Is Floyd Mayweather TBE? or merely undefeated?

The Best Ever. Many years ago I listened to a Howard Stern show in which he said if you want a title just call yourself that and repeat it ad nauseam. People will eventually just take it for a fact. He used Michael Jackson's moniker of King of Pop as an example. Then to prove his point he proceeded to call himself the King of All Media. Soon everyone called him that. Years ago Floyd Mayweather called himself the best ever and people started to believe it. Now every time he wins the arguments erupt. Is Floyd the best ever? The week before his fight with Manny Pacquiao Floyd even went as far as to say that Muhammad Ali was not the greatest. Floyd Mayweather has been masterful spreading this propaganda and stirring the debate. That's what he's supposed to do. That's what pays him and builds his legacy. It's the rest of us that are eating the cake and not realizing it's just dust.

The best ever is simply an opinion. There is no true basis of grading or comparison. Muhammad Ali is adored by fans and regarded as the greatest boxer ever. He captured America's imagination and hearts by first, by standing on principle against the Vietnam War then by his legendary and epic battles against Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton Jr., Sonny Liston and countless others. He is the original loudmouth. Everything that fans hate about Floyd Mayweather Jr., the money, brashness, cockiness, Ali did it 100 times worse. He called Joe Frazier a monkey, an uncle Tom, mocked his nose and lips. But Ali bled, sacrificed his body, took horrendous beatings for his legacy and for the fans. If you watched an Ali fight you were assured a spectacle you could tell your grandchildren about. His first battle against Joe Frazier showed us what all other champions will forever be measured by. But it also made Ali human. The huge ego was battered, beaten almost unrecognizable, yet Ali rose each time and took his beating. That's what boxing fans will always love, a man who overcomes all the adversity they can not. Physically, few heavyweights could match his overall skill and even fewer his heart. That's what makes him the best ever in most minds. But more knowledgeable boxing fans don't choose Ali as the best ever. The consensus is Joe Louis.

I could write for days on the accomplishments of Joe Louis. They're immeasurable. In a time when African-Americans were still not accepted, Joe Louis demolished Max Schmeling in two rounds. He beat the Germans. He beat Hitler. But he retired with losses on his record. That seems to be what Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his legion of fans cling to in order to call him the best ever. He's undefeated. Well, so was Rocky Marciano and more recently Joe Calzaghe. No one mentions them as the best ever. It's not Floyd's fault. It's the age we live in.

We live in the now. Every day there is a clip or a Vine or whatever is cool at the moment claiming "here!" this is the funniest, the best, the craziest, the coolest, the whatever until the next hour when our attention span has waned and something replaces the last best ever. So give Mayweather some credit for keeping the discussion going this long. But he's not the best ever.

Mayweather is retiring undefeated. That's all. He fought some of the best of his time. He is superbly talented. Maybe the most talented boxer of all time. With a ring IQ that no one can match. But what he truly is, is a businessman. He marketed himself and took chances to maximize his income before his time was up. He won every fight but very few fans beyond those that only loved the persona and the lifestyle. He never risked it all the ring. He never laid it all on the line as we like our heroes to, as Ali and Hagler and Cuevas and Chavez and Gatti did for us. But he didn't have to. Don't blame him. He fought some of the best boxers of his era and they could barely make him sweat. Nobody, no one brought out the best in him and I'm sure it's there. I'm sure if a boxer appeared that pushed him, Floyd would rise and show us brilliance. I'm not sure he would win, but we would all say "see? That's what a champion does. He rises." and maybe we would love him, watching him be knocked down a peg. That would make him human like us. Instead, we watched him cruise to victory every single time. We watched him batter women and laugh at them and the legal system. We watched him smother us all with his greatness. All Floyd did was win, thinking that would make him the Best Ever. His every other step only made the common man hate him even more.

Mayweather fought with more pressure than most. Boxers fight to win. For a belt. For a ranking. Floyd fought for his legacy. For his family and friends and for his future. Yes, he was paid more than any other boxer in history but it was he who brokered those deals and put himself in that position. It was he who realized making himself the promoter would grow his income exponentially. He took those risks. And with every fight the next big payday was at stake. Hundreds of millions. A loss would end all that because the only reason we all buy his PPV is to watch him lose. Once that appeal is lost Floyd Mayweather TBE is over.

