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Mayweather: Time For Some Respect
TUE February 14, BUSTER PARIS - It’s time for some respect to be given to Floyd Mayweather Jr. – hell – he’s earned it and frankly I’m a little annoyed and surprised at how poorly we’re treating “Pretty Boy” Floyd.
ESPN’s Brian Kenny placed the last straw on the camels back during ESPN’s February 10 Friday Night Fights.
They showed a clip of an interview where an aggressive and disrespectful Brian Kenny is all over Floyd regarding his upcoming April 8th bout against “Super” (cough) Zab Judah - and like everyone else has been doing Kenny attacked the validity of the fight.
Basically there are a lot of people who have a couple of problems with this fight. The two big issues are the validity of the bout and the whether or not it’s a title fight.
Let’s first take a look at the issue of the validity of this fight. The point of contention is that Judah lost his WBC Welterweight crown to Carlos Baldomir and therefore Floyd should be fighting Carlos.
I hear that and actually think a Mayweather vs. Baldomir event is a fight that makes sense and should happen – Floyd needs to fight a Welterweight belt and title holder in order to become a Welterweight belt and title holder. That’s a pretty simple fact of life.
Unfortunately in this instance, according to Floyd, Carlos pretty much asked for a crazy purse and the two were not able to come to terms – therefore no Mayweather and Baldomir.
We already know that Floyd needs to fight a Welterweight belt and title holder in order to become a Welterweight belt and title holder – so – who is a Welterweight title holder that is, for all intent and purpose, the one to reckon with inside the division? – who’s the one with “the rep”? – who’s the one who in some circles is considered the best Welterweight today?
Zab Judah.
Which brings us to issue number 2 – that this fight is being touted as a title fight - a fight for the Welterweight Championship - and a lot of folks are saying nay – it’s not a title fight.
Well, it is. You may not like the alphabet represented, but this one’s for the IBF Welterweight Championship. So technically – it is for a title, but more importantly this is a fight fans are psyched about seeing...or am I the only one?
Am I the only one who thinks that Mayweather and Judah tussling up is more important and better for the sport of boxing than a Mayweather and Baldomir fight?
Even TalkingBoxing's own Jason Herron says in one of my favorite reoccurring columns - Hits & Misses: A recap of the month of January (give it a read - Jason's got a great perspective)
His number 2 "miss" for January 2006:
Judah-Mayweather is still on.
WHY?!? I bet this fight draws under 150,000 Pay-Per-View buys.
Neither fighter is a marquee name. Sorry, but like Larry Merchant says, "Just because you beat Tiger Woods, doesn't make you Tiger Woods." Judah should have to fight his way back into contention after his lackluster effort versus Baldomir. Mayweather should fight the new champ, or move back down to 140 pounds and face Ricky Hatton.
First off how is it that the pound per pound greatest fighter in the world today is NOT a marquee name? That kills me – “Pretty Boy” Floyd has it all and then some. He is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, he keeps getting better and is constantly improving after each time out, he’s super fast, super sharp, trains better than the way we expect the God’s of Olympus to train and has a smile that makes my wife blush - so it makes absolutely no sense to me why he’s not a marquee name.
I agree with part of the sentiment that Judah should have to fight his way back into contention, but he does still hold the IBF Welterweight belt – let me say that again – “Super” (cough) Zab still holds the IBF Welterweight belt – and - I hate to say it, but c’mon – it’s Zab Judah – and despite his horribly embarrassing and pitiful loss against Baldomir he still has a good standing and a reputation as a good fighter. And remember Floyd’s the one challenging for the IBF Welterweight crown.
If Zab bothers to train and the right Zab shows up on April 8th then we’re looking at a really great fight. We’re looking at a possible classic – a potential candidate for fight of the year 2006 – we’re looking at a truly fantastic fight between two fast and skilled fighters.
I agree with Floyd when he says:
“Chances like this only come once in a lifetime.”
He’s right – this is going to be a great fight – I see it almost as special and exciting as Hagler v Hearns or Duran v Hagler. It’s got that special ‘something’ and it’s one of those boxing “what if’s” that needs to be answered – reminds me of the pugilistic daydream of what if Sugar Ray Leonard fought Sugar Ray Robinson.
Bottom line - this bout has two prominent and celebrated fighters finally meeting up with each other. It’s the type of fight that fans want.
“Chances like this only come once in a lifetime.”
For Judah it’s a shot at redemption. Imagine if he manages to beat the best fighter in the world.
For Mayweather it’s a fight against one of the best fighters in yet another weight division and to capture yet another division title and belt. It’s a step up in class of opponent and hopefully when he irrefutably beats Judah (which he will) “Pretty Boy” Floyd will finally get the respect he enormously deserves.
Otis wrote it, Aretha made it famous and Floyd has earned it – R.E.S.P.E.C.T. – find out what it means...on April 8th 2006.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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