Floyd Mayweather Jr has dropped to the number 3 spot on the pound for pound list. This according to Yahoo’s list, and a few others. Pacquiao is without a shadow of a doubt the number 1 pound for pound fighter in the world. Sergio Martinez with explosive knockouts and sound victories over Paul Williams, and Sergei Dzinzurik has carved out the number 2 spot. Floyd due to inactivity has fallen to the number 3 spot.
2010 was not a very good year for Floyd Mayweather Jr. Bad PR moves, foot in mouth incidents, arrests, and oh yea, NOT fighting for 40 million dollars against Manny Pacquiao. Mix all of that together in a bottle and you have the Mayweather screw up cocktail of a lifetime. With all of that said, the end isn’t here for Floyd. He still can pull out of this and rise to the top once again.
In order for Floyd to once again reign as pound for pound king, he has to do the obvious first. Floyd needs to do whatever he needs to do to get into the ring and not only fight Manny Pacquiao, but he needs to defeat him. Coupled with that effort comes some damage control to his tarnished reputation. Even if Floyd is defeated, he will at least have added to his legacy that he stepped up and fought the current pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao. On the flip, what if Floyd beats Manny Pacquiao? Many feel as if he can win that fight. A Mayweather victory over Pacquiao creates a whole new monster. Floyd would snatch the top spot, deposit up to 50 million, and he would put Arum back to work setting up the re-match for another 50 million.
Let’s just play make believe here for a minute. Let’s pretend the big fight went down and Mayweather was victorious over Pacquiao. The first thing that he would have done for his legacy is put one of the greatest fighters of all time (Manny Pacquiao) on his list of opponents he has defeated. Secondly, he shuts up many boxing fans that have called him a coward. Thirdly, if he plays his cards right and acts like a gentleman in victory, he will repair some of the damage that he has inflicted upon himself. He can fix his image.
Floyd’s public image is not very good right now. Some of it is warranted, yet not entirely. Unfortunately the way that the media and the world spins nowadays, it’s all about reporting the negative. Floyd does good things for homeless people in Las Vegas. He’s raised money for several charities in Las Vegas and other areas. This stuff rarely gets pointed out because of the negative stories that seem to surround him. Again, Floyd brings on a lot of that negative light himself.
The road to a Mayweather rise to the top starts with a boxing match against the reigning king, Manny Pacquiao. Even if Floyd were to be defeated by Pacquiao, he would still repair a lot of his image. Not to mention, he would deposit a large amount of money into his bank. If they did a rematch clause in the contract, he can bank around 100 million when it’s all said and done.
Mayweather had a bad year, but he still has many years ahead of him. It’s not entirely impossible for the man to make a comeback.
