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However, this month Mayweather will finally return to the ring in his 140 lb. debut against Demarcus Corley. All of the other controversies/stories will be put to the side for 12 rounds (or less) so that we can watch one of the finest pugilists to come along in quite some time put his talents to the test against yet another world class opponent. If only for an hour or so we can all forget about the negative aspects of Mayweather's life and admire the man for what he is...an extremely talented boxer.
No one expects Mayweather to dismantle Corley as easily as he did N'dou, but then again few people thought he would beat N'dou as easily as he did...except of course Floyd Mayweather Jr. The man simply exudes confidence. That is why he has spoken of fighting at 154 lbs despite being a natural 130 lb. fighter.
That is why he has called out the likes of Oscar De la Hoya, Kostya Tszyu, Cory Spinks and Ricardo Mayorga. All of those men are substantially bigger than Mayweather, but Mayweather believes he can beat every single one of them. Who knows maybe he can; maybe he will.
Then again maybe Mayweather won't get a shot at any of them. Tszyu is currently in a pseudo-retirement while the 140 lb. division sorts itself out without him. De la Hoya has moved on up to 160 lbs. to take on Felix Sturm and hopefully Bernard Hopkins. Mayorga seems to be heading north to 160 as well to face Tito Trinidad. Spinks is an option, but first Mayweather will make at least a pitstop at 140 which brings us back to Corley.
If Mayweather is the true P4P kingpin that I believe he is he will beat Corley decisively. However, Corley does present challenges that we are not used to see Mayweather face. For starters Corley is 140 lbs. He represents another jump up in weight. Fernando Vargas and David Reid faltered mostly because they took on too much too soon. Could Mayweather's downfall be that he may just take on too much weight? It is altogether possible, but only time will tell.
One thing that we will know for sure come the night of May 22nd is that the sight of Mayweather in the ring doing what he does best will be a welcome respite from seeing his name in the news for catching another case. I do not indict people. I do not comment on criminal records, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. cannot be discussed without someone mentioning his extracurricular activities. This upcoming fight will be a nice reprieve from that for not only him, but for the boxing world as well.
As a fan I want to see fights not hear another "black eye for boxing" story. Unfortunately, Mayweather has specialized in the latter over the last few months. We are trapped with this enigmatic figure, this unusual but strangely familiar dichotomy.
In Mayweather we have a rare talent with the potential and confidence to achieve things beyond anyone's wildest dreams. We also have the makings of the ultimate crash and burn story of superstar talent who never quite reached his full potential. Will Mayweather be too cocky and rise in weight too fast? Will Mayweather let his out of the ring actions get in the way of focus and his boxing career? Only time will tell, but on May 22nd we will be treated to another performance by Mayweather when he gets back into the ring again...finally.
