By John Kelvin: One of the most consistent accusations which is thrown at Floyd Mayweather Jr. by some media and fans is that he is scared or ducking certain fighters. For years Mayweather was called a coward because it was perceived by members of the media (the writers who only cover big fights and ignore everything else) that he was avoiding a fight with Manny Pacquiao.

When Mayweather clearly defeated Pacquiao last May in Las Vegas, Nevada, there was a mass outcry and anger about what happened. Anyone who knows or follows boxing knew that Mayweather was going to win decisively. The majority of pro boxers and analysts picked Mayweather to win a decision.

The media and fans forgot that Pacquiao had struggled or lost against good technical boxers like Marquez and Morales and that he had been knocked out cold only a few fights previously. All of this was forgotten in the lead up to the fight. If people had taken the time to study the sport they might have been less surprised and angry given that Pacquiao being out-boxed had happened before.

In wake of defeating Pacquiao, the new accusation was that Mayweather waited for Pacquiao to get old before fighting him and the fight should have happened three or four years previously. This again doesn’t make sense given that Mayweather is older than Pacquiao. If the fight had taken place three or four years ago, it is true that Pacquiao might have performed better. However, three years ago Mayweather was also a lot better than he is now. It is unlikely that the fight would have played out any differently. Pacquiao would still have struggled to overcome Mayweather’s calmness, focus and technical boxing skills.

The reason the fight didn’t happen between 2008 – 2010 is purely down to business. Due to Pacquaio’s success at raising from lightweight to welterweight, he was promoted and marketed as the fighter to finally defeat Mayweather. As long as Pacquiao was winning impressively and Mayweather was fighting other opponents, it could be claimed and was believed by many that Mayweather was avoiding the fight. People think that an aggressive fighter who comes forward sometimes recklessly and scores a a lot of stoppages is fearless. People thought things like “Why would Pacquiao be scared of a guy who can’t score knockouts” or ” Mayweather only has good defense he has no offense. Pacquiao would break his defense and beat him badly. Mayweather is scared because of this”. Due to Mayweather appearing to be less reckless and more defensively aware in his fights it was easier for media and fans to accuse of him of avoiding the fight. There was no thought that Pacquiao might have had doubts due to his past struggles with fighters who could box and counter punch effectively.

As long as the claim that Mayweather was scared was believed by fans and maintained by the media, it allowed Top Rank to match Pacquiao with other opponents. Pacquiao had no say in who he fought, the promoter decides the matches. By matching Pacquiao with other less threatening boxers, it allowed the $20 to $30 million paydays to continue whilst also increasing the demand for the Mayweather fight. By increasing the demand from the fans for the fight, it would increase the amount of money which would be generated. This was the strategy and it worked. If Pacquiao faced Mayweather in 2009 or 2010 and lost, the huge pay off fight would have vanished. The huge media coverage and attention to paid to Pacquiao at this time was mostly due to him being promoted as the one to conquer Mayweather. If he lost back then, a lot of people would have lost interest and a lot of the big potential pay days would have disappeared. Mayweather would still have had the huge fights against Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

The boxer which Mayweather is now supposedly avoiding is the middleweight, Gennady Golovkin. Golovkin is two weight divisions heavier than Mayweather. Mayweather is not even a natural welterweight. For the first Marcos Maidana fight, Mayweather weighed in at 149 lbs 30 days before the fight. For the rematch it was 150 lbs and for Pacquiao it was 150.5 lbs. What natural welterweight has weights like that 30 days before a fight? Most welterweights are in the 160s or high 150s. Mayweather is a 140 lb fighter. It’s silly to suggest that Mayweather should move up to 160 lbs to face Golovkin. Weight classes exist for a reason. It’s true that Ray Robinson moved up from welterweight to Middleweight but Robinson started his career at welterweight. Mayweather started at super featherweight, he has already moved up five weight divisions. The media should instead question why Golovkin was willing to face Carl Froch and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at 168lbs but is demanding a catch weight to face Andre Ward.

Fans and professional writers have to learn the history of the sport and try to develop a greater understanding of boxing in general. Maybe then they wouldn’t be blinded by their ignorance and biases and appreciate great boxers like Floyd Mayweather.

Contact me at shovelhookboxing@hotmail.com