I think I finally respect Floyd Mayweather as a boxer.
His attitude, public demeanor and opponent fight list always had kept me from thinking he was one of the best. I was on the side of thinking that he had fast hands, no power and nobody to fight because of timing, and how far the sport of boxing has fallen with fans the past 10 years.
I bought that pay-per-view Saturday night hoping Mayweather would lose to Shane Mosley, so I could see what type of champion he was and how he would bounce back.
The Mosley fight actually gave me an answer about how Mayweather would handle adversity for the first time in his career. I was not alone among the many boxing fans who could not stand the way he handled himself and the fact he looked like he was ducking Manny Pacquiao.Saturday night's dominating win over Mosley showed me a side of the money man I never had seen before.
After Mosley pounded away in the second round and the crowd was roaring with approval, Mayweather found a way to gather himself and toy with Mosley the next 10 rounds, barely breaking a sweat and cruising to the biggest win of his career.
His conditioning, speed and corner all were superior to Mosley, and as good as I have seen in a big fight. It was inspiring to watch. Mayweather withstood the heavy hands of Mosley and looked like a true boxing champion for the first time.
What was even bigger for Mayweather was how he handled himself in and out the ring. He left the thug act at home and became a boxer people actually might start to like.
He finally looked and played the part of the boxer a lot of people thought they never would see. He was respectful of Mosley, talked with class and dignity afterward and seemed to look different to me for the first time since I started watching his fights.
I have been looking for a path to follow to respect this guy. He wasn’t the Allen Iverson of boxing any longer. This fight seemed bigger, and was bigger for so many reasons in and outside of the ring.
Will this be the fight after which people start to give some Leonard/Hearns type love to Mayweather? It will be if Mayweather stops fighting this drug test battle with Manny Pacquiao.
The more this continues, the more Mayweather looks afraid to fight him. If he wants to be the people’s champion, he has to get into that ring with Pacquiao. I think this is a trilogy of fights waiting to happen.
If Mayweather beats Pacquiao, he climbs into the conversation as one of the best boxers of all time. With the lingering questions of Pacquiao’s massive weight gain since he weighed 105 pounds, Mayweather has so much more to gain by beating Pacquiao now than waiting for this ego match to end.
Mayweather should not be able to dictate the rules of any fight. Some will argue Pacquiao should just take the test. Bad argument, as it allows Mayweather to have selective testing on fights depending on how tough or strong the opponent is. Mayweather needs to fight him now and stop looking like the chicken here. Beat him no matter what is or isn’t in his bloodstream.
It just makes Mayweather look even bigger in the eyes of sports fans. The Mosley fight was a huge step toward being a champion everyone will respect, and the Pacquiao win would put him over the top.
The sport of boxing needs at least two Pacquiao fights to reclaim some of its lost glory to mixed martial arts. There are few young fans who follow boxing. I can’t name a rising star. The ring is close to being replaced with an octagon and a tap-out everywhere.
The money train soon will stop for Mayweather if he doesn’t fight Pacquiao. Plus, the age factor will be a factor one day. I’m starting to like Mayweather now, and if he makes the Pacquiao fight happen, he has a chance to be bigger than he ever has been.
Beat Pacquiao twice and we start the debate about whether Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Source: blog.mlive.com
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