A ridiculous $69.95 is now the going rate of an event that involves Floyd Mayweather Jr.
To go anywhere south of that number would be to acknowledge that he and his skills have headed in that direction, and that remains to be seen.
We don’t know, because an opponent like Robert Guerrero did very little to offer us any tangible evidence as to whether or not this has happened or not. But what we did learn is that Floyd is not quite the draw that Showtime, or even he, thought he was.
There weren’t enough people stupid enough to spend money on a meal to feed the average family, to watch him face a virtual unknown in a glorified sparring session.
While acknowlegding the immense nature of his talent in a boxing ring, I am sick of Floyd Mayweather.
Sick of him teasing us with greatness, only to find an excuse for not manifesting it in the form of a challenge.
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The latest form of indigestion from the renouned pugilist, has surfaced this week regarding a proposed September 14th clash with the formidable and worthy Mexican star, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
In what has become a glaring trend, Mayweather seems to find ways to avoid any challenge to the ring supremacy afforded him by the media. Upon closer examination, his heralded status should be called into question.
Mayweather retired from the sport in December 2007, after an exciting 10th rd knockout of England’s Ricky Hatton. It was a grueling affair, that saw Mayweather forced to open up his offense due to the relentless nature of Hatton.
The 147lb division at the time was about as deep as its ever been, with the likes of a prime Miguel Cotto and still near prime Shane Mosley. There was Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams and Luis Collazo. Hovering around names like these slightly north of 147, was Sergio Martinez. Slightly south, and soon making his way north, was Manny Pacquaio.
After exulting himself as greater than the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, Mayweather chose to “retire” rather than even remotely try to prove this.
Or did he take a calculated break?
RA The Rugged Man famously broke down and embarassed Floyd over his seeming reluctance to face that situation a few years ago, and upon his return in September 2009, he effectively cheated Juan Manuel Marquez on the scales and gladly paid him 600K to do so. Marquez had never been a 147lb fighter, and was coming all the way from 135lbs.
His task was impossible.
Going back to Mayweather’s fight with Hatton, Floyd did something of a similar nature. He had already witnessed Luis Collazo expose and pick Hatton apart at 147. Though he won the fight, must ringside observers felt Hatton had lost, but this did not stop Mayweather from engaging the popular Briton due in large part to this and his enormous fan base.
Pacquiao, for his part, destroyed the 140lb version of Hatton, where he was undefeated and trained by none other than his father Floyd Sr. for that fight. Its also important to understand that Floyd chose the platform of that fight to promote his fight with Marquez, and staged it on Mexican Independance Day to ensure maximum PPV exposure.
He did the same thing with Miguel Cotto last year on Cinco de Mayo, to ensure maximum exposure for PPV revenue due to his “opponents” fanbase and appeal.
Without going into more specifics, common sense dictates that a smart man that calls himself “Money” and essentially the greatest fighter of all-time, would “want” to face Manny Pacquiao and/or Saul Alvarez for not only ultimate bragging rights, but for a boatload of money.
No other fighter in the world could’ve generated more than he could have made from a publicly demanded tilt with Manny Pacquiao 2 or 3 years ago, and no one can generate more than the immensely popular Alvarez can now.
Just like Floyd was and is scared of Manny Pacquiao right now, he is terrified of Saul Alvarez.
If he declines to fight this man on September 14th of this year, after having lost Showtime so much money in his first effort under them, while staring at the no-brainer money to be made with Alvarez, there is no other conclusion to be made.
Speaking of Pacquaio and Alvarez, oh how the people love them. They flock in the 1000’s to see them in their native lands, and they also do it here in this country.
A loss or two wouldn’t matter, for they are courageous and the people know it.
They will never love Floyd Mayweather the way they love them. How difficult it must be for him to know that, and yet how important- for him to remember it.
