By Paul Strauss, Eastside Boxing
In medicine, a partial definition of idiopathic means a pain arising from an obscure or unknown cause. Floyd certainly isn't unknown, but the reasons behind his actions are what present the conundrum. For many boxing fans, it gives pause. Why would someone who seemingly is so obsessed with his legacy do what he did to snafu the biggest fight of his career? Why would someone who espouses greatness take actions that alienate him with fans? One can assume that at this stage of his career, he has been acting, saying and doing things in a certain way for so long that it has apparently become reality or truth for him. His behavior is not unlike the pathological prevaricator who gets so caught up in the situation that he has created that he is forced to continue to distort, bluff, mislead, and employ puffery to avoid punishment..
Let's examine little Floyd's plans for his next fight. Be honest now, does anyone have any real expectations for any of the purposed matchups being a real test for him? Apparently he has no plans to fight the winner of the Mosley vs. Berto fight. The possibilities mentioned are Timothy Bradley, who is a very good fighter, but yet another small light hitter. Or, maybe Paulie Malignaggi might be the one. But, Paulie is yet another junior welter and a really light puncher. His only real claim to fame is having gone the distance with Miguel Cotto. And, don't forget he once had his hair cut in the ring. Nate Campbell's name has also been mentioned, and now there's talk of a matchup with Kermit Cintron!
Early propaganda from Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions is that Cintron will make a good opponent because he held a version of the welter weight title, and has had only two losses, both of which came against Antonio Margarito. Anyone who ever lost to Margarito is now saying it was because of loaded gloves, and Cintron's backers are no exception. However, a look back at those two fights reveal Cintron was broken down early with body shots, presumably long before any alleged substance had a chance to harden.
The truth is Cintron also deserved a loss against Sergio Martinez. He got more favors in that fight than a salesman attending the annual hardware convention. Kermit also came close to running out of gas against the extremely hittable Jesse Feliciano. His best fight was probably against Angulo. That was a fight in which he stayed with the game plan and out boxed the more inexperienced Angulo. But, that win should not in any way generate false hopes of him presenting a true challenge to little Floyd, and to try and pass it off as such is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Fans wanted to see little Floyd matched with Pac Man, and since that won't happen in March, most fans would like to see him fight Shane Mosley, the odds on favorite in the fight with Berto later this month. If Berto can pull off an upset, then fans would like to see him in there with Floyd. If that won't do, then how about Paul Williams, who just came off with a tough win over Sergio Martinez in what turned out to be a great fight. Fans would love either match up, and Floyd would be facing legitimate threats from either Paul or Shane. Aganst Mosley he would be dealing with a complete fighter who has been great for a long time. Sugar Shane has excellent speed, power and skill. In Paul Williams, Floyd would be facing someone who would make him fight, and whose great reach and volume punching could give little Floyd problems. Plus, both Mosley and Williams are tough, and they're not likely to be intimated by Floyd or the big show. Floyd might beat them both, but at least the risk of defeat would be there.
In fairness to Oscar and Golden Boy Promotions, their hands are tied by Floyd. It's a good bet they would like to see the better matchup, but don't have a cooperative client in little Floyd with the idiopathic pain. Consequently, they have to do the best job of trying to convince a doubting public of the worthiness of lesser opponents, but it's a hard sell.
Floyd has always seemed very conscious of his legacy, and wants to stay undefeated and be known as one of the greatest of all time. That's why it seems odd that he continues to sabotage his goal. How is it he fails to realize that? Is it really that obscure or unknown to him? Everyone else knows about the often repeated allegations that he has dodged the best fighters around at any given time such as Mosley, Margarito, Cotto, and Williams. Everyone knows he's failed to take out opponents that he easily should have because it involved risk.
His latest actions in screwing up the fight with Manny and now refusing to make a realistic alternative matchup don't do his reputation any good, but he is apparently incapable of grasping that fact. The more time he spends protecting his "0", the less significance it has in the grand scheme of things.
Little Floyd could learn something from Shane. After Mosley's last minute knockout of Mayorga, he said, "I always go for the knockout, because that is what the fans want." In that fight, Mosley was way ahead on the score cards, but he still wanted to give the fans what they wanted, so he took the risk. True greatness involves risk, and that fact should no longer be unknown or obscure to Floyd.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Well delivered.
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