Since boxing started to become popular in the early 1900's, there has always been a plethora of great fighters and many of them fought each other just for the sake of wanting to prove who was the best. And during those periods of time, there was always a fighter that stood above all others who was considered to be the face of boxing at that particular time. Hall of Fame legends like Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard all at some point in their careers were on top of the boxing world. Whether they loved them or hated them, fans would fill up stadiums all across the world to see them win, or get knocked out. Today, there are many boxing fans who believe the current face of boxing is the 8-division World Champion and current WBO Welterweight Champion Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao. The "Fighter of the Decade" (2000-2009) is arguably the most exiting fighter in the sport and is a HUGE PPV draw, but there is another guy who is a notch above him in terms of skill and popularity and that man is none other than Floyd "Money" Mayweather, who last Saturday night dismantled the future Hall of Fame Puerto Rican legend, Miguel Cotto over 12, hard fought, entertaining rounds, winning the WBA Jr. Middleweight title in the process.
So why is Floyd the best fighter on the planet? It's not because he's the biggest draw in the sport and it has nothing to do with his undefeated record. Floyd is the best fighter in the sport because he's most skilled, best defensive/counter puncher in the game and has fought several Hall of Fame caliber fighters over the past 10 years and has dominated all of them. If you want to compare him to other all time greats who are close to his size, he's a cross between Sugar Ray Leonard and Pernell Whitaker. Floyd may not be as fast as Leonard or as great defensively as Whitaker, but he's not that far off. In terms of boxing skills, Floyd is in Leonard and Whitaker's class and he's a better counter-puncher than the two of them. The one thing that Floyd lacks is Leonard's killer instinct, but he makes up for it with his accuracy and counter-punching. I'm not ready to say that he's better than Leonard or even Whitaker, but Floyd is definitely in the conversation.
As for Floyd's performance against Cotto, I was very impressed with how Floyd adjusted to Cotto's tactics during the course of the fight. When Cotto wanted to brawl with Floyd on the ropes, Floyd stayed on the ropes and picked him apart with counter right hands, similar to how Muhammad Ali carved up George Foreman in Zaire 38 years ago. And when the two fought in the center of the ring, Floyd was even more effective, as he landed short jabs to the chest (that drains his opponent's energy) and looping right hands and uppercuts when they fought in close quarters. And while Cotto did get in a few good power shots, mainly in the middle rounds, he could never land more than one punch at a time because Floyd blocked many of those shots with his glove or shoulder. The only knock on Floyd was that he had trouble avoiding Cotto's left jab at times, but I'm nit-picking. Every fighter gets hit, even defensive wizards like Floyd, yet it was a rare sight seeing Floyd being hit with clean jabs which caused his nose to bleed. But like a true champion, Floyd took command of the fight in the championship rounds and if he tried to go for the knockout in the final round, I think Cotto was ripe for the picking because Floyd hurt him badly with a short left uppercut midway through the 12th round and was ready to go. But Floyd still fought hard in the 12th and clearly won the round and the fight (I scored it 116-112 for Floyd).
Couple of thoughts about the aftermath of this fight—Kudos to Floyd for bury the hatchet with Larry Merchant. Both were in the wrong last time when the two had their famous dust-up after the Ortiz fight, but both Floyd and Larry showed class by putting their altercation behind them. I'm not convinced that the two will exchange Christmas cards in the future, but nevertheless, a nice gesture by both men. And if that wasn't enough, right after Floyd's interview with Larry, Floyd joined Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward at ringside and gave them an interview. What I didn't like seeing was Miguel Cotto refusing to grant an interview right after the fight. I know he lost and was disappointed, but he fought a very good fight and he should have conducted the interview. Cotto is usually gracious when he wins or loses, but for whatever reason, he did not handle things well after his fight with Mayweather.
