Floyd Mayweather, JR’s BOXING LEGACY: Cheap Shots, Inflated Ego & Set Ups
By Geno McGahee
Floyd Mayweather, JR., 42-0, 26 KO’s, is still getting jabbed from the public for his two punch combo on the defenseless Victor Ortiz. There is no question that Ortiz head butted Floyd and that it was intentional and some can say that it was turn about as fair play, but as the “pound for pound” best, a title that he says every other sentence, he should not have retaliated that way.
Mayweather had the chance to be the hero in that fight, enhance his reputation by systematically destroying Ortiz after the flagrant head butt. Floyd had earned points when he faced Zab Judah, and the idiotic Roger Mayweather jumped into the ring to start a riot after Zab hit his nephew with a low blow. Both corners got into it, but Floyd walked to a neutral corner and avoided the madness that everyone else partook in. What happened with Ortiz was the exact opposite and his dwindling reputation took yet another blow, and so did the sport.
The Ortiz encounter got a lot of people excited because it was the first opponent in a long time that wasn’t washed up or horribly overmatched. Floyd picks his opponents like he picks his shots and he tapped into the nursing homes to find several of them and then scanned the smaller guys, all of the time, keeping an edge on his opposition that would be impossible to overcome. Ortiz was different. He was a young and strong welterweight with a lot of enthusiasm. He could potentially test an aging and rusty Mayweather, and he was doing just that, but his enthusiasm went too far and he got dirty and delivered the head butt.
The cheap shot combo that ended the fight, left those that bought the PPV with an incomplete feeling. Floyd boasted that the fans wanted a knockout and he gave them one, but boxing is a sport and it is based on competition and although what he did may have been legal, it was unsportsmanlike and it cheated the public of a fight.
You can’t mention Floyd without mentioning Manny Pacquiao, the two men that have fought for the top pound for pound spot without fighting each other, and that fight will never happen. Pacquiao is another big PPV attraction, but the difference is that he fights. He goes in there and gives the fans a show, and that is why he has become as popular as he is. The group supporting Mayweather as the best in the game may have been shifting over to Pacquiao due to the tactics and angry display aimed at Larry Merchant after the fight, when he was merely asking questions.
Mayweather has stated that he is the best boxer in history and that no other athlete has had his run, and he may be half right, but when you examine the situation closely, the facts have to come out.
Floyd is very good, but seeing him defeat Julio Cesar Chavez in his prime, or Pernell Whitaker, or even Oscar De La Hoya is difficult. He has benefited from a mediocre time, and would not have been 42-0 if he fought in the better eras. There is no question that Floyd has made a great deal of money and has done it with intelligent business decisions, and that is where his legacy lies. He is a great boxing businessman, but he will not find himself on the top of any greatest of all times list.
