By Gav Duthie: As we enter the second week of July the countdown is on for the final fight of Floyd Mayweather’s career. September 12 is just over 9 weeks away so given most training camps are at least 8 weeks long we should expect an announcement within the next fortnight at the most.
The only names mentioned so far as jovial as they are have been Andre Berto and Karim Mayfield. There are probably up to 20 or so fighters between the 140lb-160lb division that feel they deserve the fight but at the moment there are 3 who are making the most noise.
This article discusses the tactics employed to goad Mayweather into a fight and how ultimately successful they may prove to be.
Anthony Mundine 47-6 (27)
(Open letter)
In an interesting twist Anthony Mundine has written an open letter to Floyd stating why he should be his next opponent. It begins:
“My name is Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine! I am the uncrowned best athlete of all time.”
Mundine is a boxer never short of confidence but the more you look into him he can actually back up this seemingly absurd claim. There are a few professional boxers who are crossovers from another sport, Englishman Curtis Woodhouse (British title winner) was a professional football player, Kiwi Rugby player Sonny Bill Williams is an undefeated heavyweight and rugby player but Mundine is probably the most successful crossover sportsman ever. Not only was he a professional rugby player he was the highest paid player of The National Rugby League of Australia. He quit aged 24 because of racism within the sport. His only experience of boxing was his father Tony Mundine 80-15-1 (64) but Anthony himself had no amateur background. He fought for a world title in only his 11th fight losing to Sven Ottke and eventually won the WBA despite fighting two divisions above his natural weight. Mundine claims he is:
“The only one that can solve the May-vinchi code”
Of course educated boxing fans would refute that the Australian Aborigine has any chance but you can’t blame a guy for trying, as Anthony says:
“You don’t ask…you don’t get”
Amir Khan 31-3 (19)
(Constant badgering)
There is nothing creative about Khan’s calling out of Mayweather but it is certainly consistent. The closest Amir was to deserving a Mayweather fight was when he destroyed Zab Judah in 5 rounds fresh off the back of a tough fight with Maidana. He has bern calling out Mayweather since back then in 2011. Back to back losses in 2012 and a quiet 2013 forced him back down the pecking order. Despite this it seemed he would get the fight in May 2014 due to a social media poll with Floyd asking who he should fight. Not to jeopardize the potential contest Khan avoided fighting Devon Alexander In December 2013 but Floyd fought Maidana anyway stating Khan was 2-2 whilst Maidana was 4-0 at welterweight since ironically losing to Devon Alexander. Since then Khan has been very vocal calling out Floyd.
– He has said Floyd has went back on his word
– That Khan’s style is one that would cause Mayweather more problems than Pacquiao
– That he has proved himself in the welterweight division
– Has said that Floyd Mayweather Snr thinks Khan could beat his son
– Stated that he is the biggest name out there due to his UK and US popularity
Of course we could pick these points apart and I am sure many will but the point is Khan has become obsessed with fighting Floyd. Even when every other boxer was pretty quiet leading up to the Pacquiao fight Amir was still calling him out.
Amir unlike many hasn’t tore into Andre Berto and Karim Mayfield because they are stable mates with Khan but the man from Bolton believes he is the bigger name than anyone else in the division.
Keith Thurman 25-0 (21)
(Laid out the blueprint)
Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman’s strategy has been refreshingly different. He has laid out to fans exactly how he can get to Floyd Mayweather in the ring. Many boxers will give you the throw away comments like ‘I see weaknesses’ or ‘I have a gameplan’ but Thurman went a step further going into specifics.
He said with Mayweather’s stance he is always waiting to land a right hand counter. He stands on his toes with his right foot, he leans forward “We call that a bait” Thurman says, he waits for a jab then he throws the right hand over the top. “I would throw a lazy jab on purpose and then trade right hands”. He says Floyd’s might be quicker but he would keep trading and he knows he could hurt Floyd. He also stated when Mayweather is on the ropes and he uses the shoulder roll he is susceptible to body shots, a short or a half left hook and an uppercut. Thurman states people say Floyd is unbeatable but he is not un-hurtable and he believes he can hurt him.
Saying it and doing it are two completely different things but with his comments he has definitely got me curious.
The others
On the wings are former foes Shawn Porter and Kell Brook. Neither have been particularly vocal as neither are trash talkers. Porter did say that he was an a-list fighter and would rather face Mayweather himself than Errol Spence Jnr on his undercard. Brook meanwhile is risking losing his fight with Brandon Rios on the same date as he waits for Mayweather to choose. Personally I think Mayweather will be aware of all of this and as he is a smart businessman he will choose the one that he thinks will gain the most public interest. With that in mind as long as he gets past Luis Collazo next week I think he should fight Keith Thurman.
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