Re: Floyd Mayweather- The RJJ syndrome!
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Originally Posted by
Beanflicker
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ykdadamaja
Is it that Floyd Mayweather, like Roy Jones Jr., is just a victim of being too good for his own good and as a result, we are penalizing him and his tenure as p4p champion?
I think to some extent analysts are secretly wanting to see Mayweather beat up for being beat up's sake. Like they wanted to see Roy Jones Jr. beat up just for being beat up when Roy had that fantastic run through the LH division.
But why are the supposed "analysts" wanting to see blood on the ground from Mayweather? Why would Mayweather, like RJJ, want to give you that?
I'm afraid that until Floyd loses, he will always be labelled as a great champion, but not one of three greatest champions or THEE great champion.
Floyd is the kind of guy that will only be adequately appreciated by most in hindsight, long after he leaves the sport, when all the bullshit is left behind and he's judged mostly on the art. Boxing fans are mostly men of the cloth: we have our gods that we worship, and those who came after those gods are mere mortals. ;D It's all horse shit. If you're a true fan of the sport, a boxing historian, someone who appreciates the sweet science, you have no choice but to respect Mayweather because he's a living relic of a long lost art.
I think the Floyd haters (and by Floyd haters, I mean not just people who don't like him personally, but those who try to devalue his accomplishments at every turn) are letting their bias cloud their vision, or maybe they are just too simple to appreciate it. Floyd is the greatest boxing talent in the history of boxing. People will say "ohh he didn't fight so and so", "ohhh he never had a rival", and "ohh this guy fought better opposition". If you talk pure in-ring work, nobody has done it better in the history of boxing. Nobody has had the combination of skill, boxing IQ, athletic ability, discipline, composure, and mental fortitude. Nobody. To fight for 18 years undefeated, 16 of those as a champion fighting nothing but top work ranked opposition of all shapes, styles, and sizes is something that has never been done and probably never will be done again.
This is where the conversation goes sideways. It's ridiculous when people try to discredit Floyd by calling him a coward/ducker who has never been tested. It is equally asinine when people try and say Floyd is the greatest ever and you aren't a fan if you disagree due to other fighters having much greater historical wins/feats. It's silly and the rational perspectives are constantly drowned out by the haters/huggers.
Now that that is out of the way, I think Roy was the more athletically gifted fighter, but Floyd is better overall and will be ranked higher historically and has beaten better competition. I think Floyd receives sufficient credit (as did Roy), he's been ranked #1 p4p forever and the names ranked ahead of him are guys like Robinson, Armstrong, Duran...etc. it's not like people say he is a bum, they just don't rank him over equally gifted fighters who beat better competition.
Re: Floyd Mayweather- The RJJ syndrome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spicoli
As a non Roy fan and in hindsight, he had something Floyd never really could exhibit. Pure explosiveness. True he was handed a network on a silver platter, didn't go out of his way to clean a division and scrap with some of the fellow champs but he had great showmanship and wow factor when he wanted to. I never wanted him to lose based on a shitty style for the most part. While Floyd is an exceptional talent, he on the other hand proves to be a bore inside and outside of the ring. Besides..who doesn't love upsets?
I agree with this. I think really there's a difference between wanting a person to be beaten to a bloody pulp and wanting to someone to be humbled. Obviously the bigger as @$$ you make of yourself, the swifter and longer lasting humility people may be wishing for.
That being said Spicoli hit the nail on the head with the in ring performances. RJJ referred to himself in the 3rd person, started a rap career, played league basketball and defended the title in the same day, and did things like no look defense and behind the back punches... It chaffed people but anyone who said you can't do those things got proven wrong till roy started to slip. He still rarely got hit, showed blistering speed, and stopped a lot of his opponents. The ones he couldn't stop, he put down a few times or landed numerous or around the world punches on. Outside of boxing, RJJ was more reserved laid back and didn't really act out just for attention.
With floyd, he decided to be the person people love to hate after his ticket sales declined based on his in ring performances. I think people find his antics in and out of the ring are exactly what he wants them to be.. A reason to buy tickets to potentially see his thug persona cut short mid sentence with a rap on the chin. He's the best defensive fighter in the world at this point, but I think .."isnt it amazing, hes only hitting my shoulders and elbows?!?!" just doesnt wow people defensively the way a fighter like sweet pea did. There's a entertainment difference being hit every where but the important spots (floyd now) vs. simply not being there for the punches but trying to put someone on their butt. (floyd before, RJJ, Sweet Pea). Roach had a point when he said mayweather fighting the way he does now "for the fans" is BS. Thinking back I can remember the shots that dropped corrales, gatti and hatton, snapped de la hoyas head back and adjusting and coming on late to beat judah. Since then its been a blur of forearms, opponents flailing, segmented by Floyd getting buzzed by mosely, trying to choke ortiz at the press conference and sucker punching him in the fight, demanding certain gloves for maidana... Theres no taking away what floyd accomplished but the time where the majority was genuinely interested in seeing him deliver a beating vs. receiving one is slipping further and further out of reach. He knows he cant get KO'd because once he does..the untouchable became touchable.... the ride is over..
