42 wins and 0 losses, the record of a boxer that without doubt is the best pound for pound in the world right now. As Floyd Mayweather turns 35 theres very little room for argument that there is anyone better out there, 'Manny Pacquiao' i hear you scream, i'll be sure to touch on that at the end of this post. I really wanted to have a chance to write about the 5 weight division world champion because of his flamboyant nature, controversial publicity and his ability in the ring and no time is better than on the birthday of the WBC champion.
Whenever i speak to anyone about Mayweather , it's either 'I love him'or 'I hate him', which i think is exactly how Mayweather would want it to be, playing the good guy in the ring is something he can easily carry with his ability to outbox anyone put in front of him, but playing the villain is what he does best, no more so than when taking on Jose Castillo, 'Golden boy' Oscar De la hoya and Ricky Hatton in three of the biggest encounters of his career. Winning his first WBC title against Genaro Hernandez he proved that he was the real deal and could hold his own in the ring, then going on to defeat Diego Corrales in a fashion that could be described as boxing perfection, Corrales had the fight stopped by his trainer due to being knocked down 5 times. In the rematch Mayweather proved once again that he was not to be taken lightly, tying up a unanimous decision to take him to 29-0. Going on to beat Artuo Gatti, who was not at the peak of his career to say the least proved easy. Then a slightly tougher test in the awkward style of Zab Judah, winning a UD but found it very hard to overcome the rough and dirty style Judah brought to the ring, for me it was exactly what Mayweather needed at this point of his career to prove that he was happy to go the distance and dig in the trenches when he needed to.
For me and others around me the biggest test of his career would be when he took to the stage in the biggest box office match ever, generating $120 million in revenue he took on the 38-4 Oscar de la hoya. De la hoya had already lost to Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad and many thought this was going to be another loss on his record for the aging De La Hoya. With Mayweather landing 207 of his 481 punches thrown and De La Hoya only landing 122 of his 587 thrown it was hard to see how the judges couldn’t agree on a unanimous decision. I guess because of the volume of punches thrown by Hoya it people may have overlooked the punching accuracy of Mayweather who in my opinion deserved the win.
Getting hyped for his next fight was easy for me as Ricky Hatton is one of my favourite all time boxers, but regardless to who Hatton had beat before he had never come up against someone with the ability of Mayweather. A TKO in round 10 shattered any dream both myself and Ricky Hatton had of ending the undefeated record of the pound for pound champion. many argue that the way Joe Cortez officiated the match didn’t allow Hatton to execute his best boxing, but Mayweather still had a job to do and that he did.
Wins against Juan Marquez, Shane Mosley and Victor Ortiz proved that Mayweather was capable of winning in all situations, In my opinion Mayweather boxed better than i had ever seen against Marquez and his counter punching was comparable of Muhammad Ali. Mosley had Mayweather on the canvas only to be out boxed and pointed as mayweather turned the fight completely on its head and dominated from there on
out. And in most controversial fashion Mayweather KO'd Ortiz in round 4 after Ortiz had reached in to touch gloves as an apology for his low shot a moment before, Mayweather capitalised and hit Ortiz with a shot that left him on the canvas in disbelief of what just happened, i personally say he had it coming after the low shot.
Ultimately it leaves us with one last question, does any of this matter if he doesn’t fight Manny Pacquiao? To put it simply yes, of course it matters, this is a record that not many boxers in the sports history can relate to and regardless to any criticism he has received he has still beat some of the best boxers around. Its the fight we are crying out to see, as both fighter boast records and wins that can only be topped if the beat each other, they have traded the pound for pound position more than i can remember. Comments like 'this fight
will save boxing' and 'only match worth watching' is rubbish, there’s many great matches to look forward to and im sure many more in the pipeline, what i do agree with is critics saying that this will define both of these men, because it will and i feel that they will have so much respect for each other after the fight. Mayweather has been reported saying that no matter what decision he makes now he will always be
criticised, 'your opponent was too small' or 'your opponent was too old', and i agree but one thing his for sure his next fight with Miguel Cotto will be another huge fight that he will have to overcome, i know its not the Pacquiao fight we were all promised, but im really looking forward to it. My last point, who cares if he flaunts his money to the masses that watch, who cares if he insults other world class athletes on social network sites and who cares if he is behind bars for 87days, this is all part of the reason, you either love him......or hate him.
zzz Mayweather sucks and has only beaten fighters below his weight or past it, Cotto will show him. it took a long time but finally he takes on a true welter, but still avoids the pacman. oh and de-la-hoya was beating him according to most judges,
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