Monday, November 30, 2009

The case for Floyd Mayweather's greatness

The ongoing argument by Floyd Mayweather's detractors is that the man cherry picks his opponents, and fights smaller guys. Floyd Mayweather Jr gets attacked from many angles, some of which are warranted attacks, and some that are not. The very fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr has defeated every opponent that has ever stepped into the ring with him cannot go unnoticed. It should be pointed out that Floyd began his boxing career at 130 pounds, and he has won world titles all the way up to the 154 pound weight class. In doing so, he has defeated each weight class's champion at the time. This is something that simply cannot be ignored. The climb from 130 to 154 and winning titles all the way up has to be recognized as a great achievement. Whoever the world champion was at the time of Floyd's arrival per that weight class isn't his fault. He just beat whoever it was, and moved on to the next one.

Floyd's talents in the ring are quickly dismissed by his detractors as well. They feel as if because Floyd has fought smaller guys that his talents as a fighter should not be given the recognition that they deserve. This writer begs to differ. Floyd, love him or hate him is a brilliant fighter who stamps the definition of the sweet science into his opponents heads. Hit and not get hit! Floyd's defense creates trouble for his opponents, he is difficult to get to. Floyd's defense is extremely good, he's difficult to hit flush. Floyd's speed should not be overlooked as well. Floyd's ability to time his opponents coming in is another of his gifts in the ring. Floyd's detractors attack him for not choosing to mix it up with his opponents, as if he's scared to do so. What? why in the world should Floyd Mayweather Jr choose to put himself into a situation where he can get hurt if he doesn't have to? Yes, he's a fighter but he's a smart fighter. Why wouldn't he use his talents in defense and timing to defeat his opponents? If you can "hit and not get hit" then by all means that's what any smart fighter should do if they had any sense. Floyd's talents in the ring provide him with the choice of how he wants to defeat his opponents. He usually chooses great defense, quickness, and timing. He is not an offensive minded fighter, say the likes of how Manny Pacquiao is. Pacquiao uses his speed and power to defeat his opponents. Mayweather uses his speed and his defense, and timing to defeat his. There is no wrong way or right way. It's whatever makes the most sense for each man and how they use their talents.

Any person that calls Floyd Mayweather Jr a coward is a fool. No man that laces up the gloves and literally puts his life on the line for a living is a coward. It's very easy for someone to sit back in their home on their couch and label someone. Floyd Mayweather Jr may have a degree of arrogance to him, and he's cocky, but he's no coward. True enough that if the Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight does come to fruition, he will have to fight the fight of his life to get past the little tornado from the Philippines. Pacquiao has improved with each fight, and is now a two handed nightmare. Floyd Mayweather will have to put to use every inch of his talents in order to win this fight. Love him or hate him, he's the only guy in boxing that has a chance of defeating the "Pacman" so with some luck, he'll get his chance soon.

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