That's a lot of pressure. Just ask Manny Pacquiao. He seemed to wilt in the biggest fight of his career. Floyd Mayweather Jr. deserves credit for that. In every single fight, he showed up and fought his fight. He won. He just didn't win the respect of fans. I'm sure 300 or 400 million in the bank make up for that.

Mayweather vs Pacquiao: The Fallout

Hype is a beautiful thing for the one creating it and receiving it. Most of the time, hype is deception for those who believe in it. Saturday's "Fight of the Century" between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao delivered in monetary value, but fans, live and at home, left with a bad taste in their mouth. Feeling the only word that deserved "of the Century" to follow it was robbery. As in paying $100 for a PPV. I'll stop there and not mention ticket and Las Vegas hotel prices. But why such wrath? Most fans continue to support Manny Pacquiao, yet of all the players involved, Manny was the only one not to play his role.

Promoters (yes Mayweather is one of them) did their part and sold boxing fans the fight. Hyped it. Told us it was Ali v Frazier and Hagler v Leonard rolled into one. Never had we seen two fighters of this caliber face each other in their prime. The use of the word 'prime' was loose of course. We, the fans, continued the hype. We bought the PPV and told anyone who would listen this, this, was the fight not to miss. Mayweather would get his due. We went to bars and paid $20, $30 and $50 covers at bars that never charged a cover. Mayweather for his part not only sold the fight, but fought exactly as we expected. Probably better. You could superimpose any fighter into the footage of any of his fight's in the last decade and it would look exactly the same. Mayweather didn't surprise anyone with his performance.He played his part to perfection. It was Manny. The hope for the last six years that this match was talked about and examined the selling point was Manny Pacquiao was an offensive unstoppable juggernaut with hand speed to rival Floyd's. Manny attacked at angles never seen before. He possessed excellent footwork. An iron chin. He was a lefty! The kryptonite Mayweather feared since birth! Manny was the one. Born to dethrone the loudmouth.

Yet, on Saturday night Manny Pacquiao boxed the same way almost every opponent Floyd has seen in his career. Mesmerized by superior skill only to complain in the end Mayweather did nothing to win. Manny, if Floyd did nothing you did less. A boxer that averages landing 29 punches a round reduced to only 7? More telling is being reduced to 35 punches thrown per round against Manny's usual 68 punches per round. I only mention these statistics because casual fans love to accuse Mayweather of running. He threw and landed more punches than Pacquiao. Manny was supposed to have the footwork and stamina to cut off the ring against Mayweather and 'make him fight' Sadly and ridiculously that was proven false early on. The feared left hand landed early then disappeared. The unseen angles that Manny attacks from? Never erupted. Manny found himself missing wildly at the second or third punch of a combination. The hand speed seemed to be there for Manny but the defensive flaws he has always possessed shone even brighter. It's nearly impossible to land punches when being jabbed in the face just as you get ready to throw. Such was Floyd's timing. 

Mayweather fought his fight. It was up to Pacquaio to push and make the bout exciting. To deliver. Everyone knew that. He didn't. He showed up, looked lost against a superior boxer and complained afterward. But what true boxing fan believed something different? This is a Manny Pacquiao who was outboxed by Erik Morales.  Outboxed in four fights by Juan Manuel Marquez. It was always his volume and power that won him fights, not his ring IQ. Who among you truly expected Manny Pacquiao to solve the defensive puzzle of the greatest defensive fighter of our era? Stop kidding yourselves. You hoped he could do it because we all love to see David slay Goliath.

Whether it was pressure or the hurt shoulder, the Manny Pacquiao that fans love, did not show up on Saturday night. He did not deliver to his fans. But he did receive his fortune for showing up while the public is left unquenched wondering what else they could have done with those $100.

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Mayweather v Pacquiao: Who Wins and How

Mayweather vs Pacquiao : Who Wins and How

They bill it as the fight of the century, the fight of a lifetime. Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao is happening May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Six years of negotiations and, depending on who you believe, running scared by both men, we have the boxing spectacle fans have clamored for. It is unfair to say we're getting it six years too late. Hey, at least it's happening. Now the question is, who will win? Will Floyd stay undefeated? Or will Manny vanquish the biggest loud mouth in the sport?

