Every generation has a boxer that dominates. The 70's had Ali. The 80's had Sugar Ray Leonard. The 90's had Roy Jones Jr. Right now, we have Floyd Mayweather Jr.
And it's not too often that he's in a competitive fight.
Floyd Mayweather edged Marcos Maidana via majority decision in a highly contested welterweight unification fight. It was one of the tougher fights of Mayweather's career. Maidana would bull-rush Mayweather and throw away at his body. This strategy of pressuring Mayweather worked for the first few rounds, but as Maidana tired out, Floyd did his fair share of damage by landing cleaner, crisper shots on Maidana. Unlike many Mayweather fights, last Saturday's battle was extremely entertaining. Some think it was close. That's debatable. Others think it was a highway robbery.
But a highway robbery in boxing is a situation in which one fighter dictates every aspect of the fight and loses a decision. Remember Pacquiao-Bradley 1? That was a robbery. This was just a contested fight.
It's understandable why some would think this decision was bogus. Floyd Mayweather is kind of ... unlikeable. Among boxing fans, most want to see Mayweather get beat down and lose, so they wanted Mayweather to lose going in. To see Mayweather get pressured and pushed around for a certain amount of time in the fight was what they wanted. Of course they think it was highway robbery.
Now, in the opinion of this writer, the fight could've gone either way. While watching the fight live, this writer scored it 115-113 (seven rounds to five) for Mayweather. A week after the fight, he watched the fight again and noticed something different.
We all reacted to the fight irrationally.
This writer saw that Mayweather picked his shots carefully and even out boxed Maidana while on the ropes. We had not seen Mayweather in a fight like that in a long time, so it was shocking to see the way it transpired. But through all the ruckus of Maidana's punches, Floyd landed better shots and won rounds in a clean fashion.
After watching it again, this writer scored it 8-4. This fight wasn't that close. Marcos Maidana's "effective aggression" wasn't really effective at all. He swung wildly and got caught by Mayweather many times.
We all have preferences when it comes to fighting. Some like effective aggression and body punching. Others like boxing and smart defense. Well, couldn't one make the argument that judges have preferences as well? If a judge had the bout 8-4 for Mayweather, wouldn't they just have a preference for fighters that box and pick their punches carefully, instead of fighters who keep their head down and swing away? Why are fans shocked when judges don't always agree with them? They are at the fight ringside. They have a different view. They might see things at that angle that differ with what's see on TV.
And think about this. When someone throws more than 800 punches, but lands only 26% of those punches, it's hard to make a case that that person won the fight. According to Compubox, Mayweather threw 426 punches and landed 56% of those punches. It's a matter of styles. Quality or quantity.
Let's say a teacher is grading papers. One student turns in an essay that is 10 pages long, and most of it is full of rambling nonsense. Another student turns in an essay, and this one is only five pages long, but overall it is more thoughtful. Which one gets the higher grade? The shorter one, right? It may not be as long as the other essay, but it did more in five pages than the other did in 10. Mayweather wasn't the aggressor, and he didn't throw as many punches, but they were more effective and landed cleaner.
Another thing to add. Maidana threw 540 power punches and connected on 185 of them (34%). For anybody that doesn't follow the sport that closely, body punches count as power punches. Well, that's all Maidana threw! Of the 221 total punches he did land, 83% were power punches! He didn't throw enough punches to the head. His attack was mainly getting Mayweather on the ropes and wailing away at the body. It's an ugly style, and statistically, it may not get the job done when it comes to winning against the likes of Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather said in the weeks leading up to the fight that he would fight differently than he usually does. A plethora of fans will say that Maidana made him go to the ropes, but that wasn't what happened at all. Mayweather looked calm and composed even when Maidana threw his barrage of punches on him. Some wouldn't agree with this premise and would reply, "Well he always says that when he fights." However, did he ever say he would brawl with Canelo? This writer sure doesn't remember Mayweather saying anything close to that.
It shouldn't be shocking that Mayweather brawled either. He is so crafty and ring savvy that it shouldn't be a surprise to see him duke it out with a one-dimensional fighter in Maidana. Mayweather has fought numerous big punchers in the past. He was almost knocked out by Shane Mosley in 2010 but fought back to win an easy decision. After the fight with Maidana, Mayweather even mentioned that Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez hit harder than him. Remember that this is the same Floyd Mayweather that came out of a two-year layoff and easily outclassed Juan Manuel Marquez, who is one of the best counter punchers of this generation. This is the same Juan Manuel Marquez that has had four excellent duels with Manny Pacquiao; three of which could've gone to Marquez. If Mayweather says that he brawled on purpose and could've made the fight easier, is it really that hard to believe considering his pedigree?
With Floyd Mayweather, it always comes down to money. Heck, it's his nickname. He takes every facet of income very seriously, whether it is gate revenue or pay-per-view buys. As his six-fight contract with Showtime grows shorter with every fight, there are less fighters to choose from that would give Mayweather a cutthroat fight. And considering how easily he beats his opponents, public interest in his fights would drop to the point where nobody would care who he fought. With that in mind, couldn't one argue that this was a move by Floyd Mayweather to build intrigue in his fights again? Another easy boxing exhibition would not have done Mayweather any good. But a gung ho fight with a brawler? That will give the fans a good fight.
