John Martinez, Ironboxing.com: (09Jun08) Since the announcement of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s retirement this past Friday, there have been several columns and postings from fans, writers, and promoters expressing their personal slant on why Floyd has called it quits and what this does and means for boxing. I, for one believe that the departure of Mayweather Jr. will and can only help boxing. The step aside by Floyd allows the fans and the sport to finally clarify the true champion of the welterweight division..
The first round destruction of one time WBO welterweight belt holder, Carlos Quintana, at the hands of once again newly crowned champion, Paul “ The Punisher” Williams, coupled with the August 2 date that will pit former champion Zab Judah against Joshua Clottey for the IBF’s version of the welterweight title is just the beginning.
Next month, on July 26 in Las Vegas, WBA welterweight king, Miguel Cotto will face the tough and granite chinned former champion, Antonio Margarito in what is sure to be a “ fight of the year” candidate for the rights of supremacy in the welterweight division, right?
Not so fast. The winner of Cotto/ Margarito must square off against the newly minted WBO titlist, Paul Williams. It is this scenario that will lead fight fans, hardcore and casual alike, to finally see an end to bogus mandatory and pampered record tune up fights for undeserving fighters and money lining promoters too eventually reward the fighters and the fans, with something they deserve, an undisputed world champion.
If Mayweather had stayed active, what kind of scenario would the sport have been treated to in the immediate future? A rematch of a fight that grossed multimillions of dollars, but that no one really wanted to see between the once Golden Oscar De La Hoya and the smaller, but by far more talented Floyd Mayweather Jr.? This fight would pale in comparison in revenue from their first outing with one another and been buried when compared to the type of fights that the sport has offered recently competition wise.
The boxing fan will debate the true reason(s) as to why the Pretty Boy walked away from a top dollar mega fight with a once top flight prize fighter in De La Hoya and a possible match up with the winner of Cotto/Margarito, but I submit that fear was probably not a factor.
Cotto was downed by the somewhat unheralded Ricardo Torres and rocked by a lesser puncher in DeMarcus Corley, not to mention left reeling by the never known to be a true heavy handed hitter in Zab Judah.
Cotto and Margarito’s resumes also show something worth mentioning. Neither fighter has exactly faced a murder’s row of warriors in their recent careers. Aside from Zab Judah and Shane Mosley, whom many view as passed their primes and once again, not too heavy handed, one would find that Cotto has feasted on the likes of Urkal, Quintana, Malignaggi, Branco, and Abdulaev. Oh, I forgot, he also had a starring role in an episode with a television star for an appetizer- Alfonso Gomez.
Margarito fares somewhat better than his future foe, Miguel Cotto in comparing the two’s resume. His years show him squaring off against Golden Johnson, the now possibly over hyped Cintron, a very durable Clottey, and even the very talented Paul Williams.
I asked the always out spoken former title contender, current trainer of Oscar De la Hoya, and more importantly, father to the man at the center of numerous circles of speculation regarding the retirement announcement of his son, Floyd Mayweather Sr. about why he thought his son decided to walk away.
“ I can’t really get into that right now. This is something that would take awhile to explain.”
He then added, “ we can talk about it; but it is his decision.”
Expecting a long-winded reply to my question, I was met with a short and open-ended invitation for a call back on the subject. You see, he was in the middle of a training session.
Despite this fact, his silence told me more than his words did. To me, this was a decision that came with heavy thought, sincerity, and privacy. But the answer from Floyd Sr. told his reply to my question was from a father that in my opinion sounded slightly, ever so slightly, relieved.
Lastly, Mayweather Sr did answer one question with authority. Before I could even finish my question on where his current charge, Oscar, should go from here, he cut me off and answered me with an authoritative “ …the winner of Cotto and Margarito. That’s who I think we should get next.”
Here’s hoping that Oscar will listen to his trainer and take the winner of Cotto and Margarito later this year, that fight fans can move on and concentrate on what now can be rather than would could have been, and finally, a farewell to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Whether one was a fan, admirer, critic, or hater of the Pretty Boy, we should all recognize that he left the sport undefeated, winner of multiply titles in several weight classes, a natural born talent, and on top of many, including fighters, mythical pound for pound lists.
Perhaps his greatest victory wasn’t in the ring, it was in the boxing forums. With his boring fighting style and his outlandish comments, he found a way to go from fighting in half empty arenas to packed houses. He was able to turn his relatively unknown name into a household name, generate millions of dollars in revenue, and possibly one of his biggest accomplishments, he made us write, talk, and think about him, positively or negatively.
I will be writing for a new site that will begin soon, ironboxing.com. In addition to contributing for the ironboxing.com project, I will continue to contribute to brickcityboxing.com and boxing247.com.