There isn't much to say about Floyd Mayweather Jr. that hasn't been said at least one thousand times before. The man stands as high atop the mountain as anyone ever has. Certainly higher than anyone now. Before I critique him, I'll say this, I am not a fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. But I'm also not an idiot. Mayweather is that once in a lifetime athlete who chooses the sport that fitting him perfectly and not only uses his athletic ability but also learns and grows and studies all the intricacies of his trade and adds atop all that the drive of a champion. In his youth, detractors said well he's just faster than everyone and he runs. He's not willing to stand and bang. There's truth to that. Mayweather was gifted with exceptional hand speed and footwork. I haven't seen another boxer with better footwork and mobility than Mayweather. Ever. Add to that the defensive skills taught to him by his father and uncle and you have an almost unhittable adversary. The shoulder roll, the rope a dope, the angles, then he simply disrupts your timing with his jab. As far as standing and brawling, I have to agree with Mayweather, this is boxing, not a bar fight. He uses his boxing skills to not be hit like any boxer should. He lands shots and moves away. His opponent barely realizes he's been hit with a four punch combo before Mayweather is deftly away and mocking him. In the last few years, we have seen Mayweather take much more punishment than the rest of his career combined. The most important recent fight to me is his bout against Miguel Cotto. Cotto used superb footwork to corner Mayweather and keep him against the ropes while landing jabs and body shots. Somehow Mayweather managed to outland and outwork Cotto to win. This proved two things: making Mayweather stop and slug would not be the easy answer to defeating him and it proved his mettle and grit. Mayweather, if you like him or not, is not going to fold with adversity. The Maidana fights didn't prove much. Maidana muscled and brawled Mayweather, fought a little dirty, but past round 6 of the first fight was outclassed by the much better boxer. But the question lingered, are Mayweather's legs gone? 

Manny Pacquiao is an offensive machine. He has been from the moment he burst onto American screens. He may be the hardest hitting little guy in boxing, with speed in his hands and Freddie Roach to reign in and direct all those great physical attributes. Long gone are the days of the Manny Pacquiao who lost to Erik Morales. Getting outboxed and outmaneuvered because all he had was a powerful straight left hand. This Manny punches from many and awkward angles, with both hands. He is no longer reckless but disciplined. His movement is superb and geared to cornering and destroying his prey. In the ring, there is no backing up or running from Manny. He knows one direction. Forward. That works wonders when sheer volume and power can dismantle your opponent. Lately, in the occasions it hasn't, Manny has struggled. Manny has pointed to calve issues and at times lack of focus for some of his lackluster performances. Reality is age has crept on him slowly. By no means is he a shot fighter, long from it. But he is not the juggernaut that trampled all who dared to stand in his way from 2006 to 2010. That many Pacquiao kept a pace that no one, I mean no one, could keep up with. Striking with impunity and shattering dreams. Once Freddie Roach showed him how and when to use his right hand, Manny became unstoppable offensively. Yes, his defense lacks, but for one or two punches hi opponents landed, Manny landed five or six mule kicks on them. Then his foe was on the run and defense no longer mattered. Except for one foe. Juan Manuel Marquez. If Manny is Superman, Marquez is kryptonite. Marquez outboxed Manny in every fight. But Manny knocked Marquez down in every fight to win split and majority decisions. Even with the knockdowns, many, including me, believe Marquez won all the matches. Their last match? Marquez left no doubt, planting Manny flat on his face unconscious for several minutes while he celebrated his victory. Tim Bradley is another important opponent for Manny. Whether you believe Manny defeated Bradley in their first outing or not, you must agree that Manny struggled with Bradley's speed and defense, missing many more punches than is his norm. It's not like he looked horrible, he struggled. He missed punches during exchanges while Bradley landed. The rematch Manny looked much better after the first few rounds and dominated. But again, the question remained, has Manny slowed down or was Bradley just that good?

