Lay off Floyd Mayweather

by Andrew Morrow: For as long as I can remember writers and fans alike have been stating that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s boxing record is padded with guys that he was “guaranteed” to defeat. What is especially disturbing to this writer is that a lot of these “haters” seem to be American.

I myself am from Northern Ireland and as such I for one would be proud to call Floyd British. Fans in Britain appreciate their great fighters-guys like Hatton, Calzaghe and Lewis were idolized here. Hatton is an icon over here as is evident from the amount of fans he usually brought to America with him (see Malignaggi and Mayweather fights). If Floyd were British then I am convinced that he would be idolized also. Despite his excessive lifestyle Floyd seems to genuinely care about the fans. Therefore I am at a loss as to why many American fans choose to support Manny Pacquiao instead.

These so called fans and writers continually slate Floyd’s level of opposition, calling him a coward and saying that he only takes fights that he is sure to win. I would make a counter argument-Floyd usually takes on DANGEROUS opponents, most of whom are on winning streaks. To prove this let’s analyze some of his opponents.

• Jose Luis Castillo. Many haters feel that “Money” lost their first fight so therefore a second fight would be seen as risky, right??? Yet Floyd took it anyway and won convincingly

• The late Diego Corrales who was an unbeaten IBF super featherweight champion. Hardly an easy fight yet Floyd knocked Diego down 5 times

• The late, great Arturo Gatti. Gatti was a superstar at that stage who held the WBC light welterweight title. Again, hardly an easy fight yet one that Floyd won with relative ease by the halfway stage

• Carlos Baldomir. Recognised at that stage by Ring Magazine as the true welterweight champion. Had recently defeated Zab Judah and Gatti. Mayweather outclassed the Argentine who was a solid opponent

• Oscar de la Hoya. Critics often point out that Oscar was finished by this stage. Yet De la Hoya was the WBC light middleweight champ. Floyd was fighting at this weight (No catchweight) for the first time against a bigger, stronger, skilful opponent so to say that Floyd was sure to win this is ludicrous.

• Ricky Hatton. Critics say that Hatton was too small for Mayweather. The guy was the Light Welterweight king and was ultra aggressive and had power in both hands. Again, it was hardly certain that Floyd would win. Yet articles have been published on this site saying that Bradley (Light Welter king) is a credible opponent for Manny. Double standards anyone?

• Shane Mosley. Haters say that Shane was done. Yet Shane had just knocked the iron chinned, most avoided man in boxing Antonio Margarito out and he looked fantastic doing it. I would argue that Shane was far more dangerous than he was when Manny fought him.

• Victor Ortiz. Here we have a big strong, fast and powerful welterweight champion for Floyd’s comeback bout. Hardly an easy opponent!!

• Miguel Cotto. Finally we have the talented Puerto Rican star. Money is going up in weight to fight for Miguel’s WBA title. Miguel is on a three win streak with 3 knockouts at this weight. He is talented, has power and can box and move. Floyd is going up in weight, no catch weights involved to fight the guy. Hardly a sure victory is it?? Manny got the guy at his worst (bad beating from Margarito, poor outing against Clottey).

So there you have it. All of the fighters above were talented; some held belts and most were on winning streaks. Therefore to belittle Floyd’s record is silly. I admit he should have fought some guys like Tszyu. Yet a lot of fans continue to put Floyd down. Yes he is flashy and arrogant but he is a master of his craft who should be adored by boxing fans the world over. He never fights bums but dangerous opponents.

Haters state that Floyd only takes fights that he is guaranteed to win. In boxing there are no guarantees. Ask James Kirkland. Who do these people expect Floyd to fight? Alvarez? Come on the kid’s too green. James Kirkland? A good match. Martinez at 160? A good match. Too high a weight even for Floyd and if they fought at 154 the haters would say that Sergio was weight drained. Berto? Come on. Khan? Kid ain’t in the same class. Morales? Too old. Maidana? Please. I ask the haters, who would you like Floyd to fight? If there are no sensible answers then lay off Floyd!!!