Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts on a show. Simply put, Mayweather is an artist. Life is his canvas. In his case it’s one giant reality show, filled with more drama than a thousand Real Worlds, more custom made clothing than any season of Project Runway, all …
Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts on a show. Simply put, Mayweather is an artist. Life is his canvas. In his case it’s one giant reality show, filled with more drama than a thousand Real Worlds, more custom made clothing than any season of Project Runway, all punctuated with occasional bursts of sporting brilliance.
More than a great fighter, he’s a superlative entertainer, in a class that few have ever approached in sports history. Muhammad Ali, Joe Namath, Mike Tyson and the immortal Hulk Hogan—Mayweather absolutely belongs in that elite class.
Before he ever stepped into the ring, smiles were on millions of faces around the world. An entourage of pro wrestler Triple H, pop star Justin Bieber and rap impresario 50 Cent? Are you kidding me? Mayweather needed all of those hands to carry his huge collection of title belts, a product of his 43 professional wins.
For the first time in recent memory, Mayweather was pushed. Miguel Cotto, himself a future Hall of Famer, was able to bully Mayweather into the ropes and do some solid work. But to the surprise of many, Mayweather never tried to dance away. Instead, he stood his ground, carefully tracking Cotto’s every punch with the military grade radar system he calls eyeballs, and beat Cotto at his own game.
Cotto never yielded to Floyd’s brilliance. That’s something we’ve seen happen all to often in Mayweather fights. There is typically a moment when you can see an opponent deflate, pinpointing to the second they realize in their heart of hearts they can’t win. Cotto never came to that realization. He fought until the end, and when the decision didn’t go his way, he stormed from the ring rather than submit to Larry Merchant’s presumably tortuous post-fight interview.
Sensing the vacuum, Mayweather conducted two interviews, one where he made amends with the legendarily cantankerous Merchant, and another where he charmed Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward ringside.
All ears perked up when he mentioned a potential bout with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather seems open to the fight, one boxing fans have been pining for. First there’s the small matter of 90 days in county jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge after an altercation with his girlfriend in September 2010.
What will the experience do to Mayweather? Will it ground him? Open his eyes to life’s absurdity? Make him appreciate what he has? Will it make Floyd more likely to pursue Pacquiao and his place among the immortals? Or less? Nothing is ever boring in Floyd Mayweather’s world. I’m just glad to share it for an hour or two.
With almost every relevant heavyweight crammed into one event, it’s difficult not to be excited for UFC 146. Heavyweights are the main attraction in all combat sports so creating an all-heavyweight card seems perfect, right? But coul…
With almost every relevant heavyweight crammed into one event, it’s difficult not to be excited for UFC 146. Heavyweights are the main attraction in all combat sports so creating an all-heavyweight card seems perfect, right?
But could this instead create the perfect storm? Will we regret out indulgence in what we love the most?
Probably not. This actually may be a good thing for the division. The main benefit I see is that this card, and the rest of the heavyweight fights this month, including the Strikeforce Grand Prix, puts the top 10 giants on the same schedule.
The top 10 will shift all in one month and they’ll all be ready for another one in September.
This is very similar to what occurred last year in May and June. The Strikeforce Grand Prix hosted Overeem versus Werdum which had half of the top 10 on June 18. And the UFC held multiple events in which the rest of the best heavyweights squared off all in the same month.
Although they weren’t on the exact same card, it will have the same effect.
Not only will we see a complete shift among the top 10, but we may also have an insurgence of young talent into the pool of relevant contenders.
The Strikeforce Grand Prix finale, between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, will take place seven days prior to the mega UFC event. I wouldn’t be surprised if Zuffa crowns the winner of this match the last Strikeforce heavyweight champion and matches him up with the UFC champion to unify the belts.
This would exemplify the benefit of having them all on the same schedule. It would also allow the promotion to hold another mega card like this in September or October if this setup proves to be successful.
Plus we can expect a lineup of devastating knockouts since some of the most ferocious fighters reside in this division. The 10 heavyweights on the UFC 146 card are collectively responsible for 52 knockouts. This number almost doubles if you include heavyweights that also fight this month.
Don’t expect problems from UFC 146. Expect excitement not only for Saturday, May 26 but also for the heavyweight division for the rest of 2012.
Floyd Mayweather Junior will tell you he’s the best boxer of his generation, arguably of all time. And, self-promotion and bombast aside, he might just be right. Mayweather has stood across the ring from 42 different opponents in professional bouts. On…
Floyd Mayweather Junior will tell you he’s the best boxer of his generation, arguably of all time. And, self-promotion and bombast aside, he might just be right.
Mayweather has stood across the ring from 42 different opponents in professional bouts. On 42 different occasions, from Mississippi to Idaho, he’s had his hand raised high. Nine major world titles have been strapped around his waist, and his list of victims reads like a list of future boxing Hall of Famers—Corrales, Castillo, Gatti, De La Hoya, Marquez and Mosley.
Saturday night in Las Vegas, at the MGM Grand where he’s competed on eight occasions, Mayweather will look to add Miguel Cotto to that list. But it’s far from a done deal. Mayweather may have never been beaten—but he’s not unbeatable.
Past opponents have laid the groundwork for how to beat him. There is a game plan that, if executed perfectly, that can lead an opponent to victory. I’m not saying Miguel Cotto is going to beat Floyd Mayweather. But if he does, this will be how.
