By Ben Walton:
“I think my grandmother saw my potential first. When I was young, I told her, ‘I think I should get a job.’ She said, ‘No, just keep boxing.’
Floyd Mayweather Jr. [New York Times]
On May 4th “Cinco de Mayo” weekend, Arguably the greatest fighter of his generation WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0-0, 26 KO’s) will take on American born of Mexican heritage Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in Las Vegas Nevada.
Guerrero, a fighter in his prime, is thought by some to be Floyd’s best opponent since the 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya.
In taking this fight, I think Floyd means business. This fight, along with the recent announcement of an up to 6 fight deal over 30 months with showtime, shows that Floyd is possibly looking to take all the marbles. Period.
The Mayweather’s are a big boxing family no mistake, brothers Floyd senior and Roger, were pros during the 80’s with fairly respectable records, and along with younger sibling Jeff who fought during the 90’s, have gone on to become highly respected trainers in the sport. It was only a matter of time in my eyes for something great to come from this sort of pugilistic bloodline.
Over the last few years, Floyd has been very inactive, seemingly very much a fighter looking to wind down his career.
Could it be the recent rise of Adrien Broner, and the talk of him being the next FM or ever better, has ignited the fire inside of Floyd?
Lets look at Floyd’s record: undefeated in 43 fights – if he beats Guerrero that takes him to 44-0. Six fights with showtime (a phenomenal feat in itself in 30 months) would take him to 50-0, eclipsing Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0.
I think Floyd is gunning for the top spot.
In Mayweather, we have one of the greatest ever fighters to lace up a glove. A five weight champion who has won eight world titles, and the lineal championship in three different weight classes.
He is two time ring fighter of the year, and has also won Boxing writers association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year award in 2007 and the Best Fighter ESPY award in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. His record will stand the test of time.
By making this deal with showtime, I think Floyd is looking to cement his legacy as arguably THE greatest fighter of all time.
One can only guess the future fights on the horizon for Money should he overcome The Ghost on May 4th, but one thing is certain – complete the task of beating six more top opponents before hanging up the gloves, and Floyd is right up there with the best ever.
There are always going to be the nay Sayers who will pick holes in a fighters record, and up until this point there have been sections of fans questioning Floyd’s opponents over the years rightly or wrongly so, but if he guides this second coming – resurrection if you like, in the right direction in terms of opposition and performance, I think we may be witnessing something that will be written in the history of boxing as the greatest record ever..
Comments are closed.