(Photo credit: Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions) By Gerardo Granados: I believe it was credited to George Foreman the phrase that states that Boxing is like Jazz, that the better it is the least people appreciate it. If I was going to fight I would try to emulate future hall of fame member Floyd Mayweather Jr boxing style but if I pay to see two prizefighters then I expect them to use boxing skills whilst accept the risks to beat his opponent into submission, the most brutal and violent the fight is the most pleased that I am.
Once called Pretty Boy, Mayweather Jr began his pro career back in October 11 of 1996, won his first world title two years later against WBC super featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez in October 3 of 1998.
Mayweather headed a lot of main events winning world titles in five weight divisions and ended his boxing career as the undisputed Pay Per View King. But will he be remembered exclusively by boxing purist or will the rest of fight fans ever prefer him over Valhalla warriors who pleased the crowd with epic battles.
In the land of the blind the one-eyed is king. Was Floyd that good or is it that now a days boxers spent more time on physical conditioning than to polishing their boxing skills? Berto looked raw to say the least while Mayweather on times simply toyed with his fit strong but boxing skill limited opponent.
Money fully dominated Andre Berto (which was no surprise) but he is only one more name added to a long list of fighters whom Floyd schooled, be it Canelo Alvarez, Robert Guerrero, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Arturo Gatti and Manny Pacquiao.
The cold statistics have him retired with an undefeated record of W49(26)-L0-D0 also a title fight record of W26(10)-L0-D0.
Mayweather’s notable victories came against: Genaro Hernandez, Gregorio Vargas, Diego Corrales, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo (twice*), DeMarcus Corley, Arturo Gatti, Sharmba Mitchell, Zab Judah, Carlos Manuel Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez, Marcos Rene Maidana (twice), Manny Pacquiao, and Andre Berto.
The shadow of his first Castillo bout will always be brought up when you talk about him; I saw Castillo win that night but even if Floyd had officially lost the bout I doubt Mayweather would not have achieved what he has in the last 19 years.
Undoubtedly his biggest win came against Pacquiao but as I stated in a previous article that fight was past due but still it did such great numbers on gate – PPV that it is a record that hardly will be matched.
The Floyd fight I liked the most was against Oscar De la Hoya, I remember been at a bar full of Golden Boy supporters but many of them seemed casual fans who cheered every single time Oscar threw a punch and it didn’t matter to them if the punch landed or not. I remember how Money just as many of boxers who wear the traditional Charro hat wore it backwards.
When the score cards were announced I was pleased to see De la Hoya lost but most of the regulars to the bar didn’t like the verdict, I guess there were only maybe five fellas cheering for Floyd that night.
I remember his fight against Ricky Hatton, that time Floyd broke my heart because I really wanted Hatton to win, not only I lost a bet that night but also learned that Mayweather feasted on pressure fighters.
I speak as a fight fan when I say that I don’t like Floyd boxing style because it is simply too defensive for my personal taste; but I do acknowledge he has mastered his craft to the elite level that only a few have achieved.
There are no epic battles for Floyd to recall, he never had the need to show his heart by pulling himself off the canvas, and his hunger and determination were shown by his work ethics and his hard work dedication slogan and not by trailing from behind on the score cards to win.
If I was to make a top 10 list of my favorite’s fighters I would never consider him to be included but if I was to make an all-time top 10 pure boxers he would definitely be included. And if I was to make a list of the best defensive boxers Floyd would belong to the top three.
After the fight ended Floyd announced his retirement and somehow he convinced me. Boxers often come back from retirement because they need money, but Floyd seems to have more than enough so I don’t think he would consider a comeback unless he is guaranteed a 100 million split for him.
For Oscar de la Hoya an era ended with Floyd being the most boring, but for me bitterness speaks.
Do the readers think that Floyd Mayweather was like a virtuoso Jazz artist?
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