The Boxing Thread

Do we know that Mayweather is retiring after this fight? I thought his plan was to go 50-0 and then retire. Either way, the article points out clearly (which many of us already know), there are others with longer undefeated streaks, and an unblemished record, while impressive, isn't everything.

MicBaldy said:

Do we know that Mayweather is retiring after this fight? I thought his plan was to go 50-0 and then retire. Either way, the article points out clearly (which many of us already know), there are others with longer undefeated streaks, and an unblemished record, while impressive, isn't everything.

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I do not know whether or not he will retire after this fight. I would be more surprised if he continued to fight because I have always considered him a money first fighter rather than a fighters fighter. His priorities imho have been money , fame ,and protecting his "0" with boxing serving as a vehicle to get there.
Mayweather is a different breed of fighter than Ward ,Gatti, Pazienza,Lenord, Duran ,Hagler , Hearns and many more great fighters that had no fear of failure and werre willing to take the big risk to gain the big victory. I have respect for Mayweather's work ethic (nobody out works him when training for a fight),his intelligence and his undeniable skills. On the other hand, he has always seemed to me to be way to risk averse , doing the minimum to win , and fighting not to loose as opposed to fighting to win. He has never faced a challenge like Lenord did in April 87 against Hagler, or Ali against Foreman in74 after Foreman knocked Frazier down four times in Kingston.
I consider Mayweather an elite fighter and the grand champion moneymaker to date but he is not anywhere near the class of
fighters that went all in, took the big risks (maby with a loss or two.... so what) that gave us the fights we will never forget.

Nick Styptic said:

I do not know whether or not he will retire after this fight. I would be more surprised if he continued to fight because I have always considered him a money first fighter rather than a fighters fighter. His priorities imho have been money , fame ,and protecting his "0" with boxing serving as a vehicle to get there.
Mayweather is a different breed of fighter than Ward ,Gatti, Pazienza,Lenord, Duran ,Hagler , Hearns and many more great fighters that had no fear of failure and werre willing to take the big risk to gain the big victory. I have respect for Mayweather's work ethic (nobody out works him when training for a fight),his intelligence and his undeniable skills. On the other hand, he has always seemed to me to be way to risk averse , doing the minimum to win , and fighting not to loose as opposed to fighting to win. He has never faced a challenge like Lenord did in April 87 against Hagler, or Ali against Foreman in74 after Foreman knocked Frazier down four times in Kingston.
I consider Mayweather an elite fighter and the grand champion moneymaker to date but he is not anywhere near the class of
fighters that went all in, took the big risks (maby with a loss or two.... so what) that gave us the fights we will never forget.

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Oh, I'm not comparing him to those other great fighters, though I wouldn't call Ward or Pazienza great and let's face it, Leonard did just enough to win and fought the smart fight against Hagler. All I'm saying is I would imagine Mayweather would want to get that 50-0 record before retiring, because I think that he wants to be in the record books (and make a ton of money along the way).

When Lenord fought Hagler I felt like Hagler was on top of his game and Lenord was past his prime. I can remember being concerned if Lenord would get out of the fight with his health. For him to win was a real shocker for me. I agree he fought the smart fight but I think he had to in order to get out of it on two feet. I thought Hagler had way too much for Lenord at that particular time.
I agree that many will not consider Pazienza and Ward great technical fighters. I do think they were great in that they and many like them were unafraid of failure, were afraid of no one and always left it all in the ring . I never got that impression from Mayweather.
It is a good question wheather Mayweather will go beyond 49. One reason that I think he may move on is that his long time trainer Uncle Roger is slipping deeper into pugalistic dementia and at times does not know who Floyd is. This seems to have a serious affect on Floyd. On the other hand, how many fighters have you and I seen that should have hung them up long before they actually did. James Toney,Roy Jones Jr,Evander Holyfield etc...the adreanalin, the money and the glory can be powerful addictions .

Nick Styptic said:

When Lenord fought Hagler I felt like Hagler was on top of his game and Lenord was past his prime. I can remember being concerned if Lenord would get out of the fight with his health. For him to win was a real shocker for me. I agree he fought the smart fight but I think he had to in order to get out of it on two feet. I thought Hagler had way too much for Lenord at that particular time.
I agree that many will not consider Pazienza and Ward great technical fighters. I do think they were great in that they and many like them were unafraid of failure, were afraid of no one and always left it all in the ring . I never got that impression from Mayweather.
It is a good question wheather Mayweather will go beyond 49. One reason that I think he may move on is that his long time trainer Uncle Roger is slipping deeper into pugalistic dementia and at times does not know who Floyd is. This seems to have a serious affect on Floyd. On the other hand, how many fighters have you and I seen that should have hung them up long before they actually did. James Toney,Roy Jones Jr,Evander Holyfield etc...the adreanalin, the money and the glory can be powerful addictions .

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One you forgot to mention who stayed too long was Ali. It was sad to watch at the end. Who can forget the Holmes fight?

And to add on your first statement, I think the Hearns and Duran fights showed how much a warrior Leonard was.

What a fantastic article. Everyone should read it.

MicBaldy said:

One you forgot to mention who stayed too long was Ali. It was sad to watch at the end. Who can forget the Holmes fight?

And to add on your first statement, I think the Hearns and Duran fights showed how much a warrior Leonard was.

