Records and the Defense of the Less Tangibles

I recently read another article in which a writer insisted Floyd Mayweather has no claim at being considered anywhere near his self proclaimed title of TBE.  I must admit that at first I expected an article all about how Mayweather supposedly fought his opponents past their prime or avoided so and so and was surprised not to see such a report. Part of it did as the writer highlighted Mayweather’s more challenging fights against what he considered lackluster opposition. However as I continued reading I found that the article took another favored approach. Without spoiling the article if you chose to read it (I attached the link) the article does give Mayweather credit for being the best of his generation. While this is hardly a breakthrough given Mayweather has beaten virtually every fighter in his era, it begins to discredit his accomplishments in the often played out tale of fighters from way back when. The writer claims that fighters are not as good as they once were because of the lack of true old school trainers and fighters. However what was more frustrating was that one of the writer’s main arguments consisted of naming essentially the entire boxing hall of fame who Floyd hasn’t faced in his weight divisions and then insisting how every one of the 50 men mentioned were miles ahead.

First a remark on the idea that fighters are not what they used to be. I often refer to boxing fans as being similar to baseball fans and music snobs in that we love getting caught up in the nostalgia of how great a fighter was that we either grew up watching or worse, never saw fight but heard the old timers mention with such pride. The tales of glory from those we admire inspire us to research and dig for more. Many times this research will lead us to find a favorite who may have never fought when we were alive but saw highlights or a few of the old tapes. But that is just what they fighters are, our own personal favorites. Now I in no means want to tarnish the names of great past fighters but when we as fans mention our favorites there is a level of bias that presents itself.

It is true fighters aren’t what they used to be in the sense that you would be hard pressed to find a fighter with over 100 fights let alone that many wins. Some of this does have to do with fighters being more business savvy and matchmaking. Another factor also has to do with the fact that we romanticize many fighters for fighting hundreds of times without looking at context. Anyone who believes fighters cared less about money in the ‘60s, ‘50s, ‘40s or even ‘20s is delusional. Boxing was a way for many men to make money in addition to their full time jobs. For those who were pure sportsman and were able to make boxing their primary employment they often started incredibly early. Many of them also turned professional at much earlier ages than most of our modern fighters do. With certain exceptions (Ray Robinson comes to mind) the majority of fighters with such huge numbers of fights turned pro shortly after picking up boxing gloves. Should we use the fact that Julio Cesar Chavez fought to nearly 100 wins and disregard the fact some of it comes to an early start in the pros essentially tarnishes the greats before him who did so at 20.

            The second part is the argument that a fighter’s undefeated record doesn’t prove anything. I MUST concede, undefeated isn’t everything but it is a crowning achievement. It states that of all of your peers (assuming you faced most of them) none were capable of besting you. Much of this is a testament to skill; fighters value their record and every win is hard sought after. Others will argue this is more attributed to being a ‘protected’ fighter. While it is easy to play off as good matchmaking, this only tells part of the story. Matchmaking like it or not is a part of boxing and it is a very good thing for the sport and in many instances for the safety of the fighter. Matchmaking is the very reason many fighters today don’t have nearly as many wins in their column (think Harry Greb). But is also the same reason why so many contemporary boxers have fewer losses as well (think Joey Silva).

If you are wondering who Joey Silva is I am about to make two points. The first point is that many of the fighters of the past fought countless opponents multiple times a year. And for a man like Homicide Hank this could mean fighting Joey Silva one week and a man like Sugar Ray Robinson the next (literally, the fights were 7 days apart!). While Henry Armstrong is a phenomenal fighter there are several instances in his, as well as a myriad of other Hall of Famers’ careers, where they fought and beat fighters who on paper could be easily dismissed as bums. Statistically speaking a lot of this has to do with fighting obscene numbers of men over the course of their career. When a boxer fights over 40 fights in a year like they did in the past it’s hard to say if either fighter is truly conditioned during the fight or in fighting shape once they have taken the beating. So while boxers don’t fight as often and therefore aren’t getting as much experience it is arguable that they are also facing a more competitive level of fighters on most occasions.

            The second point I want to make with Joey Silva is the matter of being a boxing snob. I had no idea who Joey Silva was until I began writing this article but I took full advantage of his record to make a nonsensical point. I am in no way assuming the writer of the article I read did the same but this seems to happen all to frequently these days; an enthusiast goes on a boxing sight, does their due diligence to find fighters names throughout the archives of boxing and then pieces together the greatness of a fighter solely based on the numbers they see. That is exactly what I just did in an attempt to prove that fighters fought less than stellar competition and I could do it time and time again with the click of a few links to fighters (it’s ironic because it is often done to prove how some boxer’s O boxing achievement is less than spectacular).

Theses archives are a tremendous asset to the modern day fan because they allow us to dive into fighters we never knew existed and appreciate the well documented history of one of the world’s oldest sports. However to abuse it to prove the point that a fighter’s record now means nothing is simply proving that you are no better than the ‘casual fans’ today who insist otherwise. Records can't tell everything but they are a part of who a fighter is. I never saw Joey Silva fight so I mean no disrespect to his acumen, but on paper this is a man who lost nearly three times as many fights as he won. And yet at this is also the same man who went the distance with Henry Armstrong. Maybe Homicide Hank wasn’t that much of a HOF fighter and spent his career padding his resume with weak opposition. Now how RIDICULOUS does that sound? Then again I’d like to think maybe the Silva “just knew how to fight” as Mayweather said of Emanuel Augustus.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/20846-floyd-mayweather-jr-the-best-ever-hardly

Mayweathervs Pacquiao Predition(s)

It’s not in my nature to write predictions but I figured why not for this one. I decided to predict how this fight would play out based on Manny’s most recent fight with Chris Algieri and Mayweather’s rematch with Marcos Maidiana. I did this for two real reasons.   

