Floyd Mayweather Jr’s decision not to fight for Shane Mosley’s WBA welterweight title could follow him for the rest of his career. This decision was money motivated and received a large amount of criticism. Fortunately, there are more fighters that don’t agree with Mayweather Jr than do.
According to a recent report, current WBC/WBO middleweight champion Sergio Martinez says that he wants a belt at stake if he were to Floyd in the future. In fact, Sergio already has in mind which title he wants. “The titles are very important to me. I respect all of the sanctioning bodies. If a fight with Mayweather were to happen, it would be a great fight, and I would love to do it for the WBC’s Diamond belt ” Martinez, BoxingScene.com It’s great to hear that there are fighters who still care about titles. In today’s boxing landscape there are those who think that the sport has too many titles and weight classes. And there is merit to this argument. However, this is not the reason why Floyd Mayweather Jr declined a shot at Mosley’s belt. According to reports, Floyd Jr would have had to pay a 3% sanctioning fee for a title fight. For a man who’s all about the money, this was unacceptable. In classic Mayweather fashion, he simply said “all belts do is collect dust”. Sergio currently holds 3 titles. In addition to his middleweight titles, Sergio also holds the WBC light-middleweight strap. So, when he says that titles are important to him, he means it. His comments to Boxingscene.com are similar to Mosley’s comments when first learning of Mayweather not wanting to fight for the WBA belt. Everybody grows up wanting to fight for a belt and wanting to be a world champion. For him to dismiss it like, ‘Oh, I’m bigger than this belt,’ that just doesn’t seem like he’s in this sport for the sport, He’s in it just for the money. Which is good, I mean, if he’s in it for the money, to each his own. I love the glory and the legendary status of being a champion and winning belts, and beating the best guys out there. If you do that, then, the money’s going to come regardless.” Shane Mosley,Fanhouse
Conclusion Sherry V. Sacramento, CA “Do you think Floyd is just ‘ducking’ other fighters by not wanting to be WBA welterweight champion?” Yes I do believe he is. Floyd rather have the power to pick and choose whomever he wants to fight. He doesn’t want the responsibilities that come with being a champ. It’s another example of how Floyd will never be the greatest of all-time.
Eric W. Sacramento, CA “Do titles even matter anymore in boxing?” Even though there are numerous belts and too many weight classes, titles are still the biggest reason why boxers fight. Now, I agree that the titles aren’t as significant as in the past but that doesn’t mean you toss them into a trash can and only fight for money. Belts symbolize respect and being the best. If more fighters publicly echo Sergio’s and Shane’s affection and respect for boxing’s titles then these belts would carry more weight within the sport and with the fans.
