Floyd Mayweather, JR Is A Great Fighter, but STOP Already With the 50-0 STUFF!

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By Joshua “City” Brewer

Now that the hoopla has started to die down a little bit regarding the Floyd Mayweather, JR., 50-0, 27 KO’s Vs Conor McGregor, 0-1, 0 KO’s, pay-per-view event it’s time to put the implications of the Mayweather, JR. win in perspective. With his victory Mayweather, JR. notched the 50th win of his career. Make no mistake about it, this is an incredible feat, especially given his age and ability to stay at the elite level for so long. Was McGregor a fighter who wouldn’t prove to be much of a threat for those that follow boxing? Sure! That said, the fight was sanctioned and the athletes were allowed to compete. The major narrative surrounding the win was Mayweather, JR. breaking the record of 49-0 that was held by late 40’s and 50’s era heavyweight great, Rocky Marciano. Floyd, at the age of 40, was able to surpass this mythical mark. And herein is where the narrative gets supremely ridiculous.

In many sports records dictate a team’s standing. In professional boxing, a record is simply a tally of one’s sanctioned fights. Don’t get me wrong, a boxer’s record does have credence from a visual perspective and is often used as a means for determining matchups. Often times young fighters are matched up with individuals with losing records yet just enough experience in an effort to get them acclimated to boxing in the professional ranks. Likewise, we’ve seen instances where established, elite level fighters have taken on opponents with souped up records who stood no chance from moment the fight was announced. I won’t name any names. If anyone tells you that such and such is the greatest fighter ever yet can’t name any past greats and provide a legitimate reason as to why such and such is better, take it with a grain of salt.

Every boxing pioneer and old-timer should be rolling over in their graves every time that mainstream media and some-time fans mention, repeat, or tweets that the “all time boxing record” was broken. For one, just because Marciano retired at 49-0 doesn’t mean that his “record” is or has been a barometer for which other boxers must meet to be considered the greatest. There are many factors that come into play which includes the level of competition. It’s no secret for those that follow boxing that Marciano was a great heavyweight, but he fought in an era when the heavyweight division was at one of its weakest points and his best opponents were well past their primes. This doesn’t take anything away from Marciano because he didn’t choose the timeframe in which he was born and only could fight those available to him during his era.

As for Mayweather, JR., while his feat is amazing, there are many variables at play in his career as well. The younger Mayweather, JR. who fought under the “Pretty Boy” moniker displayed an impeccable offensive and defensive arsenal. The most impressive victory of his career came in 2001, when he defeated Diego Corrales in impressive fashion at super featherweight. He went on to have many other great performances but as time progressed, so did his style. Mayweather, JR. became more of a defensive fighter and for that, he’s deservedly been acclaimed as one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. Many, now are more enticed due to him gaining his 50th win, consider him to be the best ever. For those individuals I ask under what merit?

Ultimately, it all comes down to personal opinion, but to proclaim someone the best ever simply because they’re undefeated is off base. This isn’t just regarding Mayweather, JR. but any fighter because just as many consider Marciano to be the best for the same reason. I challenge any individuals with this type of thinking to go to your favorite video website and watch the following fighters:

Henry Armstrong, 151-21-9, 101 KO’s
Willie Pep, 229-11-1, 65 KO’s
Sandy Saddler, 145-16-2, 104 KO’s
Billy Conn, 64-11-1, 16 KO’s
Jack Dempsey, 54-6-9, 44 KO’s
Joe Louis, 66-3, 52 KO’s

Those are just a few fighters who’ve in some cases passed the 50 mark twice over. Sure, there were some losses in the mix, but there is this thing called level of competition. The individuals I listed fought in the days where there was a single championship belt for each weight class and in order to be the man you had to beat the man. I won’t get into the different feats of each champion because I’d then be doing the research for you (speaking on those who have never heard of these fighters and probably still won’t care to look into them). The point I’m essentially trying to get across is the fact that there have been fighters who’ve fought 50 times in a single year let alone career. Additionally, there have been many fighters whom I won’t list that have gone well beyond the 50-0 mark.

For anyone who thinks that Mayweather, JR. being 50-0 makes him the greatest fighter ever, you first need to convince me he’s the greatest ever in his weight class (choose any weight class he’s fought at). That said, I have the utmost respect for Mayweather, JR.’s abilities and he’s a first ballot hall of famer five years from now should he choose to stay retired.

Additionally, he defeated many other future hall of famers though some were past their best. The same can be said of Mayweather, JR. as well because the defensive genius we came to know was a far cry of the offensive powerhouse he was in the past. There were also many fighters that many boxing die-hards would have like to have seen him take on in order to push towards that “Best Ever” status.

Just as it was laughable for the many casual fans to think that McGregor was going to walk into the sport and be competitive with one of the greatest fighters of his era, it’s also laughable to think that Mayweather, JR. or Marciano is the best ever when we’ve got champions of the past who’ve accomplished far greater feats. When the dust settles, there will be those who elicit greatness and those who do their best to convince you of such. In order for one to truly understand you must put in the time on your own to study the sport’s history. I’ve done so and still have a very, very long way to go because there were too many great fighters for a person to be able to witness all of their virtue in a single lifetime. In the end, the question of who’s the greatest will always be answered with an opinion. History provides facts. It’s up to you to get them straight.

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