One: It’s easier. I’ve been watching Money and PacMan since ’98 and ’03 respectively and to consider all of their achievements and abilities is just far too time consuming and too long of a read for today.
Two: While fighters became who they are based on past opponents what I believe tells us more about these two is how they both looked and behaved in their most recent outings. Of course we can talk about how they looked before but many of our arguments will come from nearly a decade ago. Like it or not 2007 Money and 2009 Manny are not fighting each other but the 2015 versions of themselves.
 

So without further ado here goes nothing!

Round 1: Both fighters will begin very cautiously for the first minute. Floyd will get into his offensive stance and throw the jab while leaning hoping to lure Paquiao into being the aggressor. Paquiao will oblige and come in with his double jab trying to set up the left.  Neither fighter will do too much of consequence in the eyes of the fans or commentators but they have already laid the ground work for their game plans.

Round 2: Money will shift to being defensive and use his footwork to force Pac man chase him. Floyd will attempt to dodge Manny’s left and tuck underneath the right but will get caught with the first meaningful punch which will convince Floyd to remain distant and continue circling.

Round 3: By now Manny will no longer pursue he will remain patient and force Mayweather to engage. Floyd will cautiously oblige and land a few big shots first to the left side of the body and follow up with a straight right. Manny will not be hurt but will attempt to fire back in which Money will counter and continue to work the body.

Round 4: Still cautious Floyd will begin to adjust into going on the offensive. Manny will throw the left and catch Floyd forcing Floyd to initiate a clinch. Manny will remain calm and wait for Kenny Bayless to break them up. Floyd will attempt to do this on several occasions and Manny will allow it as Manny feels he hasn’t put Floyd in enough danger to clinch out of necessity.

Round 5: Manny will attempt to impose his will as he did in the previous round. Floyd will lie against the ropes and lure Manny into throwing combinations. Bayless will break them up and Floyd will go back to the ropes hoping to set up the check hook. Only after taking a few hard shots to the face he will succeed and turn so that Manny is on the ropes, Floyd will throw a few of his own and let Manny out of the corner.

Round 6: Where most of the fifth took place on the ropes much of this round will be in the center of the ring. Floyd will start out stationary with a high guard. Manny will come forward and throw several flurries that will go mostly blocked. As Manny goes in a second time a clinch will occur and then Floyd will begin to move around again. He will slip some of Manny’s punches and throw a looping jab immediately followed by the straight right connecting and visually backing up Manny.

Round 7:  Floyd will spend much of this round laying back and moving. Manny will capitalize on this and land a few punctuating shots of his own to which Floyd will smile in acknowledgment of Pac man’s power and connection.

Round 8: Manny will come out again hoping to do damage however Floyd will change the pace of the round by Mann’s double jab with a hard punch to the chest. Manny will attempt to readjust but Floyd will take this opportunity to go on the offensive and land some body shots of his own. As Manny’s guard comes down to block the body Floyd will hammer Manny’s head with a looping right hand.

Round 9: Manny will come out cautiously but will find Floyd unwilling to engage. As Floyd begins to move back Pacquiao will bang a hard jab pushing Floyd off balance and into the ropes.  Paqcuiao will attempt to punish Floyd along the ropes but his assault will be short lived as Bayless separates the two.

Round 10: Finding Pac Man more stationary Floyd will move in and out hitting Manny with pot shots around Manny’s high guard. Floyd will throw an uppercut between the guard that will rock Manny’s head. As the action moves off of the ropes Manny and Floyd will have an accidental clash of heads busting Floyd’s lip. Floyd will be visually unsettled but maintain control of the round by clinching.

Round 11: Having his lip cleaned Floyd will continue wiping his lip but will attempt to even up the score by throwing combos of three or four rather than the one twos he prefers. The second half of the round will go to Manny as he will continue to attack after Floyd’s offensive was unable to stop the Filipino.

Round 12: The two will touch gloves having earned one another’s respect and will both attempt to put the finishing touches on the fight, Floyd will spend much of the round moving while Pac Man pursues. In the last minute Floyd will attempt to steal the round with a few crisp shots of his own

 The fight will be called a Majority Decision for Mayweather with a one card calling it a draw.

Disclaimer
This is my prediction solely based on these to fighters’ most recent matches with Algieri and Maidana. As a fan though I think the fight will depend on Manny’s power and Floyd’s mind frame. When Floyd tastes Manny’s power he will decide if the fight can be competitive. If Floyd decides to stick to being out of range and reluctant to fire, expect that Floyd realized Manny’s power is real. Floyd may pull off the win but it is unlikely as many will see him as running the entire fight. Floyd’s mind will also play a big part in his performance. Floyd was visibly distracted in the second Maidana fight; if the same distractions are present then Floyd will not be the same fighter. He will be given problems all night long and possibly even get bulldozed by Manny.
 However if Floyd comes in the right mind and is unfazed I expect Mayweather to throw looping shots around Manny’s high guard starting in round three or four.  He will find his rhythm and hammer Pacquiao with counter punches throughout and possibly even lead to a late round stoppage. My guess between round 9 and more likely 11.