?Damaged Goods?, ?Washed up? and ?Has Been? are quotes that are taking form in not only Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s vocabulary; it is also seen in the writing of some of boxing?s best writers.
Historically, Manny Pacquiao is in much better company when it comes to the life and career struggles of champions from the past unlike Floyd.
Mayweather is striving to remain undefeated and accomplish the feat of beating Rocky Marciano?s undefeated steak and in the process is traveling the same road of criticism that The Brockton Blockbuster travelled.
Marciano gained much of his fame fighting light heavyweight champs like Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore then ducking fighters like Earl Walls, Nino Valdes, and at the end Floyd Patterson, whose talent may have forced Rocky?s call to retire undefeated.
In June of 1955 , Patterson forced the great Yvon Durelle to quit on his stool prior to the the sixth round of their fight in Canada, then stopped contender Archie McBride in 7 at Madison Square Gardens.
Youth was breathing down the neck of Marciano, much like , younger fearsome fighters ala Canelo are breathing down Mayweather?s.
What strikes me as humorous is that Marciano had no issue fighting a ?has Been? or ? washed up? fighter like Walcott or Moore while creating his undefeated record. Moore had lost 19 fights, Ezzard Charles, 10 and Walcott had already suffered 17 defeats. The pre-fight hype on those bouts offered no accusations of those great champions being ready for pasture. Even LaStarza , whom many feel defeated the legend in their first fight had suffered more losses before their second matchup, and neither of those losses were to world champions ,as are Pacquiao?s .
None of those great champions have the pedigree of Pacquiao or accomplished the multi divisional title runs that Manny has achieved. For Floyd to strive to defeat a record which is frankly a mirage , created by Marciano?s management more than the champion himself, well frankly , it?s all a gambit and easy percentage bet.
Marciano stayed on top because at that time as champion he could wait out the top contenders, allow them to knock off each other until the one his team wanted won, then strike at the negotiating table.
In 1954 when Nino Valdes was stopping contenders, Tommy Jackson and Jimmy Walls, had Marcianno truly wanted to fight Valdes he had a perfect chance to sign on the dotted line, instead he waited until 1955 for Moore to defeat Valdes, by way of a 15 round decision, which was judged by only the referee, James Braddock to declare Moore a worthy challenger.
The odds have always been in Mayweather?s favor that he would never have to face Pacquiao, or at least that he would always have an out game available because Pacquiao would rather fight the best available fight out there today, instead of planning for some future smoke and mirrors record later. That option was never available for the Philippine legend , where it has seemed to be in the plans of Mayweather?s promoters and team for the last decade.
Had Pacquaio wished to remain undefeated during the last few years just to face Mayweather some day, he could have chosen less challenging opponents , instead he chose to face Juan Manual Marquez for the fourth time and we all know that the Bradley loss occurred on the scorecards and not in the ring.
When facing the likes of a Marquez the odds were in Mayweather?s favor that eventually Pacquiao would suffer a loss, all the previous fights were close, and like LaMotta-Robinson, Ali-Frazier, or Moore Johnson etc. On any given night, when great fighters meet, one can defeat the other.
Mayweather has succeeded in staying clear of trilogies , he has stayed clear of allowing a great fighter a second opportunity to make the adjustments needed to defeat him in a second or third event. This has been a smart move by him and his team but also has been a percentage game, one his handlers know is in his favor because of his defensive skills and style.
On any given night a great fighter can reach into his bag of tricks, use his experience to defeat another great fighter, but a real accomplishment is to do it a second or third time. Is there any doubt that Marquez would not train and fight differently in a second Mayweather bout, as he did against Pacquiao in the fourth.
You cannot find sparring in the same class as Mayweather, the only way to learn is the face the man then come back after a loss with the experience , but Floyd smartly doesn?t allow that to occur , protecting his record and working the odds of it remaining that way.
Historically, I think that Pacquiao will be remembered more for his accomplishments in his career than Mayweather will, even should the undefeated record stand for eternity, both with fans and with boxing industry people that examine that record without bias.
Great battles with Barrera, Morales, and Marquez shape the legacy of Pacquiao, each fighter given the chance to stand an face his opponent after losing a war earlier. Each legendary fighter offered the opportunity to revenge a loss and thus returning the favor to Pacquiao at times.
Did Mayweather give Oscar that second chance after receiving a gift from both Oscar and his hometown judges in Las Vegas, a city he hasn?t left to fight since 2005, or did he know that De la Hoya was a man that could take that record, that legacy away.
?One and done? competitions, may lead to great individual fights and perfect unblemished records, trilogies and multiple battles in a classic war between great warriors create historic legacies.
@KTerceira
