Stop Blaming Floyd Mayweather, JR!, Is Deontay Wilder a Bust? & Thoughtful Commentary in the Facebook RSR Forum….

By Dave “Mythical” Siderski

Having been focused on mythical matchups and retrospective pieces on past legends, it occurs to me that I been neglecting topics related to the current boxing scene over the past few weeks. With that in mind, I like to offer some recent thoughts that I’ve had related to boxing’s present.

Is Deontay Wilder the Real Deal?

Perhaps not. At one point I was excited about him but the more I watch of Wilder the more skeptical I become. Yes, he beat Johann Duhaupus pretty convincingly. However, he took significant punishment in the process. If Deontay is truly elite, he should have feasted on a guy like Duhaupus, who is only ranked #9 in the RSR Heavyweight rankings. That is what truly elite fighters do. This combined with his performance against Eric Molina leaves me with serious doubts about his long-term prospects. Wilder gets hit far too much and I keep having visions of timber going through my head. Deontay, I’m still rooting for you but dude you seriously need to tighten up that defense.

Why has 35 Become the New 25 in Boxing?

The subject of Wilder brings me to another interesting one. Deontay, closing in on the age of 30, is a relative boxing neophyte but older than both Frazier and Ali when they engaged in their first super fight in March 1971. GGG, another star on the rise, is 33 years old, the same age as Marvelous Marvin Hagler when he retired after his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. Mayweather, until his recent retirement, was considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world at the age of 38, the same age as ancient Muhammad Ali when he absorbed a horrifying beating against Larry Holmes. Looking at the current RSR top 20 pound for pound rankings, 12 of the 20 boxers are over 30 years of age. Six are 34 or older. Conversely, when I recently looked at one of my old boxing magazines from September 1981, I could not find any fighter rated in the top 10 of any division in 1981 that was over the age of 33.

I’m not sure why modern boxers seem to age more slowly but it’s an intriguing question. I’m curious what James “Quick” Tillis would have to say about this. Perhaps better strength and conditioning techniques combined with less activity? Anyway, let’s move on to my next topic.

Let’s Stop Blaming Floyd. Yes, Mayweather-Berto as a PPV event was a joke.

Many including myself have chastised Floyd for cherry picking and not taking greater risks over the course of his career. But if he can get paid $30+ million for fighting the likes of Berto or Maidana, why should he? For that kind of money who wouldn’t do the same thing? Floyd correctly understands this is a business.

Back in the day, only the truly special events in boxing went to PPV. These were once a year Super Bowl like events such as Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Duran, or Hagler-Hearns. Now we have ugly mismatches like Mayweather-Berto and Pacquiao-Algieri that Showtime and HBO are trying to peddle as major events. Even fights like Golovkin-Lemieux and Canelo-Cotto, yes they are intriguing and exciting but not worth forking over an extra $50 to watch live. Particularly when my cable bill already runs almost $200/month.

Now, the cable networks wouldn’t be offering these up if they weren’t making money. But, that said, it’s one of the factors killing the long-term popularity of the sport. 30-35 years ago most casual sports fans probably knew who most of the high profile boxers in the world were. Today, if I walked into my local sports bar on an NFL Sunday and asked people who GGG is, I’d probably be greeted with a series of blank stares and that’s a shame. These guys just aren’t getting enough exposure to a mass audience to become household names. The Premier Boxing Series is a step in the right direction but boxing needs to do more of this if it wishes to re-capture the interest of the average sports fan.

Thoughtful Commentary by RSR Forum Member Joanne O’Reilly.

I was perusing the RSR Facebook forum last weekend and read through a thread on Floyd Mayweather JR. I came across a comment by Joanne which caught my attention. Joanne is the sister of the late Johnny Lira, who was posthumously diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). She was responding to a comment about Mayweather having walked away from boxing “with all of his brain cells in tact”. Joanne astutely pointed out that we cannot possibly know this for certain. CTE cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death and its symptoms sometimes do not manifest until years or even decades after the athlete has retired.

Her comments gave me pause. As a fan, follower and now writer about the sport of boxing, I too often fail to realize and acknowledge that these men are human beings first and boxers second. The risks and danger they face every time they enter the ring are real. The damage to their bodies and minds can be permanent. Let’s think a bit about that before we question a fighter’s courage or label them as bums, stiffs, or even someone like Mayweather as a cherry picker. CTE is why I really can’t fault a guy like Floyd for accepting the path of least resistance in order to make the most money possible. CTE is a frightening disease and the research is still in its infancy. However, thanks to men such as Johnny Lira who was graciously willing to donate his brain to the Boston University School of Medicine, the process has at least begun. This is an effort that both the powers that be and fans of all contact sports should actively support.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day, for better or worse. For all of you readers out there, I welcome any feedback you might have. Hailing frequencies out!

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