19.01.07 – By Yero Moody: “Floyd Mayweather is afraid of me”. “I am the most feared fighter in boxing.” “I can not get a shot at a big fight because none of the top fighters want to fight me. Mosley, De La Hoya none of them want to fight me.” Recognize these words? If you are a boxing fan and have been on planet earth for the past two years these words are easily recognizable. For those who have been out of the loop, these are the words of none other than Mr. Antonio Margarito, the current WBO welterweight champion of the world.
I have had the displeasure of hearing Floyd Mayweather, jr. Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya being called scared and reluctant to face Margarito. Although history and the present are strong indicators that that is not true nor was it ever. All of the above mentioned fighters have beaten and faced fighters much better than Margarito.. The fighter who bore the brunt of most of the harsh criticism was Floyd Mayweather, jr. Due in large to the fact that Floyd turned down a lucrative offer from Bob Arum to face Margarito which spawned the hype. Floyd was then dubbed “Fraud Mayweather” and accused of being a cherry picker. On May 5, 2007 he will have successfully eradicted the misnomer of being a cherry picker because De La Hoya is considered an elite fighter and by far the biggest and most skilled fighter Mayweather, jr. has ever faced.
Margarito was interviewed several times after that and was quoted as saying that Mayweather is afraid of him. As a fan of the sport, emotionally I felt robbed in some aspects because I wanted to see Mayweather v. Margarito. When I put my emotions aside I could plainly see that this was a very good business decision on the part of Mayweather to forego going after the WBO belt and to go after a major belt (IBF, WBA or WBC) by beating the true welterweight champ, Carlos Baldomir. Unfortunately, those who are fans of Margarito and those who dislike/hate Mayweather were only able to focus on the hype Arum and Margarito had created. Margarito was not a big draw at the time and had Mayweather fought Margarito his ppv numbers would be just as dismal if not more dismal than when he fought Baldomir. Who, at that time, was much more hyped in the eyes of the public because of his back to back wins over Zab Judah who was the undisputed welterweight champion at the time and Atturo Gatti.
It has been speculated as of late that Margarito will not enter into the purse bid ordered by the WBO to face his mandatory challenger, Paul “the punisher” Williams but instead will forego his title to face Miguel Cotto in June of this year. Coincidentally, this is the SECOND time Margarito has chosen to not face his mandatory against Paul Williams. The first time he chose to face Joshua Clottey instead of Williams. This despite Margarito saying that he would indeed face his mandatory challenge immediately following his win over Joshua Clottey in December of last year. Arum has stated that money is the issue because he would not get a seven figure bid. However, Dan Gooosen has responded by saying that Margarito would indeed be given a seven figure offer in excess of $1 million plus which would be Margarito’s biggest payday. Of course he can get much more money and a title by facing Cotto but didn’t he call Floyd a coward for doing the exact same thing? Hmmmmm. I personally wouldn’t fault Margarito if he chooses to take that route because he can always come back and face Williams and it is a very sound business decision.
The message that I am attempting to send is not about Margarito it is about those writers, journalists, fans and experts who were so quick to persecute Mayweather for not facing Margarito. Examine how many of these writers and boxing fans who attempted to discredit Floyd Mayweather write articles or posts in which they refer to Margarito as a fraud or a coward. My prediction is that all you will read are pathetic excuses or nothing at all. I submit that most people who follow the sport and are not Margarito fans and claim to be knowledgeable of it realize that Margarito is no match for Mayweather. Margarito was used a means to discredit Floyd by those who don’t like Floyd. If they are indeed unbiased and feel that Floyd is a fraud for not fighting Margarito then you the readers and I will see articles and posts written by these same people calling Margarito a fraud for not facing Williams like he said he would! In my opinion Margarito will be beaten rather easily by Cotto and Williams so it’s really a matter of Arum choosing Margarito’s poison.
Questions or comments e-mail me at: yero_m@yahoo.com