When the dust settled this past Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd Mayweather Jr. left the ring the same way that he entered; as an undefeated fighter who most people don’t like. And just like the majority of Mayweather’s recent fights, his opponent was the fan favorite. For some people, Manny Pacquiao represented everything that is good and wholesome. And after the fight this past Saturday between the two best welterweights of this era that had been put on the back burner for the past six years, we were able to see them in the same ring as Mayweather emerged with his hand raised in victory. And for those folks that expected to see a slugfest between Pacquiao and Mayweather, they must’ve not paid attention to the previous 47 professional fights that Mayweather participated in.
The MGM Grand was electric at the start of the fight as the crowd oohed and awed at every punch that was delivered from Pacquiao. Everytime that Pacquiao landed a flurry, Mayweather would grab, hold, and kill his momentum like he generally does when he is trouble. Each time that Mayweather would grab Pacquiao, the crowd would show their disdain for the undefeated welterweight. Pacquiao did have moments in the fight where he did have Mayweather in trouble, but nothing that was setup to do real damage. And when it was all over, it appeared to be another boring fight and a waste of money for the folks who watched it in person or bought the pay-per-view. But for Mayweather it was just a typical day at the office.
Mayweather has never and will never be a fighter that stands in the middle of the ring and trades punches with his opponent. If Mayweather was a National Football League team, he would be extremely boring to watch because he would consistently win games by the score of 16-10. Scores like that won’t sell tickets in the NFL, but it does in boxing because of the character that is Mayweather. Mayweather is good at what he does and he doesn’t have a problem telling people about it whether they want to hear it or not. Mayweather doesn’t have a problem being the villain as he knows that most people want to see him taste defeat which is a good reason why the atmosphere tends to be crazy around his bouts.
In 2005, Mayweather would defeat fan favorite Arturo Gatti to win the WBC Junior Welterweight Championship. And when Mayweather fought Zab Judah in 2006 for the vacant IBF and IBO Welterweight Titles, you knew that the winner of that bout would see their boxing career take off as Mayweather was the one that would emerge victorious. When Mayweather defeated the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, it marked a changing of the guard as far as who was now boxing’s biggest box-office attraction and Mayweather hasn’t looked back since. In the aftermath of not fighting Pacquiao, Mayweather would take the time to meet Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the ring in September 2013. Alvarez was De La Hoya’s protege and he carried the mantle for everyone that wanted to see Mayweather fall. But Alvarez’s hopes just like the previous 44 opponents that touched gloves with Mayweather before him were dashed as the cagey veteran was too much for the young lion.
Mayweather promotes his own fights as he only answers to Al Haymon and he doesn’t have a problem in letting the world know that he has the juice as it is all about “The Money Team”.
Leading up to the fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather wasn’t talking as much as he normally does and to some people he looked “scared”. But when the judges rendered the unanimous decision in Mayweather’s favor over Pacquiao, the outspoken one didn’t have any problem letting everyone in attendance at the MGM Grand know that he won in spite of the fact that they wanted him to lose.
Now, Mayweather has let it be known that he intends to relinquish all of his belts and he only has one more bout in the works for this September before he intends to call it a career. Recently Mayweather has begun to talk like a man that is onto the next chapter of his life. And in the sport of boxing, it is tough to remain the king of the mountain when you begin to focus on things outside of the ring. Mayweather will never be the people’s champion as some folks feel that he handpicks his opponents along with the fact that he isn’t a toe-to-toe brawler. The criticism doesn’t hurt Mayweather one bit as he has laughed all the way to the bank as he’ll easily clear $100 million for this past Saturday’s meeting with Pacquiao. One more victory on the part of Mayweather will tie him with Rocky Marciano to the greatest start to a professional boxing career and whether it is voluntary or involuntary, he won’t surpass the former Heavyweight Champion with a 50th victory. Mayweather’s last 13 professional fights have all taken place on the Vegas strip and just like any good show there, it is time for the curtain to come down. However the star of this show has turned into the ultimate villain and for Mayweather, he wouldn’t like it any other way.
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