Anthony Mason

Mayweather’s Victories Over Maidana Prove Little

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floyd677By Anthony Mason: As expected, Floyd Mayweather Jr defeated Marcos Maidana for a second time. Considering that Mayweather’s own uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, said that Maidana had not beaten anyone of note, there isn’t much to celebrate about. It is very ironic that Floyd does what several boxers have done before, but is somehow given special treatment and extra credit for his accomplishments.

Having not even 50 fights in almost 20 years, one would at the very least hope that Mayweather would stay undefeated at this age considering the opponents he fought.

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Is Floyd Mayweather Jr a Top 60 Pound-For-Pound All Time?

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floyd33By Anthony Mason: A long time ago, I made an article explaining why Floyd Mayweather is not a top 45 pound for pound boxer of all time, but I made a big mistake. I forgot to mention several other fighters better than him, making Floyd actually outside of the top 60 greatest pound for pound boxers.

Let me just start off by saying that Mayweather is definitely a very skillful boxer, and he has accomplished some big things for the standards of his era. His defense is masterful, his counter-punching and timing are incredible, and his ability to adjust is remarkable.

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Appreciating Underrated Fighters of the Past

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By Anthony Mason: Over time, certain boxers are forgotten as the sport moves on. It’s important to look back on some of the lesser known boxers of the past, and appreciate what they contributed to the sport. If it weren’t for the great boxers of the past, the way would not have been paved for those of the present. I assembled a small list of some of the underrated boxers of the past and thought it would be a good idea to look back and appreciate their accomplishments. This list is not in any order of ranking, and the exclusion of other underrated fighters is not any indication of their ranking either.

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Mayweather, Pacquiao, and Others Prove Weakness of This Era

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pac645By Anthony Mason: “The truth is, it makes the game [where] players have to be more skillful. Nowadays, literally anybody can get out there and get to the basket and you can’t touch anybody. Back then, if guys put their hands on you, you had to have the skill to be able to go both ways, change direction, post up, you had to have a mid-range game because you didn’t want to go all the way to the basket because you would get knocked ass over tea kettle. So I think PLAYING THE GAME BACK THEN REQUIRED MUCH MORE SKILL.” – Kobe Bryant (whose prime years were all in the 2000s) on the NBA of the 1980s/1990s

With this quote, Kobe Bryant, who won all 5 of his NBA championships in the 2000s, disproved the common myth that athletes get better as the years go by. When a sport first starts, it is true that there is a learning curve that needs to be passed. Eventually, however, there is a point where the development of a sport plateaus. Sure, some might point to the steady increase in sprinting times over the years as “proof” that today’s athletes are superior.

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Mayweather and Maidana Have No Right to Complain About Dirty Tactics

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floyd777777By Anthony Mason: A lot of drama has surrounded the pre-fight hype of the Mayweather-Maidana rematch, especially with regards to rough house tactics – coming from both fighters. Maidana’s team complains that Mayweather uses his elbows to sneak in shots to the throat and face, while Mayweather’s side compare Maidana to an MMA fighter.

Neither of them have any reason to complain. Referees should allow boxers to be physical to a degree. The old school fighters, the vast majority of whom are far superior to the new school, went through much rougher circumstances than either Mayweather or Maidana. Both boxers need to man up and get ready to fight physical.

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Canelo’s Gift Decision Proves he is not yet Elite

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canelo90By Anthony Mason: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) got a win over Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs), but it was far from legitimate. Alvarez had his chance to prove himself, but once again he failed to legitimately win against a truly elite boxer. Canelo, regardless of what the judges said, in reality has lost to the only two elite boxers that he has faced.

Lara clearly won the early rounds, but Canelo came back to make it an even fight after eight rounds. However, Lara definitely won the majority of the later rounds with his footwork and counterpunching. Canelo did land the harder shots, but the majority of them were in the middle rounds. There were also times where Lara was retreating without throwing many punches, but again, those were in the middle rounds, and there were not enough of those rounds to give Canelo the victory.

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Mayweather’s unfinished business with Maidana

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floyd777771By Anthony Mason: With the rematch between Mayweather and Maidana pretty much guaranteed, fans can look forward to one of the biggest fights of 2014. Although Maidana is the best option by default, it does not hide that Mayweather’s record is the product of a watered down era on top of his extremely low activity, with only 46 fights in 18 years.

Instead of feasting on the likes of Canelo or Maidana, he could have tried to find his inner Duran and move up in weight to fight prime versions of Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez, far more accomplished boxers than the vast majority of Floyd’s opponents. Even the accomplished boxers on Mayweather’s resume came with caveats.

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Belts, Champions, and Multiple Division Titles Hold Little Value Today

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floyd333By Anthony Mason: Far too often in today’s era of boxing do we hear that a certain fighter is a so-called “world champion” in multiple divisions. That is false 99% of the time. These boxers are simply belt holders in multiple divisions, not world champions. People claim that a fighter is great based on how many “world champions” he has beaten, when none of those opponents are world-class at all.

Floyd Mayweather Jr himself has said that a belt doesn’t define him. That also means that a belt doesn’t define a true world-class champion. Especially in today’s era, where belts are fabricated out of thin air for any journeyman to pick up.

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Wladimir Klitschko faces Kubrat Pulev in easy title defense on September 6th

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wladimir454By Anthony Mason: Wladimir Klitschko will be fighting Kubrat Pulev in a few months time. Once again, Klitschko is able to pad up his title defenses against a weak heavyweight. Pulev may very well be the best option available, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is a weak option. As always with Klitschko, he is the beneficiary of a watered down era where he can accumulate meaningless and worthless title defenses against weak competition.

Unlike Joe Louis, who actually fought in a legitimate heavyweight era, Wladimir’s competition epitomizes a Bum of the Month club. At least when Joe Louis lost, he was losing to the likes of Max Schmeling, Ezzard Charles, and Rocky Marciano. Who did Wladimir lose to? Three D-level boxers in Corrie Sanders, Ross Purrity, and Lamon Brewster.

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