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Floyd Takes On Baldomir AND Merchant
TUE, November 7 Buster Paris - It was nothing like when George Foreman took on ‘The Toronto Five’, but Saturday – November 4th 2006 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather fought two battles – one of them was relatively easy and the other exposed a flaw in Floyd … and in us.
“Wake me up if a fight breaks out” said my brother-in-law as he slumped in the recliner - and by the 8th round he was asleep – my obligatory head shaking and chuckle were short lived as the sounds of leather on flesh were substituted by the sounds of boos - and then adding insult to injury - folks began trickling out of the arena during the 10th round --- and not just any 10th round – this was THE Welterweight World Championship fight (IBA, IBO and WBC) between Carlos “Tata” Baldomir (W 43 – 13 ko’s, L 10 & D 6) and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. (W 37 – 24 ko’s – undefeated)
What I don’t understand is why everyone is so shocked at the one-sidedness of the bout – and why this should reflect badly on Mayweather.
Did you really expect Baldomir to win? – or to even be able to lay a glove on Floyd?
We’re talking Floyd Mayweather Jr – there was no way this was going to go any other way than it did – Floyd’s the best fighter in the world today – he’s faster than fast and one the smartest and most adaptable boxers to set foot in the ring since the likes of (dare I say) “Sugar” Ray Robinson (maybe even better).
I actually liked and enjoyed the fight – I felt there was always that chance and threat that Carlos could have caught Floyd and done a number on him – this is after all a fight and Baldomir is one bad dude – he’s tough, he’s strong and he has a head and chin made of iron.
I loved watching Floyd study Carlos – it got to the point where it seemed that just as Baldomir began to even consider throwing a certain punch that Mayweather knew it and would hit Carlos before the thought could even be processed.
I also loved watching Mayweather play with distance – he would sneak his lead foot closer and closer to Baldomir all the while leaving his hips where they were – Carlos was none-the-wiser that the distance was about to dramatically change and then – whap, whap, thump – whap! Floyd’s finishing up a four shot combination and again is gone before Carlos can even think about countering.
HBO’s Larry Merchant alluded to the fact that this wasn’t really a boxing match – that it was more like a bull fight with Mayweather as the Matador – and he was absolutely right – that’s really how it went for all 12 rounds – Floyd the Matador and Carlos the bull.
I had the fight as a shut out with Mayweather winning every round – Judges Chuck Giampa and John Keane had it the same way at 120-108 and Judge Paul Smith had it scored 118-110.
Really - at the end of 12 rounds Floyd deserved flowers - not boos.
It was the post fight interview with Larry Merchant that fight number two took place – and it was more exciting, more dramatically passionate and exposed a weakness in the Pound-Per-Pound champ … and in us.
Basically – Mayweather was pissed at Merchant for not giving him credit for his fantastic victory over Baldomir.
Merchant did give him credit, but was more concerned with the crowd’s booing and leaving early and wanted to talk about the marketing and business side of the sport and what’s next for Floyd, but – Mayweather got pissed.
The two went back and forth and Floyd was close to making it into something ugly – beyond the interesting repartee between reporter and athlete and into something too personal – thankfully it didn’t go there.
Let’s talk about the flaws:
First let me say that this is this is simply my perception and conjecture on this:
I’ve always wondered what the deal is with Floyd and why he’s not a bigger star in the “rest of the world” – like Sugar Ray Leonard was – you know, commercials and the like --- I even wrote an article once asking why he isn’t on my Wheaties box.
I think it’s due to Floyd having an arrogant chip on his shoulder – as opposed to a “regular” chip on his shoulder -- yes – he is THE BEST fighter in the world today and we truly do owe him our respect and awe, but he comes across as if he demands we treat him like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard - and while he proclaims himself the greatest (and rightly so) – there’s a sense of desperation for that to be acknowledged or he’ll take his ball and go home.
That in turn makes him unlikable and for someone with such wonderfully natural charisma – it’s really a shame – cuz at the end of the day he is as good as he thinks he is.
And that leads us to our flaw:
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is THE greatest fighter in the world today.
Period.
Enough of the crap already – aren’t we fed up with the annoying Roy Jones Jr. comparisons?
First off -- he’s better than Roy Jones Jr. ever was – and he is constantly and consistently improving.
Secondly – enough of the horse-crap about “who has Floyd fought” and “…he’s just like Jones and hasn’t fought anybody”
Look at Floyd’s resume – he’s fought a lot of names and a lot of excellent fighters – look below at some of the foes from the 2nd half of Mayweather’s career -- or are the following merely nobodies:
Carlos Baldomir
Zab Judah
Sharmba Mitchell
Arturo Gatti
DeMarcus Corley
Jose Luis Castillo (twice)
Jesus Chavez
Diego Corrales
Emanuel Augustus
Angel Manfredy
Floyd’s fought everyone he SHOULD have fought – who am I missing? – who does Floyd need to fight to get you off his back?
Antonio Margorito? - Ricky Hatton? - Miguel Cotto? – who? – someone please tell me!
This is the injustice that we’ve done to Mayweather – he is clearly the greatest fighter fighting today – there’s simply no question, no debate and no other fighter out there that’s as talented, gifted, dedicated and brilliant as he is – and every chance we get we dump on him – that’s on us – and maybe that’s why he wants to take his ball and go home ---- can you blame him?
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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