Having stayed up to the ridiculous hours of the morning to watch Mayweather vs Pacquiao, be bitterly disappointed by the performance of both men and then read all the ridiculous comments made by fans, journalists and experts alike, I thought I would give my view on greatness and what it is that quantifies greatness.
I read many comments like, ‘If you thought that was boring, you don’t know boxing’ and ‘Manny got schooled’ and various other permutations of these opinions.
My opinion is, this is all missing the point.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao: One for the purists?
Greatness is not a 48-0 record. Nor is it being a champion at five different weight classes. Greatness comes from the perception of the public and nothing else. It’s all very well admiring the technical ability of a fighter, but if that ability is surpassed by the ability to turn off viewers in their millions, it surely cannot be a sign of greatness?
One prominent commentator said, ‘In years to come, people will recognize what a masterclass we have seen here tonight’. Really? Will we? When Audley Harrison was skipping around the ring avoiding the wild swings of Martin Rogan, were we saying what a joy it was? Were we saying it was one for the purists? Of course we bloody weren’t. We called it for what it was, a man running scared. Just because Mayweather does it better than anybody else has ever done, does not automatically put him amongst the greats of the finest sport on the face of the planet.
People have also tried to quantify greatness in the unbeaten record. To me that is also a falsehood.
- Ali
- Robinson
- Louis
- Eubank
- Benn
- Tyson
- Holyfield
- Lewis
- De LaHoya
- Gatti
Those are just 10 off the top of my head that I would consider great and they all have defeats on their records. What makes them great in my eyes? The fact that whilst they were at their beginning, peak or demise, none of them ever backed away from a fighter that they thought could beat them. All stepped into the ring with fighters when they were at their most dangerous.
Floyd Mayweather ducked De LaHoya until he was past his peak and even when arguably Oscar won that fight, didn’t give him a re-match. Mosely was avoided until past his best and the Pacquiao bout was five years too late. If he’d have faced the Pac-Man that chomped Ricky Hatton’s ghost, I think we might have had a different outcome.
All the above is not to say that I don’t appreciate Maymeather’s skill or ability, of course I do. What grinds me down is the way people are falling over themselves to praise jab, jab, grab because it’s him. Do people say that Wladimir Klitchko is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time? No they don’t. They say he is what is wrong with the heavyweight division but when you watch his fights, he’s pretty much doing the same thing that Mayweather does. What’s the difference? As his nickname suggests, money. Mayweather has perfected the art of fooling everyone fans and professionals alike that he is on a par with the greatest that have ever laced up their gloves and it makes me sick.
I was a bad boxer. Didn’t have the temperament or skill to make it to any level but what I did have, was a set of balls that were bigger than Mayweather’s bank balance could ever be. At the age of 16, I got in the ring with a 22-year-old and gave away three inches in height and about ten pounds in weight. He was a former regional ABA champion and I was just a kid. It was a last minute fight that was offered to me by my trainer as they needed someone to step in. His words to me were, ‘you don’t have to if you don’t want to’. Didn’t even cross my mind to back down. Not for a second. I got in that ring and got my backside fed to me on a plate.
That is the spirit of boxing. That is what the sport is about. That is what the experts are missing when they talk about Mayweather.
It’s not about money, records, style and certainly not Justin bloody Bieber. It’s about heart and he lost his long ago.
Until next time fight fans…… Stay Furious.
Main Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