THE OUTCOME

As hated as Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be, the fact is he is currently the best. Not only is he physically superior to Manny, Manny does not possess the ring acumen of Mayweather. He never will. That knowledge only comes from being raised by two great boxing minds like his father and uncle and Floyd having the boxing humility to absorb that knowledge, not relying on his pure physical attributes. Manny will start fast, he always does and Mayweather will have to avoid an early left or hook. Mayweather has never been hit with the power of the likes of Manny, but he has been hit and he has overcome. After the first three or four rounds, I see Floyd outboxing Manny in every facet. Using his jab and counter punching. The impeccable timing that only he possesses. I see Manny constantly pushing and punching, doing his all to corner Mayweather, but failing. The Marquez battles are the blueprint to beating Manny and Mayweather has those exact skills, but many times better. He will find and exploit all of Manny's holes and weaknesses much as he did against Marquez. Manny will not slow down or quit. He will take a ton of damage, but Mayweather does not pack the punch to knock Manny out cold. The timing to land the perfect punch? Maybe. Mayweather's speed and ability to stay in the pocket moments at a time and avoid punches will befuddle Manny. His straight left will find air while Floyd lands hooks and straights to the body. If Manny stands a chance he will have to find a way to stop and corral Mayweather. If Mayweather survived and outworked Cotto, he won't Manny. That's Manny's only chance, aside from a one punch knockout, and I find that to be a slim one. Mayweather can win a variety of ways, including a knockout. Putting someone to sleep is not only power but timing and Floyd has plenty of that. Mayweather can outbox, out land, and, like it or not, out hustle Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather didn't come this far to have a 'one' on his record. 

What's Wrong with Judging in MMA?

At UFC Fight Night:Fairfax the ugly head of bad judging surfaced again. Depending on who you ask Liz Carmouche lost her match and Al Iaquinta was demolished by Jorge Masvidal. Fans want the system fixed. What they really want is for whomever they felt won to win.My opinion in those two bouts was that Carmouche lost and Jorge Masvidal handily beat Iaquinta. But are the judges to blame or is the parameters of the sport? What can realistically be done to fix the bad decisions? Or is bad judging just something athletes and fans must accept?

The sport of MMA needs to accept some blame for the bad decisions it produces. Judging combat sports is difficult. Extremely. Boxing has had countless bad decisions in it's history and in boxing all you have to look for is whether one guy punches the other. In MMA a judge has to look for striking, grappling, cage control, aggressiveness, ground control, top control, submissions, damage, and probably a dozen more things. And how do you judge all that? What carries the most weight? A takedown or a three strike combo? What if a guy gets two takedowns but is hurt by strikes later in the round, what carries more weight? None of that has been defined in MMA. Or what if nothing happens in a round, who wins the round? The one with center control or the one who's footwork forced the other to have "center" control? Judging is essentially opinion. What do you think happened? So when a round is not clear cut it leaves the judge with all the power to choose what he prefers, including the fighter. Why can Floyd Mayweather use his superior footwork and speed to avoid damage and conflict and win every round while a lesser fighter loses the same type of round because he was inactive? Because everyone loves Mayweather and really, it takes boxing skill to avoid the way he does in the ring. The Masvidal/Iaquinta match is a perfect example of perception. Iaquinta is a fan favorite. He takes the fight to his opponent. Almost a brawler. Masvidal is extremely skilled on his feet. He, in my opinion was picking Iaquinta apart. But viewers felt that Masvidal was coasting and running because Iaquinta kept chasing and throwing bombs that mainly missed. I saw one fighter head and shoulders above the other in the striking department. But what many fans and the judges saw was a lot of effort from Iaquinta and another fighter not engaging. That was the perception. I can see that. Even with me giving the fight to Masvidal in the back of my mind I was thinking they may thinking Iaquinta is the aggressor. And to me, that's the worst of judging or commentating. "Well he was the aggressor" or "He was busier, threw more strikes" That means hey you should win for trying. Now, after the fight stats showed that Masvidal actually was more active and accurate during the rounds 2 & 3 that he "coasted" what other reason do we have to award the rounds to Iaquinta? I personally dislike the use of statistics to prove a fighter won because judges don't have that available. A fight should be judged on what we see, not on generated numbers. But I use them here merely to point out how opinion and perception play a major role in today's MMA judging.

