?Mayweather needs someone to bring it out of him. It?s like hip hop. Nobody rapping for the music. They rapping for that big check??
There?s no more polarizing figure in boxing than Floyd Mayweather. He has toned down his outlandishness to a degree, but he is who he is and has succeeded, intentionally or otherwise, in creating two distinct and hostile camps.
To the dismay of those attempting (and perhaps failing) to be evenhanded, there seems to be no middle ground.
Even if one doesn?t side with one camp or another, you can be sure that, given the intensity of the like and/or dislike Mayweather generates, one will be called a ?hater,? the most overused word in boxing, or an ?ass-kisser,? both of which I have been called at different times.
But if I had label myself, without growing defensive, it would be as an objectivist; an arch objectivist at times, but an objectivist nonetheless. I never assume that my truth is the truth. There are millions of opinions that are at least as valid as my own. But right and wrong don?t matter. The factual and counterfactual will always butt heads. There are many truths. And if your truth is better than my truth, so be it and lots of luck.
The truth according to Mayweather is Mayweather?s truth. He may rub some people the wrong way, but his fistic accomplishments, the only accomplishments that matter in this context, are a given. His skills are, or have been until recently, otherworldly. His unbeaten record speaks for itself. The fortune he has earned during his illustrious career may not say it all, but it says enough.
But age has caught up with Floyd Mayweather, just as it catches up with all men. His effective but subpar performance in the rematch with Marcos Maidana left some people dissatisfied. Be that as it may, he is, as he says, the face of boxing. He may be the face of professional sports.
In the spirit of fair play I reached out to T.O.N.E-z, the Emmy nominated hip hop artist who is one of Mayweather?s biggest supporters. He is outspoken and articulate. He is also a longtime student of the fight game. In light of those qualities, I asked T.O.N.E-z his latest thoughts on Floyd Mayweather and the recent fight with Marcos Maidana.
The first words out of mouth surprised me. ?TBE,? he said, ?The Best Ever.?
I thought T.O.N.E-z was being ironic.
?No,? he said. ?I?m being very serious.?
?Based on what??
?Based on everything. He embodies everything. Defense. Speed. Ringmanship. Class. And the main thing is adjustments, which not many boxers can do. Not many boxers adjust so easily. And he never actually looks and studies an opponent. He goes in there and does what most boxers should do. All of these things make him The Best Ever. Plus 47 and 0. You know what I mean??
I warned T.O.N.E-z in advance that I?d challenge him and was as good as my word.
?I have no complaint with his record. I have no problem with his ability to adjust. You?ve got a legitimate case there. But I?ve seen fighters in the past who were much more dazzling and fought better competition.?
?See, that?s the problem right there,? T.O.N.E-z said. ?There?s a huge misconception right there. There?s something that Roy Jones has said. Roy Jones had the same problem. People keep forgetting that Mayweather is not fighting bums. He?s not fighting unknowns. He fought world champions, not has-beens. Maybe Shane Mosley is questionable. But he fought all champions. He didn?t fight bums. He has the same problem Roy had, where he?s so great at what he does, he makes these fighters look not as great as they really are. Guerrero?s not a slouch. These are amazing fighters he?s fighting. He?s not fighting these losers. He gets hit, but he?s so crafty, it?s like he sees the punches before they come. Same thing with Roy Jones. They just don?t get their props because it looks like they?re fighting these amateurs but they?re fighting world-class fighters. They just make them look like amateurs.?
T.O.N.E-z has a point. Mayweather?s an amazing boxer and a great athlete. He?s the best of his generation, but The Best Ever? I?ve got a problem with that.
?Who?s better than Mayweather?? asked T.O.N.E-z. ?You can name any time.?
?Well, how about Sugar Ray Robinson? Let?s start there. He?s the consensus best pound-for-pound fighter of all time. He was 120-0-2 when he suffered his first loss to Jake LaMotta.?
?Okay. Okay.?
?It?s a bit of hyperbole on Mayweather?s part to declare he?s The Best Ever, and I think he knows better. But he?s a marketing genius and most of the people who buy pay-per-view don?t know boxing. They tune in to partake of the spectacle.?
?Right, I agree with that. Definitely,? said T.O.N.E-z. ?I love the science of boxing. My favorite fighter of all time is Sugar Ray Leonard?hands down. I love those kinds of guys. People say Mayweather doesn?t have knockout power, but I don?t think he fights to knock people out. He shows his skill. He?s a boxer. If you want to see big knockouts, you have to watch heavyweights for that. Not everybody knocks everybody out. He just goes in there and beats people up.?
Before asking about Mayweather-Maidana II, I wanted to make sure that T.O.N.E-z thought Floyd struggled in the first fight.
?Of course he struggled. He went in there with a guy who pretty much tried to body slam him. He wasn?t used to that. Three other fights were tough for Mayweather. The first fight with Jose Luis Castillo may have been the toughest. Zab Judah gave him a good run. Cotto also gave him a good run. He wound up lumping him up, but I still gave it to Mayweather. He had a tough time adjusting to Maidana in the first fight because, like he says, you?ve got a guy who goes in there and figures I?m going to just throw him and elbow him and manhandle him and punch him in the balls, all that crazy stuff. Yeah, he did have a tough time with that. Who wouldn?t? I think he was definitely thrown off, mentally and clearly physically. He could have said everything you do to me I?m going to do to you. But he did like he always does. He showed class, even with the dirty tactics, he still adjusted and won the fight by decision.
?When people say it was a close fight I?m like, ?what do you mean he won a close a fight?? Was the guy a whole lot rougher? Sure he was rough and tough, but not in the sense of Marvin Hagler. He was rough and tough in the sense of doing just anything. Even in the corner they told him, ?Go in there. Get dirty. Do whatever it takes.? I mean that?s just like c?mon.?
?But shouldn?t Mayweather have known that going in? Anyone who has ever watched Maidana fight knows that that?s what Maidana does.?
?He doesn?t watch the fights. I?ll bet you the only fight he watched of Maidana was when Maidana beat his little old homie?s ass.?
?Then aren?t Mayweather and his team at fault for not studying film of his opponent??
?You?re right,? T.O.N.E-z said. ?But he still adjusted, and he picked up where he left off. This guy was walking to the wrong corner. You could tell he was frustrated. I thought he was going to say ?No mas? after awhile. You know what I think about the fight? I think Mayweather is probably just trying to run out his contract. I think that?s part of it. You keep winning, you keep fighting, and you?re the only reason the majority of people watch the fights. I think that has something to do with it.?
Winning is everything. It doesn?t matter how you win. All that matters is that you win. But there?s an aesthetic criteria when it comes to winning, whether it?s in or out of the ring. Mayweather won. He successfully frustrated Maidana. But he also frustrated the fans.
?Don?t get me wrong,? said T.O.N.E-z. ?I was frustrated too. The fight with Guerrero was good. The fight with Canelo had some action. Everyone has boring fights. It?s not like he?s been fighting like that his whole career. I?m with you on that fight. It wasn?t exciting. It?s like watching a movie. You know Bruce Willis isn?t going to die, but you watch it anyway. But he hasn?t gotten lazy. He?s still training just as hard as he did when he was 19 years old. Same determination. Same team. Same attitude. The dude could easily just chill. He could lose his next two fights and still be considered one of the greatest fighters of this generation and probably all time in the top 10 or 20. But he?s not hungry, I mean boxing hungry. Mayweather needs someone to bring it out of him. It?s like hip hop. Nobody rapping for the music, for the passion. They rapping for that big check.?
