By Klaas Mabetlela: Floyd Mayweather Jr. has confounded his critics and surprised even his fiercest supporters while putting to bed many questions that have been asked about his armory. If one boxer can bring Paris Hilton to the boxing match, it is Floyd Mayweather Jr.
First things first, I think he has regained his pound for pound status as the king of the hill. Mayweather arguably lost only one round when outclassing fellow pound for pound compatriots in Juan Manuel Marquez and Sugar Shane Mosley. It is not a case of undermining a formidable Manny Pacquiao who is a great fighter in his own right, but it is a matter of what have you done for us lately.
I began sensing a change in Mayweather’s attitude when he decided not to pay the sanctioning fees and decided not to fight for the title. The people who has been following Mayweather’s career know that he likes his titles. Secondly, he started talking about legacy more and more. It should be noted that for all his bravado and tough guy image, Mayweather is simply an everyday guy who is very sensitive to criticism. The negative publicity has been hurting him and he needed this fight to prove once and for all what he is made of. His preparations were herculean and he was the fittest sportsman in the world entering that ring. He looked bigger than Mosley in that ring and maintained his strength for 12 rounds whilst Mosley faded badly down the stretch.
The fact that he absorbed those right hands from Mosley had more to do with his physical and mental fitness than anything else. He was just in the trance and ironically he came even more aggressive in the 3rd round. What is even more interesting is his reaction when he got hit. The natural reaction is to hit back, but he used his brain and instinctively bought time by tying up just a bit to get a breather and neutralized Mosley’s ability to throw more bombs at that moment. For that split second, the combination of supreme conditioning, willpower and boxing brain saved him from disaster.
If people still say that he is not tested, then I say they do not know what sweet science is all about. Mayweather is not only a practitioner of sweet science, but he is a master scientist in as far as his craft is concerned. He did not panic and changed his game-plan when tagged. Instead, he committed more to what he came to do. He would have run and boxed more on the outside, but he elected not to and gained respect and legions of new fans.
Mayweather will still have his critics going forward but he certainly earned respect of most with his performance against Mosley. I think we have not seen the last of Ms. Hilton during boxing matches.
Comments are closed.