Its coming, people. You know it is. Floyd Mayweather wants back in and is going to eventually announce his return to the ring and it?s not going to be against Manny Pacquiao or Sergio Martinez.
Floyd wants it to be against a disadvantaged, aging and fading handpick, for easy HBO money. Same as it always was.
Floyd is getting up in years, 34 now, and his future goals as an entertainment star are not going to happen unless he puts the gloves back on and gets in the ring and into the public eye. Right now Floyd is, metaphorically speaking, laying on the canvas, beaten up and knocked out by the persona of Manny Pacquiao in the ring of public opinion. Everybody knows Floyd is faking this current retirement because he?s deathly afraid of being slaughtered and humbled by the vicious fists of Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather is an open joke right now, even Mike Wilbon regularly refers to Mayweather as a ?coward? on ESPN?s PTI.
Floyd is willing to endure these insults in the meantime as it?s only a temporary suffering. Because nothing could be worse and more destructive to his ego and career than being brutally knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in front of the eyes of the world. That would be the end game of Mayweather. Checkmate, case closed.
Floyd is being patient and waiting for the Pacquiao storm to pass over. Eventually the public will move on and grow tired of waiting for the biggest boxing event in history, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather to happen. That?s when Floyd will emerge from hiding and attempt to return to the ring. I strongly suspect the secret plans are already underway to match Mayweather with someone like a Pauly Malignaggi, who was signed last year by Golden Boy but has been kept curiously inactive (although Malignaggi recently was sparring at the Wildcard Gym in LA against Rashad Holloway).
Malignaggi is the perfect handpick choice for Floyd ? he doesn?t hit hard, he?s a B fighter on the decline who wants to cash out, he?s got a name and a colorful personality. And best of all, he?s considerably overmatched. The time is not right now as the public still is clamoring to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. HBO, apparently and presumably, still aspires to make that fight. But the longer Floyd stonewalls on fighting Pacquiao, eventually HBO may weaken ? and become susceptible to accepting the reality, and just say, ?What the heck, some fights just aren?t meant to be made, we tried our best but Pacquiao vs. Mayweather just isn?t gonna happen.? I suspect and believe Floyd?s protectors Al Haymon and Richard Schaefer are biding their time on behalf of Floyd, patiently waiting for Ross Greenburg to give up his plans of producing the biggest event in boxing history.
At that time, what could happen is this: Haymon and Schaefer will pitch Greenburg on the idea of the Floyd Mayweather comeback fight, against a Malignaggi, and Greenburg will have to accept. ?Hey, Floyd in the ring is better than Floyd not in the ring, HBO still feels Floyd is a star and we want to showcase him on our network,? is the way Greenburg will rationalize this decision.
But Greenburg has got to hold strong and firm. He must not weaken and surrender his principles as a network programming executive to Haymon and Schaefer and Mayweather. HBO absolutely can not and must not reward and finance a ?coward? boxer who ducked the biggest fight in the history of boxing.
If HBO surrenders and decides to finance Mayweather against yet another handpick like Malignaggi or Spadafora, it could have a negative effect on the future of the sport in America. Every powerful advisor and promoter will know, by the example of Floyd Mayweather, that it?s possible, if he plays his cards right, that he can just pick and choose opponents ? and the weakness inside the big office at HBO will give in eventually.
And with an overabundance of protected American fraud fighters out there, who feast on handpicked, disadvantaged opposition, we may never ever again see a great American fighter like a Tyson, Holyfield, Hopkins, De La Hoya, Mosley or Jones Jr, ever again ? or for a very long time (after the current regime of powerbrokers are removed). It will just be an assembly line of boxers like Andre Berto and Adrien Broner, matched perfectly and manufactured into supposed stars. Great fighters only become great by overcoming risk and adversity ? like Hopkins, Pacquiao, the Klitschkos, Martinez.
Handpicking and protecting fighters creates a spoiled fighter who will collapse when he is finally forced into being matched tough, if he ever is. A fighter can only gain confidence by overcoming risk and adversity, beating handpicked opponents who you are expected to beat, merely stagnates the growth and learning curve of an athlete. It?s the exact same way in tennis. Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and Del Potro play amazing, spectacular tennis because they are constantly improving ? this is what happens when you are constantly competing against the best. Berto, Broner, Arreola, Jacobs, and Mayweather aren?t improving by beating up on overmatched set-ups.
I?ll say it one more time. HBO has to be the boss, not Mayweather, Schaefer or Haymon. HBO must hold it?s position and make it crystal clear: ?Mayweather, if you want to fight on our network again, it must be against Pacquiao. Take it or leave it.?
