would boo him, and he would smile, always. After the fight the boos would be turned into great disappointment and the next names of those he supposedly was afraid of would be mentioned. It has been his journey through and through. It was as if he has always had two battles at every moment he walked into the ring. His personality has been a myth, a myth in the sense that those close to him tell how good he is, but his persona as a boxer was loud, extravagant and brush.

If you separate his personal life from what he does for a living, it is difficult not to appreciate this man. They will give all excuses about how he fights. They will say he runs, he holds, he has pillow fists, he can’t fight toe to toe, he is this and that. The problem is that there is big hatred for Floyd, for his skill, for his unblemished record, for his loudness, for his filthy richness and for his belief. He is everything a hater would love to hate.

To believe is not a sin. Even the great Mohamed Ali believed in himself, he taunted them, he called them names and they deeply and passionately hated him for it. History then came and placed Ali in his rightful place as the greatest of his era. It is a matter of time that Floyd is recognized by the children of those that loathe him and are full of vile hatred for Mayweather, as the greatest of them all.

The beautiful thing about this master artist is that he does not beg for love, he understands that it’s all about him and what he can do for himself in the ring, he is blessed. Now that he has put an exclamation mark over his career by beating the man they had believed and hyped for years to be the answer to his unbeaten record, he should hung them leathers up and seat back to count his blessings into old age, God allowing.

It is not about who can beat Mayweather, but where he belongs amongst the greats. In my mind and belief, he is the best of them all. I know the arguments, they will say he never went to war, he never did this and that. He was afraid of this and that. Nonsense, the plain truth is why take punishment when you shouldn’t? Why get hit when they are unable to hit you? Why stand there with goons to exchange punches like possessed little brained animals when you can be smart? It’s an art, its either you brawl and hustle and get hurt or you are smart and intelligent and gifted and Floyd is the latter.

All the best of luck Floyd Mayweather Jr. You have provided millions with pleasure to follow the sweet science. It is the sweet science and not the MMA and they wished you got hurt and hit more than you did. They wished you got knocked out and put to sleep in your fights and they wish your name would get subdued, erased from history. They wish nobody can ever mention your name ever again but that is in futility.

You have done your part, you are just flesh and blood and it’s not your duty to please everyone. You can take down an elephant today, they will still find something negative to say, but I say that the bitter feeling you have given them each time you fought is enough to choke them into their sleep every night.



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