When I was a young boy, my father sat me on the sofa next to him and together, we shared something magical. We watched as Muhammad Ali battered some game yet hopelessly outclassed opponent along the ropes, knocking out his mouth piece. I remember that …
When I was a young boy, my father sat me on the sofa next to him and together, we shared something magical. We watched as Muhammad Ali battered some game yet hopelessly outclassed opponent along the ropes, knocking out his mouth piece. I remember that moment in particular: the sight of that white shape flying […]
Not that Mayweather (42-0) and Cotto (37-2) aren’t capable of putting on a great show in their light-middleweight championship fight, May 5th in Las Vegas, but the boxing world is always transfixed by the best possible matchup. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has headed that list for a long time.
The 31-year-old Cotto is the real deal and is capable of pushing Mayweather, 35, to the limit. An upset may be a real possibility. Not only does Cotto have sensational power, he is capable of launching a barrage with either hand.
The other factor working against Mayweather is that he may not respect Cotto as a fighter. You can tell that by the trash talk — of which there has been very little. The two fighters have been very respectful of each other and that’s very unusual for Mayweather. In one of the pre-fight press conferences, Mayweather spoke of his admiration for Cotto’s straight-forward and hard-hitting approach. He also used the opportunity to belittle Pacquiao, suggesting that he is barely paying attention to the opponent in front of him.
Not that Mayweather (42-0) and Cotto (37-2) aren’t capable of putting on a great show in their light-middleweight championship fight, May 5th in Las Vegas, but the boxing world is always transfixed by the best possible matchup. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has headed that list for a long time.
The 31-year-old Cotto is the real deal and is capable of pushing Mayweather, 35, to the limit. An upset may be a real possibility. Not only does Cotto have sensational power, he is capable of launching a barrage with either hand.
The other factor working against Mayweather is that he may not respect Cotto as a fighter. You can tell that by the trash talk — of which there has been very little. The two fighters have been very respectful of each other and that’s very unusual for Mayweather. In one of the pre-fight press conferences, Mayweather spoke of his admiration for Cotto’s straight-forward and hard-hitting approach. He also used the opportunity to belittle Pacquiao, suggesting that he is barely paying attention to the opponent in front of him.
You could see that for yourself on HBO’s 24/7 series in which Mayweather is shown taking a phone call while he is in training for the fight. Specifically, he’s hitting the speed bag with one hand and talking on the phone while he holds it on his shoulder. It’s not that Mayweather isn’t hitting the bag impressively with one hand — it’s shockingly fast — but it’s just as obvious that he has other things on his mind beside the twice-beaten Cotto.
That could be a mistake. There may be two defeats on Cotto’s resume, but he has gotten revenge for the biggest defeat he ever had. Cotto lost to Antonio Margarito in July 2008, and that defeat weighed heavily on him. Cotto appeared to dominate the fight through much of the early going but Margarito kept coming and coming, and Cotto’s defensive skills were lax. Instead of blocking or sidestepping Margarito’s punches, it seemed that Cotto was intent on catching every one of those shots with his head. The fight was stopped in the 11th round and it appeared that if the fight had not been called at that moment, serious and perhaps permanent damage could have been done.
Cotto would also lose to Pacquiao in 2009 via TKO, and he appeared to be old news as a light-middleweight fighter. However, Cotto went back to work, rediscovered his power and figured out how to defend himself a little better. The psychological damage of the loss to Margarito was still impacting him, but when Cotto got revenge by stopping his rival in the 10th round last December, it was clear that the Puerto Rican champion was back. In his mind, he had avenged the worst moment of his professional career and he was willing to fight anyone.
Cotto now gets his opportunity to see exactly where he stands in the rankings. It’s one thing to get revenge over a fighter like Margarito who had a damaged eye and is fairly easy to hit, but it’s quite another to match wits and fists with Mayweather.
Mayweather’s straight right hand has been one of the most devastating weapons in boxing and there’s no stopping it. If Cotto is not quicker than Mayweather — and he is not — he’s going to get hit with that punch quite a bit. When you are getting hit in the face repeatedly and hard, you are going to have a difficult time keeping your mind on your own gameplan.
Mayweather must believe that beating Cotto is just a matter of showing up and moving quickly. “Money” knows all about Cotto’s past defeats and he plans to use those losses to help him with his strategy. And that could be the biggest issue for Cotto. He’s fighting Mayweather, a man who bitterly resents Pacquiao, and he doesn’t want to look bad against an opponent that Pacquiao previously TKO’d. He wants to beat Cotto worse than Pacquiao did, and that’s his motivation.
The only problem with that is Cotto’s power. If Mayweather goes for an early- or middle-round knockout, he could leave himself in a vulnerable position. Cotto can drop the hammer and Mayweather has never shown an inclination for being willing to take a big punch.
There could be some dicey moments for Mayweather, but he should find a way to get past Cotto. He still has designs on the mammoth pay-day that would occur if a fight with Pacquiao actually took place, and the best way to make that happen is to take on Cotto and handle him.
In boxing, as in life, you have to follow the money. That’s why Mayweather will take charge in the late rounds and keep his dream scenario of a fight with Pacquiao intact.
Love him or hate him, Tito Ortiz has forever etched his name in MMA history. The former UFC light heavyweight champion will step into the Octagon for the final time on July 7, which should serve as the end of an era. For years, Ortiz, Randy Couture and…
Love him or hate him, Tito Ortiz has forever etched his name in MMA history. The former UFC light heavyweight champion will step into the Octagon for the final time on July 7, which should serve as the end of an era. For years, Ortiz, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell have been seen as the […]
Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts on a show. Simply put, Mayweather is an artist. Life is his canvas. In his case it’s one giant reality show, filled with more drama than a thousand Real Worlds, more custom made clothing than any season of Project Runway, all punctuated with occasional bursts of sporting brilliance.