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The Ali Holmes fight is a painful memory . I almost hated myself for watching it . Ali should have retired after Manilla but once again the adreanalin ,money and fame is a tough addiction. I remember paying $20 to watch the "Thrilla" back in the 70s on closed circuit. It was about all I had as I was a broke college kid at the time. Holmes was on the undercard. I remember watching his fight and wondering who that was. He was great.
The Nevada gaming commision received a well deserved vote of disgust for allowing that fight in1980. I'm sure everyone with a concience that was involved with that fight does not feel good about it to this day.

ouch said:

What a fantastic article. Everyone should read it.

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Glad you enjoyed the article. Remember, this is your thread too. If youhave any interesting articles or information on boxing, feel free to post them here.
I noticed your Brown Leaf tag. I smoke a La Unica 100.

Nick Styptic said:

The Ali Holmes fight is a painful memory . I almost hated myself for watching it . Ali should have retired after Manilla but once again the adreanalin ,money and fame is a tough addiction. I remember paying $20 to watch the "Thrilla" back in the 70s on closed circuit. It was about all I had as I was a broke college kid at the time. Holmes was on the undercard. I remember watching his fight and wondering who that was. He was great.
The Nevada gaming commision received a well deserved vote of disgust for allowing that fight in1980. I'm sure everyone with a concience that was involved with that fight does not feel good about it to this day.

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Big Larry Holmes fan here. (His greatest line, as a color commentator: They boaff tired, Howard.)

What I recall most about that fight was near the end when Holmes would unleash a flurry then motion for the ref to stop it.

ouch said:

Big Larry Holmes fan here. (His greatest line, as a color commentator: They boaff tired, Howard.)

What I recall most about that fight was near the end when Holmes would unleash a flurry then motion for the ref to stop it.

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Holmes is one of the most underrated Heavyweights of all time, even though he was one of the longest reigning title holders ever.

MicBaldy said:

Holmes is one of the most underrated Heavyweights of all time, even though he was one of the longest reigning title holders ever.

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Awesome jab and defensive skills, great chin, accurate puncher, and a great guy.

Sometimes Fury seems to be deadly serious and other times he is spewing out ballyhoo. The question I am trying to figure out is how much is serious . I have always thought David Haye was more bark than bite, the question is Is Fury more Haye or Buster Douglas ? If Fury is serious he could make it very interesting and win the title. This may be wishful thinking on my part because I am ready for a change at the top. Vlad is a top fighter but there is not much interest there. A new champion could inspire more heavyweight contenders.

ouch said:

Big Larry Holmes fan here. (His greatest line, as a color commentator: They boaff tired, Howard.)

What I recall most about that fight was near the end when Holmes would unleash a flurry then motion for the ref to stop it.

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My favorite Holmes quote (before the Spinks fight) is "I fought em all,beat em all and never ducked nobody"
Holmes had one of the all time greatest jabs "The Hammer" in heavyweight history.

Holmes vs. Ali in their prime would have been interesting. Holmes is one of the only guys I can name with the size and jab to keep him at bay, and the chin and skill set to mix it up with him.

I wont pay for it (its free cover at most sports bars around here). But i do want to watch it in case Berto does the unexpected (very doubtful, but stranger things have happened).

I won't be buying it mainly because I don't think Berto stands a chance. He's been beaten by less talented fighters. But, as always, there's a punchers chance (highly unlikely though).

Two of the toughest guys in boxing history. Sailor Tom Sharkey and Jim Jeffries :

I will take Bradley too. It will be interesting to see what the odds are when posted.
One thing for sure is that it will be all action and a no miss fight for me .

MrLara said:

I wont pay for it (its free cover at most sports bars around here). But i do want to watch it in case Berto does the unexpected (very doubtful, but stranger things have happened).

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I might watch it if it is free just to hedge against a a Buster Douglas moment.
The Douglas KO of Tyson will be considered a much bigger shock primarily because no one knew much about Douglas at the time. Douglas DID know a lot about Douglas,showed up in shape,ready to fight and beat Tyson from pillar to post before his KO.
Berto can do the same thing. The problem Berto faces is that he tends to get winded late and Mayweather is primarily a 12 round fighter.

Gents, I know this will not mix well with those who are fans of Mayweather but I say good riddance. This is a guy who mocked Oscar De Lahoya's ethnicity(and I am far from the sensitive man) ran around with suitcases full of money, and generally made boxing look not much less foolish than pro wrestling. And yeah, I know what the fans will say, best pound for pound, no one can touch him, etc. Okay fine. If you make a career out of fighting every two or three years(in later years) for tens of millions of dollars, against somewhat dubious competition at times, then yeah, you can claim the best. De Lahoya? Past his prime. Pachiao? Past his prime and fighting completely out of his weight class. He dodged these guys in their primes. Sorry that's my take and only my take on it.

Guys like Maricanao, Foreman, Holmes and others fought two or three times per year and it didn't matter who it was, they fought them. I hate his run and dodge 'style' everyone thinks is so devastating. A professional dancer hasn't got the evasive moves he does. I am not saying he is talentless, far from it. He just doesn't FIGHT. Sorry, but I am an old school boxing fan. The duck and run doesn't get it done. It's why fans of guys like De Lahoya feel he more than won their fight. Boxing USED to reward the aggressor and actively penalised the guys who rope a doped too much.

And the worst part? Retired my arse. He will come up with some excuse about needing to come back to best Marciano's record. The man has no respect for the sport or at least what's left of it. A bigger media whore I have never seen.