Idle Hands, Raised: On the Return of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

http://thecruelestsport.com/2011/06/14/idle-hands-raised-on-the-return-of-floyd-mayweather-jr/

One of the better pieces Ive read on the return of Flod

Forget hydromancy, horoscopes, and Sylvia Browne, the future of Floyd Mayweather Jr.—as it pertains to his career as a prizefighter, at least—can be divined at any given time with three simple letters: I-R-S. Yes, when it comes to Mayweather, the taxman is the ultimate soothsayer. For the second time in roughly two years, Mayweather has broken an extended layoff not long after Uncle Sam threatened him with the back of his cartoon hand. And so, on September 17, Mayweather returns to the ring against Victor Ortiz, whose skimpy resume will be overshadowed by the fact that Mayweather, the gaudy, rowdy co-ruler of a two-man boxing Cyber Gilded Age—along with Manny Pacquiao—returns to where things have always been easiest for him. From the Vegas Strip to the Clark County Jail to IRS leans and back again, Mayweather has found that the real world, the one beyond the squared circle, is not as friendly as the ring is. In fact, only fighthype.com seems to offer the promise of sanctuary to “Money” these days.

One thing about Ortiz, at least, is that there will be no carping about age, weight class, and peak quotient. He may not be “Old Ironsides” in the ring, but Ortiz is certainly fresher than the last four Pacquiao/Mayweather opponents.

Agreeing to fight Mayweather should also put to rest any lingering doubts about his mental resolve. He may have spent the last two years slumming on HBO and operating out of the GBP Boxing Methadone Clinic, but when the biggest possible fight came around, Ortiz reached for it, which is more than you can say about many headliners today. In addition, Ortiz is media friendly, bilingual, and ready to be knocked out in spectacular fashion. Indeed, the largely inexperienced Ortiz is the latest example of the modern nouveau riche in boxing. An unproven fighter before he entered the ring against a less—or more?—unproven fighter in Andre Berto, he has gone from scrambling over a hillock to conquering Everest in 36 relatively easy minutes. Such is the instant gratification jackpot of modern boxing, where all it takes is a rubbery stamp of approval from a vlogger or a “P-4-P” vote from boxintribulation.com to make an echo chamber reputation.

In the end, Mayweather is in the same position as Pacquiao is—there are simply not enough marketable fighters around right now (aside from Pacquiao and Mayweather, of course) to make criticism—or what passes for it these days—worthwhile. Jejune arguments aside, until they face each other, Pacquiao and Mayweather will continue fighting, to a degree, unsuitable opponents, even if the guy in the opposite corner is Tim Bradley, Devon Alexander, Kermit Cintron, Miguel Cotto, etc.

At 34, with only two dozen rounds under his belt since December 2007, a slightly diminished Mayweather may show up on fight night against Ortiz. All fighters are subject to the same process of erosion—talent notwithstanding—over time, and they can only delay the inevitable for so long. The implacability of physical deterioration is a given in this pitiless sport. For every Bernard Hopkins who refutes a law nearly as consistent as that of gravity, there are a dozen Al Singers, Donald Currys, Meldrick Taylors, and Ruby Goldsteins—abject figures washed-up in their middle twenties. Victor Ortiz can only hope that Mayweather is a half-step ahead of him when the opening bell sounds on September 17 instead of a full step. A full step would be, for mixed metaphor enthusiasts out there, a league too much for him.

As for this bout somehow leading to a possible showdown with Manny Pacquiao, the odds seem just as long as ever against the “Stuporfight” happening. Both men are conductors on money trains operating on parallel tracks, but the real reason Pacquiao and Mayweather may never meet is hatred. Golden Boy Promotions may have apologized for hinting that Manny Pacquiao is using performance enhancing drugs, and Oscar De La Hoya may have sent a slew of remorseful Tweets from some unnamed but apparently permissible detox center, but the fact remains that the odium among all involved in both camps suggests a gothic family tree, each bracket leading, almost inevitably, to insanity, disease, and incest. Mayweather and Arum truly seem to dislike each other, but Arum, now in his 6th decade of boxing agita, loathes Al Haymon, the mysterious powerbroker Arum believes was responsible for Top Rank losing Mayweather.

