https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Rf53JoTjk

By Kurt Jean: Boxing is called the sweet science. It is a science, an art, a way of life and a philosophy. It is a martial art that imparts benefits to its practitioners at different layers of their being and characters. In martial arts and life , there is ever but one opponent and one opponent only. That opponent remains you, yourself. The goal is to ultimately defeat yourself, your fears, your insecurities and limitations. That practice happens at numerous levels. Some master the body, some the mind, on occasions, both. Some partially break down the barriers of fear. The goal is to use boxing to access the unlimited potential and wisdom latent in every human being. Some realize this truth , others fail short .

The science of boxing is so vast and rich, that narrowing the meaning of greatness to wins-losses is an innocent but nonetheless major mistake. Most of the boxers recognized as some of the best ever come from very common socio-economical backgrounds. Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Hezzard Charles, Sugar Ray Leonard, just to name a few. What was it that enabled them to become master boxers? What was the fire that drove them? What pleasure did they derive from the science?

Observed strictly on grounds of a pragmatic inquiry, two humans willfully fighting till one of them is physically unable to continue cannot confer much constructive benefits. Aesthetically, though, the mystery of this combat sport enlivens the hearts of the onlookers and of fighters. Positivity, creativity resilience, beauty, wisdom, intelligence, humbleness are all qualities that can be derived from participating or watching boxing.

This primal and captivating feeling, seeing two warriors pushing themselves beyond pain. We all enjoy, even venerate those gladiators who fought for an idea. The great ones who mended the gap between the mental and the physical through courage and stern one pointedness. In those surreal moments, they climbed up a ladder towards mystique and immortality.

In a mutual trade off, our twisted thirst -craving for brutal punches and assertive knockouts, coupled with untamable warrior spirits left for grotesque sights at the end of glorious careers, the price they paid for a transcendental status. How many like Ali can claim” I embodied courage and integrity”? The essence of those words permeated his physical frame. He had high aspirations. Ali embodied a principle. How gripping and meaningful were those moments. We gave them love and adulation, such potent, persuasive drugs . In exchange, they brought us along with them to places unimagined. When Ali took on Foreman, they were only two men on this speck of a planet called earth. Fighting on a continent called Africa, floating outcast in the Milky Way . How did he then, Ali, manage to illuminate the entire galaxy with his aura? That is the purity of boxing. It does not make sense, life doesn’t make sense. Yet, when Ali prevailed, everything made sense. When Foreman hit the canvas, the tensions accumulated through the ages of human interaction dropped, in an instant. A heavy burden was lifted off of our shoulders. We had conqueror of flesh and blood ,a real modern day intergalactic man, in front of our eyes who could go after the conquest of dark matter. Racial barriers were annihilated, hunger, jealousy, world problems were all eradicated. They were relegated to the deepest recesses of our nature to be forever forgotten, for a split second of elation. He managed to unite and make us all share one heart. The unity professed and commonly babbled about, he Ali gave a glimpse of it to the world. When he won, we all defeated the daunting and perplexing questions of life. Life was love and bliss, the riddle was answered.

Unfortunately, the best ever is a totally different story. The best ever is the best ever. The best ever is the machine best built for war. The best ever is the best boxing machine ever. The best ever is an earthly thing. The best ever is the one that has defeated himself. He no longer feels the rigours of training, his body never interferes in his plans on way to victory. The best ever has the best boxing mind ever. It means that he is the guy that solved all the problems put in front of him. Overall, he shows, by far the highest ratio of strainless efficiency when accounting all the minutes he spent in the ring. He battles on simultaneous spheres. He won long before entering the ring. He trained with unparalleled honesty. When he trained, he never cheated. He trained his weaknesses to have no apparent flaws. The minimum strain for the maximum results. He beats you strategically. He doesn’t beat you, he takes you apart. He works with the laws and physics and nature. He is an in ring psychologist. He is an analytical machine. His emotions never sway him in the direction of anger and recklessness. You put him in with any fighter, in any category, of any era, and he would defeat the other man’s intelligence, every time.

Generals do not lead man onto the battlefield to get killed. In boxing, your men are your limbs and your overall health. The greatest military strategist are all hailed and respected for their fearlessness, but at the end of the day, being the best military strategist means that no one could ever outsmart you .No matter the tools they had. Irrespective of their strengths you would always pull through and find a way to win. Being the best is about efficiency. Being the best is about longevity. It as nothing to do with action and blood. The real warrior defeats himself in the gym and out of it with the decisions he makes. The best becomes a slave to victory and whatever she demands from him. In the eyes of boxing fans, different heroes live as the best. Sometimes, the greatest are the best. But the best doesn’t have to be the greatest. In the cold, hard world of facts, Floyd Mayweather Jr is by far the best boxer ever. Was he challenged as some of the fighters that came before him, I would have to be honest and say no. I would of loved to see Mayweather take on a many guys he didn’t face, and face some of the guys he later faced sooner. Would it have made a difference? Categorical no. Is he the best boxer ever made, absolutely. No one will ever be as smart as Mayweather when it comes to the art of boxing. Mayweather is one of a kind and there will never, ever, ever be another boxer like him. You never face the best ever, he becomes an inescapable mirror reflecting your weaknesses .You cheated your preparation, you cheated the fundamentals of the sport, he will make you pay for it. He doesn’t fight you, he let’s you fight yourself. In between those moments where you are confused and perplexed, he hits you with shots you never see coming. The punches that hurts are the ones you do not anticipate. Mayweather as made a brilliant career of dividing and conquering. He is a genius in that regard. Giving his opponents different looks, Mayweather takes his opponents minds away from them and leaves their bodies utterly defenceless against his accurate strikes. He doesn’t break you physically or overwhelm you with his power, he fatigues you mentally. He overwhelms you with an array of data that other fighters do not present. He makes you quit and for the final rounds, you become his punching bag. He starts tagging you at will. You become what he wants you to become. He shows you and the world what you always were, someone who cut corners.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Sun Tzu, The art of war

He is the best not because he has a superb defense or because he shoulder rolls. Those things only tie the whole package together. He isn’t a defensive fighter or an offensive fighter, he’s a complete boxer. His offense is as important to his whole craft as his defense. His main offense is his defense and his defense is his offense. How? Because his defense takes his opponents mental energy away from them. Thus, he drains them, without laying hand on them. His poker face is demoralising. When they hit and connect, they expect to see signs of a man hurt. Of fear, of panic. Never, he doesn’t budge. How heartbreaking for a fighter to deliver his hardest punch and not to get some form of satisfaction. Mayweather Jr. takes the satisfaction of landing a punch away from his adversaries. They feel like they are working in vain.

His offense, so deceptive , keeps guys away from him, protecting him. Every time they get hit by invisible strikes, they are less inclined to come forward. If Mayweather really had pillow hands, they would all rush him.

One can surely disagree with every word I have written, as is their right. Our heroes will be our heroes because what they do is intangible and personal to us. It is a feeling and to each it is legitimate. Can we sway others with our emotional opinion? Perhaps, we can try. Nonetheless, even consensus in “feeling” is not law. If Ali is the greatest, no doubt Ali is the greatest, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the best ever.