I may or may not have watched Floyd Mayweather v. Marcos Maidana II illegally Saturday, and I’m glad that I may or may not have paid for it.
Maidana had a few moments during the fight, including a punch as the bell rung at the end of the third round, that wobbled Mayweather. Other than that, he seemed unable to hit arguably the best defensive boxer of all time.
The only thing people will remember from Maidana is when he allegedly bit Floyd’s finger during a clinch. Yes, with a mouthpiece in and with Floyd’s gloves on, Marcos was somehow able to bite his finger (allegedly).
Floyd, as usual, operated like a Prius. He was extremely efficient, but lacked the power (much like a Prius lacks the speed) to finish off Maidana. Floyd won by unanimous decision, and thus ended another sub-par PPV boxing match.
This fight is a perfect example of what’s happened to boxing over the years. Sure, diehard fans will say that people are watching the wrong fights for entertainment. But what they need to realize is the casual fan is going to flock towards the big names for fights. Floyd is the biggest name in boxing, and he more often than not, puts out a boring product. It could be because of his defensive fighting style, which revolves around making the opponent miss and countering, or it could just be because the guys he fights aren’t close to his level. It’s not fair to blame the state of boxing purely on Floyd, though.
There has always been talk that boxing was fixed, and a simple google search of “boxing rigged” will show that the FBI would agree. They believe that one of the biggest boxing matches ever was rigged in 1964. The other problem is today there are already a lack of real star-power fighters, and the guys that actually are stars, won’t fight each other. There are too many peers in boxing. Guys who should be fighting each other are taking selfies and popping bottles in nightclubs instead.
There’s only one fighter still boxing that never ducked a fight, and never disappointed me when I bought his fight: Miguel Cotto. He fought hall-of-famers like Shane Mosely, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd. He lost to both Manny and Floyd, but his heart and will was never questioned. Fighters like him aren’t around anymore. Boxers today seem more worried about getting the paycheck than anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely understand making sure you get what you can, while you can get it. But Cotto never made me think that he was in it just for the money.
Mayweather’s post fight comments about his next fight says all you need to know about boxing today. When a reporter asked him about a possible Manny Pacquiao fight—Something fans have been dreaming about for over five years—Floyd Mayweather said for that fight to happen, Showtime can be the only provider for the match and that Mayweather Promotions would have to sponsor the fight. There’s virtually no chance of this fight happening if Mayweather is firm on these demands.
Manny Pacquiao is with HBO and his promoter is Top Rank, which are the top rivals and enemies of Showtime and Mayweather Promotions. It’s completely unrealistic to think that Pacquiao would even be able to legally take that fight if Floyd ever offered it to him.
Hopefully someone will let these guys know that the sport desperately needs this fight. If that doesn’t work, show the estimated check each guy would get from this historic PPV fight, that’ll make them think twice.
