Is the sport of boxing better off without Mayweather?

09/13/2015 by joey1320

_DSC4603 (Photo credit: Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions) by J.R. Leon: Before you, the reader, automatically assume that I’m not a fan of pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr, due to the article’s title, you would be incorrect. I enjoy Mayweather’s ring dominance and his defensive-minded style, although many other people would call it boring.

As a boxer, Mayweather has proven time and time again, that his defense and sharpshooting offense is second to none and as he proudly recites, “forty nine have tried but none succeeded”. But as a business man, Mayweather has taken complete control of boxing’s Junior Welterweight to Middleweight divisions, for the past decade, due to the ever present opportunity to be the lucky boxer to face him.

The Blueprint 2.0 – How Pacquiao can beat Mayweather

04/09/2015 by joey1320

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ze6VhS1wNw
by J.R. Leon: Before I go into how Manny Pacquiao can beat pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., let me say I expect Floyd to win via 12rd. unanimous decision. There, I said it. No need to send any death threats. This is not a post hating on Floyd, this is a post trying to figure out a way for Manny to beat him(easier said than done).

Now if you were to listen to Oscar De La Hoya, Robert Garcia or even many boxing fans, you would think that the only way to win against Floyd is to use constant aggression and unrelenting pressure. This is the so called “blueprint” that De La Hoya said he left for others to follow, even though everyone who has used it has lost decisively – including Marcos Maidana on their first fight, which for some odd reason some people think he won.

Wasted Opportunities – Why Lara should have done much more against Canelo

07/13/201407/13/2014 by joey1320

(Picture credit: Hogan Photos) by J.R. Leon: After the overall lackluster performances by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Erislandy Lara during last nights’ Showtime pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, it was quite obvious that Lara’s game plan was to mimic Floyd Mayweather Jr. and use the “stick and move” strategy, which Mayweather Jr. used beautifully against Alvarez last September.

Unfortunately for Lara, his game plan didn’t pan out as he hoped, losing a questionable split decision and once again pushing him back into the second tier of boxing, when it comes to promotional backing.

Maidana, trained to fail?

04/30/2014 by joey1320

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) by J.R. Leon: Marco Maidana’s trainer and 2012 Trainer Of The Year, Robert Garcia, said in Episode 2 of Showtime’s All Access that Floyd Mayweather’s toughest fights were against opponents who applied pressure and made the fight an aggressive one. Unfortunately, if this is the way Maidana is being trained for his upcoming fight against Floyd, he will be in lots of trouble.

Looking back on Floyd’s most recent fights, going back to the Zab Judah fight in 2008, you can clearly see how speed and accuracy was and still is Floyd’s biggest enemy. Judah, who at that time was still considered one of the best 147 pounders in the world, in my honest opinion won the first three rounds against Floyd, even making Floyd touch his glove against the canvas on the second round, which the ref called a slip.

But knowing what we know about Judah, by the fifth round he was gassed as usual and was outclassed by a better opponent. But right there we saw what was needed to beat Floyd – speed and accuracy.

Could Matthysse and Malignaggi face each other soon?

09/16/2013 by joey1320

by J.R. Leon: Welterweight contenders Paulie Malignaggi and Lucas Matthysse find their boxing careers at a crossroad after their recent losses to Adrien Broner and Danny Garcia respectively. Both fighters are still a marketable entity, with Matthysse having the upper hand due to his great power punching abilities and knockout record, and I believe a fight between the two would help their chances at a major promotional push from Golden Boy Inc.

The intriguing part about this fight, if it ever got made, is the fact that Matthysse, who was expected to become the next Manny Pacquiao as proclaimed by Golden Boy’s CEO Richard Schaefer (after his brutal knockout of Lamont Peterson on May 18th, 2013), clearly lost a one sided decision to Danny Garcia, who resembles the same style of fighter as Malignaggi. Both Garcia and Malignaggi are considered boxers and not brawlers, although Garcia has more punching power, and Matthysse was not really able to impose his will on Garcia as everyone in the boxing community expected him to.

Seaching for Canelo’s offensive strategy

09/15/2013 by joey1320

by J.R. Leon: As the boxing world watched on September 14th, 2013, Floyd Mayweather’s victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was no real surprise. Floyd Mayweather was expected to win the fight against the younger opponent, and the Las Vegas’ betting lines, plus all the boxing experts(besides Teddy Atlas) had Floyd winning the fight by either a unanimous decision (which I had it by) or by a late stoppage. Floyd won the fight via a majority decision, which was ridiculous, but the simple truth is that he won.

The general consensus was that Floyd’s speed, defense and ring experience would prove to be too much for the up and coming Mexican superstar to handle, and that’s exactly how the fight unfolded. Floyd’s impeccable performance over Alvarez and his complete dominance of Robert Guerrero on May 4, 2013 should solidify him as Ring Magazine’s “Fighter of the Year”, the same award he won in 2007 after defeating Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.