There are some critics who believe Floyd has lost a step all because he was hit with some decent shots which made his nose bleed but I don't see it that way, in fact, I believe this fight with Cotto will help him going forward. Mayweather proved to his naysayers that he can stand toe to toe with a hard-punching slugger like Cotto and beat him at his own game, but he's done this before. Let's not forget— Floyd fought as a Jr. Middleweight 5 years ago when he challenged Oscar De La Hoya in what was the biggest PPV fight in boxing history. Floyd agreed to fight Oscar with "pillows"(10 ounce gloves) which was something Oscar insisted on, yet he still gave Oscar a boxing lesson (I know the fight was a split decision according to the judges, but I thought Floyd clearly won the fight 116-112). Just as he did with Oscar 5 years ago, Floyd fought the Jr. Middleweight champion at his weight without a "catch-weight"—just like the old school legends of the past that moved up in weight to challenge champions (Like Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard and others).
So what's next for Floyd Mayweather? We know what Floyd has to deal with next month, but after he gets through that, who should Floyd fight next? Many boxing fans would like to see Floyd take on the young lion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who on the under card delivered a brutal beating to future Hall of Fame warrior Shane Mosley. Alvarez was impressive against Mosley, but this was a shot, Shane Mosley who hasn't looked good in 3 years. If Floyd does fight Alvarez next, I'm sure the fight would do HUGE PPV numbers, but Floyd's on a whole different level and Floyd could ruin this kid's career before it really gets started if they faced.
If the Canelo Alvarez fight can't be made at this time, then what about Amir Khan? I know Khan lost his last fight to Lamont Peterson, but the fight was close and I actually thought Khan did enough to win it. And with the recent news that Peterson failed a drug test, the Khan-Peterson rematch is in serious jeopardy, so that would leave the door open for Khan to challenge Mayweather this fall. Khan is inconsistent, but he has two things going for him that could give Floyd some trouble: Khan is a good combination puncher and he has an excellent left jab. We all saw how Floyd had trouble avoiding Cotto's jab and Cotto is nowhere near as fast as Khan, so a Mayweather vs. Khan battle could be interesting.
Both of those fights would be good ones to watch, but the fight I would like to see (besides the obvious one) would be Floyd Mayweather moving up to the Middleweight division to challenge the TRUE Middleweight king, Sergio "Marivilla" Martinez. Both Mayweather and Martinez are fast, athletic fighters who rely on their hand speed and counter-punching ability and while Martinez is a Middleweight, he's a small Middleweight. And Floyd would not need to weigh 160 pounds going into that fight— he could come in at 155 and still maintain his insane hand speed and quickness. This fight would prepare Floyd for that other fight we all want to see because like Pacquiao, Martinez is a fast southpaw who has a deadly left cross. Floyd is always looking for a challenge, so taking on the man who's widely considered to be the third best fighter on the planet in his division would be a HUGE challenge.
This all sounds great and there are other possible opponents (James Kirkland, Paul Williams, Chavez Jr) , but I can't avoid the obvious. As great as those fights would be, NOTHING would compare to the MEGA showdown boxing fans have been clamoring for since 2008: The fight that would prove once and for all who's the REAL pound for pound king—Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao. Call me naive, but I do believe we will see this fight take place at some point. I strongly believe that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao both want this fight in the worst way, but there is one man who's preventing this fight from taking place—Bob Arum. Floyd just made a guaranteed 32 million fighting Cotto and will make even more with PPV sales, so he doesn't need the money. And Pacquiao makes a lot of money per fight, so he's not hurting for money either. But the difference between the two is that Manny Pacquiao is Bob Arum's golden goose and if Floyd fights Manny, if (and when) he loses to Floyd, Arum would lose his cash cow and his position of power.
What Floyd doesn't get enough credit for is the fact that he's a smart businessman who learned everything there is to know about promoting while working for Arum and Floyd is now using what he learned against his former boss (Oscar did the same thing) and now he's the one who's calling the shots. Floyd knows his value, so he when he refuses to accept a 50-50 deal for facing Pacquiao, he can do that because he knows he's a bigger PPV draw than Manny. If Arum was in the same position of power (and he has been MANY times in his career) he would do the exact same thing. As the old saying goes, "It ain't no fun when the rabbit has the gun" and Floyd is the one with the gun. I don't blame Floyd for taking this stand, but I do miss the good old days when GREAT fighters fought each other without all of the promotional mud-slinging.