Manny Pacquiao gets Battered by Juan Manuel Marquez and is Given the Nod by Judges

I want to start by saying I became a Manny Pacquiao fan when he evolved his boxing skills after losing to Erik Morales. So I am not a Manny Pacquiao hater. But last night when Pac Man met Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time, the worst of boxing rose to the forefront once more.

An old adage in boxing is styles make fights. After 36 rounds it is obvious that Juan Manuel Marquez has the style that will always give trouble to Manny Pacquiao. Through all his exploits, Pac Man has never distanced himself from Marquez. Last nite, Juan Manuel showed he has the tools to beat Manny Pacquiao. The problem for Marquez was that judges are human and feelings and opinion are involved in judging. The fight was very close, no one can deny that. I felt Juan Manuel Marquez won handily and when I hear the discussions on ESPN and other sports outlets on why Pacquaio was handed the victory I'm reminded why I've rarely watched boxing over the last few years and why I will never watch another boxing match again.

Watching the telecast, Harold Lederman kept calling Pac Man the aggressor and that's why he was giving him the rounds. His reasoning was that Manny was going forward. Using this logic, Floyd Mayweather should rarely win any round, as well Roy Jones Jr. in his prime,and Pernell Whitaker and any other defensive counter fighter. As even Lederman stated, that is the same logic that led him to award the fight to Sugar Leanard against Marvin Hagler. I have always disagreed with this. Assuming that moving forward equals aggression fails to take into account strategy and ring control. If Marquez' gameplan was to lure Manny Pacquiao in and counter with solid strikes and that's exactly how the fight played out, didn't he control when and where the fight took place? Didn't he have the "ring generalship" Lederman awarded to Pacquiao? Analysts point to CompuBox numbers that show Pacquiao landed a few more punches than Marquez and more power punches. But the judges did not have the ability to count punches, they watched it live and live Marquez landed better combinations and slipped and feinted Manny throughout the fight.

Then analysts say that Marquez' corner incorrectly told him he was winning and he let the foot off the gas. But, according to their CompuBox, Marquez threw the most punches of the fight in round 9 and averaged above 30 in every other round. He never let up, he continued his game plan. He did the same things that led him to win rounds throughout the fight but suddenly it wasn't enough. And what if we hadn't heard Marquez' corner tell him he was winning, what excuse would we have? And to be clear, Marquez' corner did not tell him to let up. they told him "don't get caught", "don't stand there".

My problem with this whole mess is that in the end, boxing is a popularity contest. Mayweather can be a defensive fighter and be brilliant, while others do the same and they lack ring leadership. A boxer can win a round, a fight, by throwing more punches regardless of impact or accuracy. You can win by trying as long as people like you because if Marquez had thrown and missed as much as Manny Pacquiao did, the spin would have been that Manny displayed excellent defense, not that Marquez was the aggressor. Much the same way Sugar Ray Leonard can be awarded a victory over Marvin Hagler by running around in the ring but when Pernell Whitaker used the exact same style against Oscar De La Hoya, Oscar won. Everyone loves Leonard and de La Hoya, no one likes Whitaker and Hagler. It was the same last night. Manny Pacquiao is everyone's darling and no matter what he did, he would have done enough to win. Marquez' only shot was for a knockout. Analysts  say well Manny's face was not beaten, you have to take a title not just win it, Manny has superior skills. It all sounds good but does not remove the fact that Juan Manuel Marquez used superior boxing skills, not God given talent, to outbox and defeat Manny Pacquiao? So if this is what boxing, as a whole, wants to display on one of its largest stages, then they no longer can count on me as a fan or supporter of any kind. As a whole they are unwilling to make the big fights happen and when they do have nice matchups, they are a debacle. Mayweather-Ortiz, Hopkins-Dawson. Boxing has nothing to offer for the casual fan or the hardcore one when upper echelon fighters must defeat opponents in the ring, the judges table, the CompuBox counters and popular opinion just to win a round much less a championship belt. If I want to watch popularity contests I'll just watch American Idol.