Anyone who anoints themselves ?The Best Ever,? whether it?s in boxing, another sport, or any other endeavor, as wily Floyd Mayweather has done, is undeserving of the title.
When Mayweather made that pronouncement, the bobbleheads gobbled it up, going so far as to parrot his inaccuracy, almost as if the conclusion was their own. Boxing historians knew at the time that it was rubbish and many said as much at the time, but fellow fighters, be they active or retired, for the most part remained silent , either because they didn?t want to ruffle the feathers of boxing?s primary attraction and moneymaker, or because they wanted a piece of that action for themselves.
It took the untimely death of Pernell Whitaker last week to bolster the courage of men who exhibited courage in the past to finally set the record straight. Speaking with Grantlee Kieza of the Courier Mail, Hall of Fame fighters Oscar De La Hoya and Jeff Fenech both said that Whitaker was a better fighter than Mayweather, as of course were many others.
?Pernell was a better fighter than Mayweather,? said De La Hoya, who won a unanimous decision over Whitaker at the tail end of his career in 1997. ?He was a superb defensive fighter. A very slick southpaw.?
De La Hoya?s ongoing war of words with Mayweather is part of the public record, as is his tendency to blow smoke, so his remarks, however gratifying on their face, fall short of being objective. Fenech, however, never had an ax to grind with the alleged ?Best Ever,? so his observations, while perhaps falling short of being gospel, needn?t be taken with a grain of salt.
?Pernell was regarded as the world?s best fighter pound-for-pound for many years,? said Fenech. ?For a while, there was talk of me fighting him. Believe me, that would have been a hard fight. I was with Pernell at the 1984 Olympics and he was just a brilliant, slick defensive wizard, maybe the best defensive fighter of all time. I got to know him very well over the years. I think he would have been too clever for Floyd Mayweather, even though Floyd is a great fighter too.?
Mayweather was a better boxer than fighter. He had the skills to, for the most part, hit and not get hit in return, which is nothing less than the objective of boxing. But few of his fights were particularly memorable, or especially satisfying, since his fighting style, no less than his inflated ego, were not to everyone?s taste. But at least a couple members of the boxing fraternity have finally spoken up, not that it amounts to much after all these years.