And isn't that what he said from the beginning anyway? To give the fans a good fight? To still remain prominent in the sports world, this was the kind of fight that Mayweather needed. This kind of fight was necessary so that he will be able to cash out big when it's time to retire.
It's amazing how many people think that Mayweather is losing a step just because he had a semi-close fight with Maidana. Some think his legs are starting to go. Did he really age that much in just eight months?
Sorry, that just doesn't add up. Bernard Hopkins is 49 and a unified light heavyweight world champion. He takes care of his body and fights intelligently. So does Floyd, but he's only 37. It's odd how people jump to the conclusion that he is starting to fade after he has a competitive fight.
It's like Floyd Mayweather said himself, per mlive.com: "If I'm in a competitive fight, people are like, 'Damn, what's going on with Floyd?' Then, I beat a guy eight rounds, and they're like, 'That's a boring fight.'" He's absolutely right. We get so accustomed to seeing him dismantle opponents with ease, that when he's in a tough fight, we think that something is wrong.
Remember when he beat Canelo Alvarez? His stock exploded after that fight. He was mentioned by some to be among the top five greatest boxers ever. Articles popped up comparing him to the greats. One article exclusively had different writers chip in on who they think would have won if Mayweather fought Sugar Ray Robinson. Not even a year later, some think he's done because he had a tough fight?
What people forget is that Marcos Maidana is 30 years old and in his prime. Who was the last fighter that Floyd Mayweather fought in his prime? Zab Judah? That was in 2006! He hadn't fought a viable opponent since then. It's not like Maidana was a nobody fighting the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. He's pulled off two upsets and improved since Robert Garcia became his trainer.
Marcos Maidana also came in on fight night outweighing Mayweather by 17 pounds. Not only was he heavier, but he also fought exceedingly dirty. Rabbit punches, low blows, tackling, a knee to the groin, and even an alleged bite were the tactics Marcos Maidana used to steal the rounds.
He came in heavier, he was in his prime and he fought dirty. This writer gives Marcos Maidana all the credit in the world for executing his game plan and pressing the fight to Mayweather, but what Mayweather did to beat Maidana deserves credit also. He fought Maidana's fight and beat him at it. Going in, Mayweather more than likely thought that he would be able to outbox Maidana with ease. He adapted to Maidana's suffocating pressure by fighting well off the ropes. Sure, it was an ugly fight, but at least it was interesting.
It's funny though. There's the assumption that Floyd Mayweather wouldn't be able to compete with the welterweight legends. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't. Who knows? What this writer does know is that he operates like many all-time great fighters in terms of being the main attraction.
Sugar Ray Leonard, in his mega fight with Marvin Hagler, dominated the pre-fight negotiations. Leonard wanted a bigger ring, and Leonard got a bigger ring. Leonard wanted the fight to be 12 rounds instead of the standard 15 rounds. The fight was a scheduled 12-rounder. Leonard wanted smaller, thumb less gloves. They both fought with small, thumb less gloves. Notice the pattern? Leonard dictated terms in the Hagler fight. The only thing Marvin Hagler won in negotiations was the money battle. Not many people blamed the outcome of the fight on these simple demands.
But when Mayweather didn't like the gloves Maidana was going to use and demanded that he use gloves with more padding, so many people objected and called Mayweather a "wuss" or a "sissy." If they didn't change Maidana's gloves, the fight would've been totally different. You can say the same for the Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler fight.
In Mayweather's defense, pun intended, he fought off the ropes as well as a fighter can. It was somewhat reminiscent of the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman: "The Rumble In the Jungle." Ali fought the majority of the fight on the ropes and lasted through Foreman's thunderous shots. When Foreman tired, Ali knocked him out in the ninth round, capping off an amazing display of intestinal fortitude and where-with-all.
Critics would say, "When Ali does the rope-a-dope, it's artful. When Mayweather does it, he's old, got pushed around, wasn't prepared for Maidana, and would get smoked by Pacquiao." That just doesn't add up. Mayweather said in weeks leading up to the fight that he would fight differently, and he did. Fans and media reacted like this was shocking. Sure, it was a competitive fight, but it's not like Mayweather lost his wits and got flustered like Adrien Broner.
If anything, fans should applaud Floyd Mayweather for still being the best fighter on the planet after all these years. We see the lavish life. The fancy cars. The huge mansions. Success at this level would kill the ambition in most, if not all individuals. The fact that he can roll around in a Bugatti, live comfortably in extravagant homes, and still be rugged enough and dig deep to find the inner will to defeat the likes of Marcos Maidana is astounding. How many fighters have amassed as much wealth as Floyd Mayweather and are even viable? So just sit back and enjoy the ride. We will never see the likes of Floyd Mayweather again.