When Arum sued HBO (along with Mayweather and Goosen-Tutor Promotions) in 2005 for airing a bout Mayweather took outside of his contractual purview, a new agreement was drawn up between the parties and Arum dropped his suit. HBO originally wanted to void its long term contract with Mayweather, which would have left Arum, according to David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, out in the cold, since “a single three-way contract bound all parties together.” Mayo also added that, “Arum was flabbergasted, since HBO had no intention of breaking ties with Mayweather.” But the new promotional contract included a $750,000 buy out clause that Mayweather duly exercised six months after the ink had dried on his signature. Arum, a topnotch boxing promoter for nearly 40 years at the time, had been drygulched by Mayweather, HBO, and worst of all, perhaps, Al Haymon.

But things, as crazy as they seemed at this point, did not end there. Boxing and overkill, after all, go together like Burke and Hare, Cain and Abel, and Old Sparky and electricity. Mayweather would go on to sue Arum, claiming that Top Rank owed him money from his fights against Arturo Gatti and Zab Judah. Arum said payments had, indeed, been withheld from Mayweather because, curiously, the fighter owed Top Rank money. Like most lawsuits in boxing—where opening the books to the public is the equivalent of releasing the client list of a posh New York City madam—the case was settled out of court. But the enmity between all parties is real and borders on a vendetta. Arum has sued HBO, Mayweather, and Oscar De La Hoya at one point or another. Pacquiao has sued Golden Boy and the Mayweathers. Golden Boy Promotions has also sued Arum, settled a dispute over Pacquiao via binding arbitration, and recently tried to poach Nonito Donaire from Top Rank. Finally, with the exception of Manny Pacquiao and the q.t. Haymon, vitriol has been spewed forth by all parties involved, with Roger Mayweather emerging as the undisputed champion of the twelve-letter smear.

Meanwhile, Mayweather will be much less apt to find trouble in the gym than he is in Bill’s Gambling Hall and Saloon or, for that matter, in his own driveway. Idle hands, it seems, are most dangerous when they belong to mercurial boxers with a bankroll and an itch to spend it. For Mayweather, it may be a relief—more than one based on remuneration, perhaps—to be back in the ring, where he belongs, and where, ultimately, we want to see him most.

That is pretty damn accurate

GrantZilla wrote:That is pretty damn accurate

+1

He nailed it and agree that the big fight probably wont happen

Agreeing to fight Mayweather should also put to rest any lingering doubts about his mental resolve. He may have spent the last two years slumming on HBO and operating out of the GBP Boxing Methadone Clinic, but when the biggest possible fight came around, Ortiz reached for it, which is more than you can say about many headliners today. In addition, Ortiz is media friendly, bilingual, and ready to be knocked out in spectacular fashion.

I don't think this is the fight that puts to rest the issue of Ortiz's heart. If Mayweather gets an advantage, he'll coast and I will be more stunned if he knocked out Ortiz than if Ortiz knocked him out.

When Arum sued HBO (along with Mayweather and Goosen-Tutor Promotions) in 2005 for airing a bout Mayweather took outside of his contractual purview, a new agreement was drawn up between the parties and Arum dropped his suit. HBO originally wanted to void its long term contract with Mayweather, which would have left Arum, according to David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, out in the cold, since “a single three-way contract bound all parties together.” Mayo also added that, “Arum was flabbergasted, since HBO had no intention of breaking ties with Mayweather.” But the new promotional contract included a $750,000 buy out clause that Mayweather duly exercised six months after the ink had dried on his signature. Arum, a topnotch boxing promoter for nearly 40 years at the time, had been drygulched by Mayweather, HBO, and worst of all, perhaps, Al Haymon.

But things, as crazy as they seemed at this point, did not end there. Boxing and overkill, after all, go together like Burke and Hare, Cain and Abel, and Old Sparky and electricity. Mayweather would go on to sue Arum, claiming that Top Rank owed him money from his fights against Arturo Gatti and Zab Judah. Arum said payments had, indeed, been withheld from Mayweather because, curiously, the fighter owed Top Rank money. Like most lawsuits in boxing—where opening the books to the public is the equivalent of releasing the client list of a posh New York City madam—the case was settled out of court. But the enmity between all parties is real and borders on a vendetta. Arum has sued HBO, Mayweather, and Oscar De La Hoya at one point or another. Pacquiao has sued Golden Boy and the Mayweathers. Golden Boy Promotions has also sued Arum, settled a dispute over Pacquiao via binding arbitration, and recently tried to poach Nonito Donaire from Top Rank. Finally, with the exception of Manny Pacquiao and the q.t. Haymon, vitriol has been spewed forth by all parties involved, with Roger Mayweather emerging as the undisputed champion of the twelve-letter smear.

That's ridiculous.