Mayweather - Flawed Or Flawless?

The way Floyd Mayweather fights may not impress those who loved the way Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis fought. But Mayweather fights not to impress; he fights to win. And he delivers. It will be hard not to concede that he is master of the craft. To argue against Mayweather's boxing skills would be to argue against the facts: 40 wins in 40 professional career fights.

While the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez (undefeated in his first 91 fights), Willie Pep (undefeated in his first 62 fights) or Mike Tyson (undefeated going to his 42nd fight) could boast of better records, the stories behind Mayweather's rampage should provide an unassailable argument for what makes him special. At least 22 world champions, or at least would-be world champions-never mind the rest-have tried to outbox him. None of them succeeded.

Some analysts once pushed the notion that Mayweather's being a product of failure and experience has made him the exceptional fighter that he is today. He comes from a family of boxers. His father, Floyd Sr., has campaigned in the welterweight class. Floyd Sr's career, overall, could be rated as above average. But being active at a time when the likes of Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard were at the peak of their careers almost meant the rest of the field had little chances of outshining any or both of them. In fact when Floyd Sr and Leonard eventually met, Floyd took a beating from Leonard with such savagery that it must have compelled Floyd Jr to imbibe, more than anything else, the value of defense. That, in a simplistic way of looking at it, should explain why Floyd Jr has probably surpassed the exploits of Benny Leonard and Willie Pep as the defensive geniuses of the game.

Jeff and Roger Mayweather are uncles, the latter being the most successful among the 3 elders. Roger rose to become a 2-time world champion. Nevertheless, he too, has experienced failure and punishment inside the ring, such as the one he got from Kostya Tszu. (Tszyu was the same fighter who created the "Chicken Dance" in 2001, using Zab Judah as chicken.

He was 30-1 (25 KOs) when he faced and lost to Ricky Hatton (2005), who in turn lost to Manny Pacquiao (2009).

Floyd Sr and Roger both graduated from being boxers to become trainers. If the number of fighters they helped win championships was any indication, then there is no doubt that both of them have been successful as trainers as well, perhaps even more successful than being fighters. And Floyd Jr had the good fortune of being at the right place and time to benefit from the experience and know-how of Floyd Sr, Roger and Jeff.

Floyd's rise to super stardom status has boosted his value as entertainer. And he knows it. After he defeated Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, he retired instead of accepting offers of a rematch that did not satisfy his idea of fair compensation. At any rate he resurfaced to fight and eventually knock out Ricky Hatton towards the latter part of that year.

Floyd Jr had been at the top of most pound for pound rankings (the one published by the Ring Magazine being the most widely-accepted, if not the most credible, of them) since 2005. When he retired a second time after the Hatton fight, Manny Pacquiao took his place in the pound for pound rankings.

He resurfaced yet again in 2009 to fight Juan Manual Marquez, whom he beat by unanimous decision in 12 rounds. Some say his return was driven by a desire to reclaim his pound for pound title; others contend that Floyd Jr-who has made "Money" as an official nickname-is up to some schemes designed to cash in on his celebrity status. And there are those who think he is motivated by both pride and money.

Excerpts from "Manny Pacquiao - The Greatest Boxer Of All time"
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