06.12.06 – By Mike Cassell: I CAN ALREADY HEAR THE PHRASE, “Floyd hater.” I cannot find too many writers that are more impressed with Floyd Mayweather Jr. than I am, but his speed and natural ability far exceed his hunger to fight the best competition, and that is his major flaw.
It is not a mistake, that Floyd Mayweather, and Oscar De La Hoya, were both promoted to super stardom by Top Rank. Bob Arum realizes that great matches make great fighters, period. The one point that Arum made at the post fight press conference on December 2, was that his fighters will fight anybody.
As Arum put it:
“We understand that boxing is in the doldrums, there are people that say that boxing is falling from popularity. I see it; you do not have to tell me that. Well, what do you do to bring them back? You have to get kids, to be in competitive fights, that mean something to people, and they know they are going to get an exciting evening. Like a few weeks ago with Pacquiao/ Morales, people were thrilled, because the guys came to fight. People know that Miguel Cotto, with a guy that’s in a fight, is going to be exciting. I do not care, who they are, where they are, or what they have to say, it is going to be an exciting fight, and that’s what people want to see. People do not want to see, Floyd Mayweather, fooling around with Baldomir. No matter how great a boxer, there are certain people; really most people want to see action, great competition. That is what a guy like Cotto brings, that’s what a guy like Margarito and Clottey brings. Maybe you say Margarito is not the best fighter in the world, he is slow, or whatever, but he absolutely comes to fight, and that is what people pay to see, a fight! Not a Goddamn exhibition, where they pose with each other, in the middle of the ring. Why do you think Gatti is so popular? He fights. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he losses, but he fights. They always see excitement, hey… Duran taught me that, Hagler taught me that, Sugar Ray taught me that, Hearns taught me that. I’ve been in this business over 40 years.”
I know it was borderline criminal, but someone asked him anyway, and I loved it.
Is Mayweather a protected fighter? Arum smiled, he knew that one was coming.
“Floyd is great boxer, and a talented boxer, but most people won’t pay a nickel to see him, because it’s not exciting. I promoted 35 of his fights, and only handfuls were exciting. You heard Cotto before, “he” is no bull shitter, and he will fight anybody. That’s the way it used to be!”
Do you think that is the major difference between Mayweather, and fighters like Margarito, Cotto, and Clottey? Arum leaned forward like a preacher on a pulpit, and exulted.
“YOU ARE CORRECT, YOU ARE CORRECT, YOU ARE CORRECT”. Because they (Mayweather / De La Hoya) are businessmen first, and they do not relish the combat style of boxing. De la Hoya picks his opponents in that way, because he is businessman first, and he does not like to mix it up, because he does not want to hurt his face. If he can get away with it, more power to him, he is not putting a gun to anyone’s head and stealing money. He had a promoter who knew how to promote him, and make him a superstar, through good matchmaking. Mayweather and De La Hoya, will be involved in the most talked about fight next year, and isn’t it interesting, that the company that developed them is TOP RANK, and the company developing Miguel Cotto and fighters like him is TOP RANK, it is not an accident. There is a way to develop fighters. Most promoters today, have not a clue. They think you take a kid, put him in with 35 tomato cans, you sell him to HBO, and roll the dice, and hope that they win, and that’s being a promoter.
When I first heard Arum saying the same kinds of things back in April, I thought it was sour grapes, mixed with truth. Today, I believe truer words were never spoken. There is one thing that Margarito, Cotto, Clottey, and Quintana, all have in common. They are all fighters; Floyd Mayweather could fight or could have tried to fight. He instead chooses a match with De La Hoya, which sounds good on paper, but will probably look bad in the ring. When the event is over, all the bank accounts are full, and all the rhetoric is distributed, everything Bob Arum pontificated will be more obvious than ever.
The best fighters in the world become the best fighters in the world, by fighting the best competition. Mayweather and De La hoya are both filthy rich and they can thank Bob Arum for that, but when it is all said and done, history will remember what they did in the ring, not the size of their portfolio, or their solid business deals. Meanwhile, as they pose, guys like Cotto fight. I think if Arum had his way, we would be watching De La Hoya / Cotto, Mayweather / Margarito and Mosley / Clottey on the same card. Now that is worth 49.95, plus tax.
“The Philadelphia Boxing Report”