By John F. McKenna (McJack): World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s) is the fighter everyone, or almost everyone loves to hate. When a fighter is intensely disliked by such a large segment of the boxing world it becomes difficult for many to look at his amazing talent with objectivity.

Mayweather’s KO over former WBC welterweight champ Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) on September 17 is a case in point. Nearly everything “Money” does either inside or outside the ring is done to engender a reaction from boxing fans who are pro or con regarding Floyd. Mayweather has legions of fans as evidenced by his huge Pay Per View (PPV) sales no matter who he fights. Floyd is a genius when it comes to marketing himself and fully realizes as Muhammad Ali did decades before that when you get people mad at you they will gleefully pay money to watch you receive your “come uppance”.

So far boxing fans who want to see Mayweather lose are still waiting. And with the way Floyd analyzes and reanalyzes his potential opponents it is not likely that he will lose anytime soon. At this stage of his career Mayweather seems to be so paranoid about protecting his “O” that that in the end it may affect his legacy. Future boxing historians will not look back kindly upon a fighter who chose to bypass certain opponents and one in particular.

Boxing fans and ring historians call Sugar Ray Robinson the greatest fighter of all time because in his prime he dodged no one. He fought the best fighters out there and beat them. Not to fight a fighter for fear of losing to him is as bad as losing itself.

Let’s take a look at what has made Floyd Mayweather such a great fighter. He has without question the finest defense seen in decades in the ring. This writer would be hard pressed to name a fighter in boxing history with superior defensive skills. There were some really great defensive fighters in the early part of the 20th century, but they were mortal men too.

In addition to being a defensive genius Floyd possesses a high boxing IQ. He is without peer in adapting to his opponents strengths and weaknesses and is as good a ring tactician as there currently is in boxing.

Mayweather exhibits pin point accuracy in his punching and rarely bypasses an opening when it presents itself. Victor Ortiz found this out the hard way on September 17.

As important as anything else in Floyd Mayweather’s makeup is his ability to compartmentalize and focus on getting the job done. The ability to stay cool under pressure is a trait that cannot be taught and Floyd has demonstrated it time and again in the ring.