For nearly the past twenty years Riverside?s David Avila has been carving out a spot as one of the top West Coast writers in the sport. Always looking for a hands-on approach when analyzing the boxing world, Avila?s interactions with fighters in the game and live event coverage are always worth a look.
Two men who Avila has gotten to know well in the past twelve or so years are Floyd Mayweather Jr. and ?Sugar? Shane Mosley, who fought earlier this month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Avila has covered both fighters in camp on numerous occasions as well as getting to know them personally and it was a must that he be present for their mega fight on May 1st.
Mayweather would end up winning an impressive and clear-cut decision over his 38-year old foe and had the star studded crowd inside the arena marveling his abilities. When asked for his best memories during yet another huge fight weekend in Nevada, Avila doesn?t concentrate on the fight itself at first and instead turns his attention to the pre-fight feeling that was created from the event.
?I guess what I remember most was that Las Vegas has that same feeling again for the fight,? Avila claims. ?It was the crowds, people were flying in on airplanes, there were people in hotels and on the street talking about it. It was just a big fight. That feeling had been gone for a while. I remember it kind of had that feeling for Pacquiao-Cotto because it had a big crowd but it still wasn?t the same. I haven?t felt that feeling since when Hatton fought Floyd Mayweather. That was the last time I really felt that big, big buzz when everybody was there. It was probably because the British were there and that was the last time I remember it having that special feeling.?
Avila?s words ring true as anyone present at the fight will be able to attest. It surely is a sign of Mayweather?s still-relevant box office appeal that he was able to create interest of such magnitude, although Mosley also deserves some of the credit for being a more than capable dance partner. In looking over his time in covering fights in Sin City a handful of memorable showcases stick out to Avila in terms of relevance and impact.
?I?ve been covering fights in Las Vegas since about 1993 and some of the bigger fights I remember vividly are [Oscar] De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez, that was kind of special,? he continues. ?Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, the second fight at Thomas and Mack, was a pretty big fight and I remember for that fight they had forgotten credentials and nobody had credentials and it was already 6 O?clock. Probably Oscar and Mayweather, that was also big too. 2007 was actually a very good year for big fights.?
This time around things were a little rushed for Avila, who runs Uppercut Magazine and serves as the West Coast Bureau Chief for The Sweet Science online, and perhaps he wasn?t able to take in as much of the pre-fight aura as he would have liked. He came to Las Vegas for the fight a little later than expected but still the modest scribe was able to get situated while touching bases with some friends from the past.
?Basically I get it on Thursday and I got checked in and started looking to see what was going on,? he notes. ?I had missed the final press conference for the undercard. I went into the media center to see what was going on. Usually when I go to Vegas I check on fighters that I know to see what is going on. I try to check them out at the gyms. I got there a little later but I did run into a few fighters, Stevie Forbes, Rashad Holloway, Melinda Cooper, Layla McCarter and people like that.?
When further elaborating on the hype surrounding the Mayweather-Mosley event Avila notes that much of the action was taking place outside of the ropes. What becomes even more obvious in hearing Avila talk is that the success associated with the event, which did generate roughly 1.4 million pay per view buys, was just as much with the pre-fight excitement and buzz as the exact figures themselves.
?I was a little surprised that [The MGM Grand] wasn?t really sold out per-say,? Avila says. ?I mean it was a big crowd but there were a few empty seats. Maybe because they prices were a little steep but I am sure they made a lot of money anyways. The best buzz wasn?t just in the arena it was outside the arena and all through the hotels and casinos. Everywhere I went people kept asking ?Who are you picking? and that was kind of unusual.?
When assessing Mayweather?s performance there are several things that stand out to Avila outside of Floyd?s overall dominance. More than anything he was impressed that Mayweather was able to overcome a rocky second round in which he was caught with a flush Mosley right hand. Avila also saw something in Mosley?s second half performance that he feels should be attributed to Mayweather.
?Floyd?s skills are out of this world,? Avila claims. ?He has great, great fighting skills. I wasn?t shocked at that. What shocked me was that I thought Shane was going to tag him, and he did, but he wasn?t able to capitalize on it. I think the fact that Mayweather took that shot and he was looking a little shaky, but after he took over. The fact that Shane didn?t want to exchange later told me that Floyd was probably hitting pretty hard because he didn?t want to get knocked out. I am surprised that his arms held up because he?s always had hands troubles. I mean the way that he was hitting Shane he was really hurting him.?
Earlier this year I talked in-depth with Avila about his time covering Mayweather over the years and much stood out. Outside of Floyd?s athletic abilities, which Avila concedes are extraordinary, he believes that the Grand Rapids? native is often misunderstood due to his perceived arrogant nature behind the camera.
?The one thing about Floyd is that he is really, really smart,? Avila says. ?He is super-intelligent. Inside and out of the ring he is just an intelligent guy. He knows how to fight and he knows how to talk afterwards. He?s just an overall guy who has it all and Sugar Ray Leonard was like that but Mayweather takes it a step further.?
While Mayweather has certainly taken his career to great heights there is only fight out there for him to fully capitalize on all of his potential; a possibly epic face-off with Manny Pacquiao. The fight fell apart earlier this year over Mayweather’s proposed Olympic style drug testing scenario that he brought to the table and it is still uncertain whether we will ever see the two men in the ring together. While Avila loves the idea of the fight he closes out by noting that life will move on regardless of what happens.
?He doesn?t have to really fight Manny Pacquiao. I mean it?s a great fight for the fans but that fight against Shane Mosley really made the argument that he can really fight anybody. Floyd has says that he wants an even playing field and it?s kind of up to Manny as far as what decisions he would make about the testing. I don?t know if it is a battle of wills or a pride thing but there are other fighters out there for them both.?
