In defense of Mayweather's Resume

I might be the only Mayweather fan on here and I've tried to avoid saying too much about him. However, before the year gets up and running and while his name is still relevant I wanted to bring up his resume at 147. I know some people nitpick at his resume before that, but I think most people agree that it's pretty solid.

My argument is that he's taken on fights to make the most money possible, and not hand-selected opponents or taken easy fights.

Fight 1 - Sharmba Mitchell
Floyd had just beaten Gatti and become a star in the sport. After beating Gatti, he had stated that his goal was to fight De La Hoya. Mitchell was a solid entry fight at 147.

Fight 2 - Zab Judah
Prior to losing to Baldomir, Judah's was the top fighter in the division. He had also been a longtime rival to Floyd and a fight between them had been talked about for years. The fight was made before Zab lost and had good buzz.

Fight 3 - Carlos Baldomir
Floyd went on to beat the guy who had beaten Zab. There was a lot of talk that he should've taken on Cotto or Margo. Cotto was never really an option. His team was still developing him. I think he should have fought Margo, but it's important to note that Floyd and Arum don't get along and fighting Baldomir was tying up loose ends (I've also never thought of Margo as a significantly better fighter than Baldomir was at this stage). He took a fight that was easier to make and might lead to Oscar.

Fight 4 - Oscar De La Hoya
This was the biggest $ fight available. It made Floyd a superstar. On top of that, it was probably the most difficult fight available. I haven't heard a convincing argument from anyone to suggest that De La Hoya at 154 was worse than Margo or Cotto at 147 (Floyd came into the ODLH fight at 148 I think).

Fight 5 - Ricky Hatton
This was the biggest $ fight available. Margo had just lost to PW in his last fight. Cotto was taking on Shane. Ricky at the time was a top fighter who stylistically matched up well with Floyd and was also undefeated.

Retirement
Floyd should have fought Cotto or PW. However, those guys also should have called out Floyd or done something to get that fight. Instead, they dropped their next fights making Floyd coming out of retirement to fight either moot.

Fight 6 - JMM
Respectable fight after a layoff. It seemed like the ideal fight to set up a showdown with Pacquiao. No one really knew if Floyd still had it and Floyd might not have known himself (JMM has since proven he's still a force). Good $, lower risk.

Fight 7 - Mosley
Best fight available after Pacquiao fell through. Long time rivals. Shane was the consensus #3 in the division. A fight that could generate $.

Fight 8 - Ortiz
Best fight available after Pacquiao fell through. Up and comer who was coming off of a big win. Victor was the default #3 in the division. A fight that could generate $.

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The notable fighters he missed are: Margo (caught cheating), Cotto, PW, and Berto. I think the reason he missed those fighters was the risk vs. reward. Not that he was ducking or scared, he simply had better options available. Also, the guys he did fight - Baldomir, ODLH, Hatton - weren't significantly worse than the guys he could've fought.

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree. Who should Floyd have fought? When should he have fought them?

You make some very solid points Gumby, well done.

i have always said this. i agree that he could have done more but he has a solid resume.

People (especially in the bad old days of ESPN) used to go crazy calling Floyd a ducker, but Gumby makes a good argument that Floyd has always been a prizefighter first. He does look for the payday, and you can't blame him for that.

My only issue with the post is I think Floyd became a star when he beat Chico at 130 in 2001; rather than the win against Gatti. No doubt Gatti was his biggest fight to that point, but to me he was well established as a star after he beat Coralles; especially the way he fought that night.

My beef with Mayweather was the same as with Oscar. They stopped being fighters and just become businessmen.

That's fine. But in Mayweather's case, don't be saying you are better than ATGs who fought everybody and on a regular basis.

This goes for Pac too, and a lot of diva fighters today. No exscuse to fight once or twice a year. No reason why they can't take a regular HBO fight between PPV fights.

It's not bad.
But, not fighting Margarito and Cotto definitely softened it.

Tobe wrote:People (especially in the bad old days of ESPN) used to go crazy calling Floyd a ducker, but Gumby makes a good argument that Floyd has always been a prizefighter first. He does look for the payday, and you can't blame him for that.

My only issue with the post is I think Floyd became a star when he beat Chico at 130 in 2001; rather than the win against Gatti. No doubt Gatti was his biggest fight to that point, but to me he was well established as a star after he beat Coralles; especially the way he fought that night.

I think he became a boxing star when he beat Chico (p4p fighter, appreciated by fight fans) but a superstar when he beat Gatti (well known fighter, relevant to casual fans) and a megastar when he beat ODLH (household name). For example, right now Andre Ward is a boxing star and borderline superstar (I think he'd need to beat BHop to get there). You could definitely be right though. Unfortunately, Floyd's fame led to people seeing his massive ego and overall dickheadedness and instead of acting like a decent human being he became "Money Mayweather." For the record, I like him because he's amazingly talented and a real professional in the ring. I tolerate the fact that he's an asshole because I know plenty of those and not all of them are bad people (or realize when they're acting like idiots).

I'm bored. I figured there'd be more people jumping all over this.

GrantZilla wrote:My beef with Mayweather was the same as with Oscar. They stopped being fighters and just become businessmen.

That's fine. But in Mayweather's case, don't be saying you are better than ATGs who fought everybody and on a regular basis.

This goes for Pac too, and a lot of diva fighters today. No exscuse to fight once or twice a year. No reason why they can't take a regular HBO fight between PPV fights.

i agree. de la hoya never said that he was an ATG like mayweather does. i do believe that mayweather is a great fighter and could be considered an ATG, but he slowed his progress when he started choosing his fights and fighting less often.