Floyd Mayweather Jr. stood toe-to-toe with Sugar Ray Leonard. Twenty years ago and in a boxing ring, this would have been one of the greatest matches in boxing history. But on this night two years ago at the annual boxing writers’ dinner in Las Vegas with the two men dressed in suits, it was merely a war of words.
Mayweather was explaining to Leonard how and why he would have beaten Leonard if they had ever met, how it was a battle Leonard would lose when Mayweather landed a vicious body shot.
“A lightweight beat you,” Mayweather said, referring to Leonard’s loss to Roberto Duran.
Eventually, Leonard walked away.
It was more than the kid tugging on Superman’s cape. It was the kid ripping it off his back.
Though Mayweather is arguably more talented than Leonard was, Mayweather’s brashness has not made him the kind of endearing figure that the charismatic Leonard was during his boxing career.
That is why when Mayweather steps into the ring on Saturday night against Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a 12-round WBC junior middleweight title match, many in the sold-out crowd will be rooting for De La Hoya to whip Mayweather.
