Packy’s World: Floyd Mayweather, JR Could Not Hold a Candle to Kid Gavilan
By Packy “Boom Boom” Goldstein
Oy Vay are you going to hear it today…. You know what grabs me harder in the bagels than most other things boxing readers? Bad service! I truly hate bad service and it seems the trend today in restaurants not just here on Miami Beach, but all around the country when my wife Sadie and I travel. Now let me tell you, Sadie is a lot more patient than ole “Boom Boom” on any day, including Sunday. But even my beloved little chickadee of 50 years and going, is fed up too. Here is a scene from a Chinese Restaurant we went to early tonight for dinner. Waitress: Can I take your order?
Me: I hope so! I will take the Sweet and Sour Pork with Fried Rice and an Egg Roll.
Waitress: Ok, I got it.
Me to Sadie: Want to bet darling, it is wrong?
Sadie: No way honey!
Fade out……… Order arrives: Do you think this young lady listened? Hell no! She brought me Sweet and Sour Chicken and when I said, “take the entire plate back”, she had a look on her face like I was from another planet. This is the problem in service today not just in restaurants, but many other establishments which just grabs me right in the bagels! Can you feel me readers about service? Now onto Floyd Mayweather, JR. Yes, I said it folks, he could not hold a candle to my dear friend we lost in 2003 Kid Gavilan, who was the Welterweight Champion. He was a master in the ring and would have boxed circles around Mayweather at 147 Lbs.
Alvin, “Bad” Brad’s father and I hung with him many times and even at few of Bradley’s fights in the early 80’s when a young version of “Bad” Brad was fighting at a gym called Elizabeth Virrick Gym in Coconut Grove, Florida. Also, with us was another legend Beau Jack, who was the lightweight champion and I was honored to have met through Alvin. You will always hear an Alvin reference in my columns because he was my dearest friend for close to 50 years and I have never gotten over the loss of him as I know Bradley hasn’t either. He was a loyal friend, the funniest guy I ever knew and a true lover of not just boxing, but the boxers he knew and others he watched. He had immense respect for the warriors who laid it on the line everytime they stepped into that coveted square circle. Now back to my statement about Floyd Mayweather, JR.
Yes, I acknowledge that the young man is the best of his generation, and I also have been around long enough to know you cannot compare him to other eras based on opposition if it just isn’t there. However, I am looking at the entire package. Kid was beloved by the masses, ducked nobody and never took constant business moves over fighting the best when they were the best as Floyd Mayweather, JR. has not done. Perfect examples are Saul “Canelo” Alvarez when he was still green no matter the amount of fights he had and of course on May 2nd, he fought a past his prime, but not totally shot Manny Pacquiao. Sound familiar? A better fighter than him did the same move in 1987.
But go back to 1982 and the bullshit press conference first. Sugar Ray Leonard put on a media circus duping Marvelous Marvin Hagler to think he was going to announce them having a “Super Fight”. It was all smoke and mirrors and that day, I truly wanted to kick Leonard hard in his bagels because Alvin and I were there. Both of us were friends with Angelo Dundee and he invited us. Ray instead, announced he was retiring.
I turned to Alvin and said, “Al, you see that BS?” Al responded, “Packy, Marvin would have killed Ray at that point in his career and Ray knows it.” I agreed with him. Fast forward to 1987… Sugar Ray Leonard saw that Hagler was slipping the year before in his title defense against John “The Beast” Mugabi who gave him an all out war before Marvin stopped him in the 11th round. Ray saw he was not the Hagler of old and made the fight. Mayweather, JR. did the same exact move with Manny Pacquiao choosing to fight him in 2015 instead of 2009. Kid fought everyone and never chose business to get an edge that way like Floyd has done time and time again. Add one more factor to my statement about Kid. Outside the ring, he was beloved, acted like a humble person and never flaunted his wealth though not a fraction of Floyd’s and success.
This is the measure of a great man. Kid was, Floyd is not!
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