I didn't like him for boxing. He put money ahead of the sport, and he does not think about making great fighters and fighting guys for his legacy, he wants to handpick guys to fight them at the right time so he appears to have the great legacy with the least risk. He did well. And he is good, many guys couldn't have beaten those guys even if they did handpick, but he did not fight the best when they were good, and really didn't have prime great fighters to fight. So I think his legacy is not that great as he would make it seem.
He was the World Champ, he beat all put before him, so merely on that he was a gift. He made a bloody fortune fighting as he did, so being labelled curse or gift probably would not bother him either way. “Some pay to see me win, some pay to see me lose, but they all pay.”
I have had no interest in Mayweather at all, both in the past, as well as today. I despise him. When you say "Floyd"...I think Patterson, not Mayweather.
I never paid to see him fight. I never thought he was worth it. His fights were not interesting, yet I did pay to see Oscar and Shane and guys who to me were greater than Floyd. Guys who wanted to be great the real way.
He was a cancer who nearly ruined the sport. But he was iconic and an emblem for his time like Trump or the Kardashians. He wasn't the champion we wanted, just the one we deserved. In an era of style over substance, where vapidity and avarice triumphed he lowered the bar like no other.
Depends on what category. Floyd had many layers both inside and outside he ring. Pros: -encourages people to work on defense. This cannot be understated. So many men have lost health and sufferered serious injuries due to poor defense thinking theyre invincible gladiators. -he busted his ass in the gym. Say what you want, but he was in shape, perfected his technique, and rarely ever lost rounds. His ring iq was in the top 30 of all time. -never lost and gave rematches in close/controversial fights. Get over it. -encourages marketing yourself and saving money. Similarly, hundreds of boxers have made tons of money only to lose it. I think guys are starting to wise up. Also by leaving arum and promoting his own fights he changed the game. People shouldnt settle and know their worth. -opens his doors to young men needing an outlet to feed their families. Cons: -he wasnt just safety first in the ring. He was OBSESSED with being the A side and dictate as much as he could to the opponent (even over petty stuff like the color of the gloves, fight dates, etc). From a business point of view this makes sense, but for the fans the sport it could definitely hinder things. Bow you have a bunch of arrogant unproven guys with less than 30 fights making demands and throwing hissy fits. -never once became undisputed, or faced a guy who was the clear favorite and had nearly every advantage. I usually defend floyds resume. A lot of the times hes accused of ducking, its either blown out of proportion or just a flat out lie. However, facts are facts. He benefited from there being so many damn weight classes and 4 belts in each one. Again, from a business standpoint its logical to take advantage of every situation. But his p4p historical ranking suffers because he never "cleaned out a division". There were always question marks, especially toward the end when you had young lions like thurman, porter, brook, khan, etc all ranked in the top 10 and floyd didnt fight a single one. Its true you cant fight "everyone" but it stands out when literally every weight class had qualified, quality opponents he missed for one reason or another. And once again, his has affected the new generations' careful match making. -minor gripe, but his pr time could be horrible at times. He contradicts himself and isnt always good at setting the record straight. For example, the infamous amir khan poll.
excellent post. He lacked what made boxing great. As you said,Floyd was about money and it lacked any spark in a rather sparkless time. A time of opinions on social media without real substance. When you think of greats of the past you think great fights and the sport and what makes it great. To me Floyd was so much about himself to the point of having fights at the right time for him and the wrong time for the public, yet that didn't bother him constructing a legacy with handpicking and timing. It was just about how he was seen, and in this era of nothing like the kardashians where you are what you are without earning it, Floyd fit right in. A rather boring era with his fans talking about his money. As though they got rich also. I don't care if my favorite fighter gets rich. I wanted to see a legacy and get excited about fights.
I never paid to see him fight either, however obviously someone was, for him to be getting the mega money that he was.
Whilst I'm not comparing the two for popularity ,much the same could be said for Ali .It could be said he was a gift for boxing especially heavyweight s. He brought publicity, excitement and a lot of interest to the division. But the down side is we're still looking for another Ali ,a perfect replica. And I don't think we'll ever get someone with everything he had .The division s lacked a true super star since he retired and we've had a few Ali wannabe s since .For those that remember him actually fighting they know that he'll never be eclipsed so the division will never be as Good . unless we get another Muhammad in 20 years time !
The beauty of Floyd is that he was quite literally one step ahead in and out of the ring because people are always going to pick holes regardless of the outcome. His career was full of people voicing their opinions, trying to argue why he should put his body and life on the line against this guy and that guy, which in total honesty is absolute blaspheme, because Floyd dedicated and sacrificed everything to get himself into the position he got in... Why should anyone dictate terms for him? If you can't relate to that then you're probably quite ignorant and not a very conscious human being. But that's life right, we all draw different conclusions from the evidence we have in front of us.
A lot of not boxing fans pay for his fights. They don't know boxing well. so they buy into his attitude.
Great post. I agree with most of your points. However, I don’t think Floyd has encouraged people to work on defense. In fact, I think he has hurt boxers who see how effective he is with the Philly Shell and who incorrectly assume it’s a good idea to implement into their style. Clearly as case of it not being as easy as it looks. I also disagree that fighters are wise to taking care of their money. Cases in point: 1. Have you seen the large number of people Gervonta keeps around him? It looks like he has more than one bodyguard. These posses cost money to take care of. Antoine Walker (former NBA player) is a prime example. 2. One of the Charlo brothers recently went to a club in New York with $150K in cash and jewelry in a duffel bag. Not surprisingly, the bag was stolen. I believe it was eventually recovered, but it still is not indicative of a fighter who’s making smart financial choices.
He stepped up and took on top opponents with massive weight advantages and had an awesome career. Yeah he wasn't perfect, but there are countless examples of boxers who do what people complain about him doing to a far greater extent, and nearly everyone does, or tries to or would if they could do this type of ****.
At 130lbs he defeated Corrales, who only six months prior had held another belt in the division. It was essentially a unification fight and also a clear case of #1 fighting #2 to become lineal (that's if you don't consider Hernandez to have been lineal in the first place). He missed Casamayor/Frietas but wiped out a guy who beat both of 'em plus just about every other legit contender in the division at the time. He unified against Canelo at 154lbs in another case of #1 fighting #2. He definitely could have faced a couple of the younger guys on the way out, but once again made a point of fighting the #2 guy to determine lineage in the division. Yeah, that match was five years too late in the making, but did anyone really have Floyd and Pac any lower than #2 at the time? He didn't fully unify any of these divisions, but he did manage the face the leading contender/titleholder in all of them at some point. That counts for something.
