This is just a portion of a great article a friend sent me.
credit:
www.maxboxing.com
Mayweather has never faced a household name in the ring.
He’s defeated some tough hombres, no doubt about that; he’s beat down some damn good fighters, but he’s never beat anyone that a general sports fan has ever heard of, or gives a rat’s ass about.
Mayweather may have the combination of talent, skill and technique that is on par with a prime Ray Leonard, but he’s nowhere near Sugar Ray’s league when it comes to notoriety, celebrity and mainstream acceptance.
Do you doubt this fact?
Here’s an easy litmus test. Ask a friend who doesn’t regularly follow boxing to tell you the two best fighters Sugar Ray Leonard ever beat.
Even a casual boxing fan can tell you the names of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. In fact, if you ask the fair-weather fight fan to provide another name from Leonard’s ledger he or she could give you the name of Roberto Duran.
Real quick: are Hagler, Hearns and Duran hall-of-fame fighters?
Well, duh, you know that Hagler’s already in there and that Duran was voted in last year. You don’t have to be Bert Sugar to know that the Hitman will be in there as soon as he’s eligible. And since you’re obviously a knowledgeable fan, you know that Leonard’s got another hall of famer on his record, Wilfred Benitez.
Real quick: are these guys all-time greats?
Without thinking too much, you can answer “at least two out of four”, right?
You know that Duran is considered to be the best lightweight of all time. You know that Hands of Stone was also a four-division champ. You know that Hagler is thought to be one of the top five middleweight champs of all time.
And though Hearns lost his biggest fights, those losses were memorable encounters with two of the best of his era (Leonard and Hagler), and he still managed to win world titles in five divisions. If the Hitman isn’t great, you know he’s on the cusp of greatness. Benitez, the wonderfully talented three-division titlist who was also the youngest champ in history, is not far from that cusp.
Now, try asking a friend to name the two best fighters Floyd Mayweather has defeated.
Unless you’re talking to a fellow fight fan chances are good that he or she will have no clue who Mayweather is. A general sports fan might know that he is a fighter; they might even know that he’s one of the best boxers in the world, but they probably won’t be able to tell you who he’s fought to attain that lofty status.
If you want an answer to that simple question you’ll have to ask a fellow fight freak, one of those diehard junkies that populate boxing message boards on the internet, buy subscriptions to The Ring and websites like this one, and are basically the life blood to a struggling sport.
Go ahead, ask a hardcore fan to name the two best fighters Mayweather has fought.
“Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo” will probably be the most common answer. Ask for two more names and you’ll likely get the names of Genaro Hernandez and Zab Judah.
Damn good fighters. All four are former two-time title holders; two are two-division champs.
But real quick, can your buddy tell you if any of those former world titlists are bound for the hall of fame?
Even a hardcore fight fanatic has to pause before answering. “Hmmm, Mayweather beat them, but who have they beat?”
Corrales and Castillo have wins over each other. Their first fight was an all-time great slugfest, however great fights don’t necessarily make great fighters (if that were the case, we’d be counting the months until Micky Ward’s hall of fame induction). Castillo has a victory over Steve Johnston. Corrales has a win over Joel Casamayor. Hernandez beat an old Azumah Nelson. Judah has a win over…, um, damn, who is the best guy Judah’s beat? Cory Spinks?
Is that hall-of-fame stuff? Judah certainly doesn’t qualify. As for the other three fighters, well, they aren’t first-ballot hall of famers, that’s for sure.
It’s not an entirely fair question. Three of the four fighters are still active (although a strong case could be made that Corrales is likely finished fighting at the world-class level), but the point is clear:
As of right now, Mayweather has not faced or defeated a single fighter that can be considered a hall-of-fame lock or that general sports recognize or care about.
Arturo Gatti is probably the best known fighter Mayweather has on his record. However, while Gatti made for dramatic fights and very good ratings on HBO, he was never a ticket seller outside of New Jersey, and even Thunder’s most loyal fans will admit that he was far from an elite boxer.
It’s taken 10 years, but this Saturday Mayweather is finally facing a fighter who was once considered elite (and may still be), is a hall-of-fame lock and is known by everyday folks who don’t even watch boxing.
It’s a very sad statement on our sport, but aside from Evander Holyfield, the Golden Boy is the last household name among active prize fighters. But unlike the Real Deal, De La Hoya is close enough to his prime where he can still generate mainstream media interest and create monster events like this weekend’s fight.
Although De La Hoya is 2-2 in his last four fights (and one of those victories was a close and disputed decision), and despite the fact that he has only fought once in the past two and half years, many fans and more than a few members of the media give him a good shot at being the first fighter to put a “1” in the loss column of Mayweather’s record.
Size is part of the reason people are giving De La Hoya the benefit of the doubt. The Golden Boy, who has campaigned at welterweight or higher for the last 10 years, is thought to be the naturally bigger fighter. However, the primary reason folks are giving a part-time boxer, full-time promoter a shot to win Saturday’s showdown is the same reason De La Hoya is a household name: he’s been in the ring with the best fighters of the past 15 years.
Who are the two best fighters De La Hoya has defeated?
You don’t have to be a hardcore fan to answer “Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez”.
Real quick: are those two multi-division champs hall of famers?
You don’t have to be Hank Kaplan to know the correct answer is a resounding YES. Sweet Pea will be enshrined in Canastota next month. Chavez will be inducted as soon as he’s eligible.
Real quick: are Whitaker and Chavez all-time greats?
It’s a lot harder to come up with reasons why they AREN’T great than reasons why they are. Of course, they are great fighters.
When De La Hoya beat them, he became part of their legends and began building his own.
Mayweather isn’t part of any great fighter’s legend – yet. His father fought Leonard. His uncle Roger fought both Whitaker and Chavez. (Hell, even Uncle Jeff fought De La Hoya early in the Golden Boy’s career.) And although Mayweather’s family members didn’t win those fights they can say something he can’t, they can say they fought the best fighters of their eras.
If Mayweather is to be considered the best fighter of his era by anybody outside of the small world of professional boxing then he MUST beat De La Hoya.
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