Floyd Mayweather had all the right moves against former 135-pounder Juan Manuel Marquez, but will he take those moves and fight Shane Mosley, who is a natural 147-pounder?
Back like Pretty Boy Floyd, it’s the Finito Five!
1. Mayweather is money while Mosley looks to cash in
Floyd Mayweather grates on a lot of boxing fans. The trash talk, the false bravado, the legal and IRS troubles, the ducking of fighters his own weight. Well, likable or not, Pretty Boy Floyd is one of the greatest talents of a generation, perhaps second only to Roy Jones (who also has known to frustrate a boxing fan a time or two himself). As great as Juan Manuel Marquez is, and he will have a plaque in Canestota, he was reduced to a no-hoper just a few rounds in by the superb fistic acumen of Mayweather during their welterweight clash Saturday night. Marquez likely has never seen hands that fast at 130 pounds, let alone at 147. Mayweather just moved out of the way of the Mexican’s punches, then countered with a couple of his own; this dance went on for all twelve rounds, interrupted only when Mayweather scored a knockdown in round two. Marquez was out landed by almost 200 punches, scoring only 69 of his own. Although most expected Floyd to win, the sheer dominance and lack of ring rust was astonishing nonetheless. Give it to Marquez for going the distance, but this was a squash from the word go.
As a matter of fact, the most intriguing part of the fight might well have been the post-fight interview, where Ring Magazine welterweight champion Shane Mosley stormed the ring, calling out Mayweather with a little help from HBO’s Max Kellerman. Mayweather, who shook hands with Mosley, then proceeded with the standard line of my promoter makes my fights, I just fight – as if Floyd had no say in the matter. While Mosley is obviously just looking for a dance partner, as he has had none for some months now, it is doubtful that the fight would ever happen. Say what you will, but Mayweather doesn’t like to fight true 147-pounders, and Mosley has been there for quite some time. The size difference between Mayweather and Marquez was stark, and Mayweather’s prima donna move of coming in two pounds heavy disadvantaged Marquez even more. Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Mosley will not have just moved up from 130 pounds, so it will be interesting to see what “Money” does from here.
2. HBO needs to invent a Mayweather-to-English dictionary
HBO’s 24/7 series is always a welcome addition to any superfight, giving fans unmatched insight into each fighter’s camps prior to the main event. Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 was no different, complete with Marquez drinking his own urine and eating raw quail eggs as his preparation and training regimen. Yes, before you ask, we’ll never look at Marquez kissing his wife the same way again. The big gripe was, though, all the Spanish speakers on the program had English subtitles; where were the subtitles for Roger and Floyd Mayweather, Sr.? Seriously, has anyone understood a complete sentence either guy has said in the last ten years? These two make Ozzy Osbourne sound like William F. Buckley! Listening to Roger pontificate about Sugar Ray Robinson, it was unclear whether he thought Robinson was the greatest fighter of all time or an egg salad sandwich. Was it too many headshots for both guys during their careers? Hard to say, but if they showed up at a rehab clinic and merely opened their mouths, they’d likely get admitted right away.
3. Undercard musings
It’s always welcomed when a PPV event such as Mayweather-Marquez has quality undercard fights making it worth the $50 price tag (OK, maybe not worth that much!). In this case, there were two good ones. First, Michael Katsidis, huge tattoo on his back and all, tattooed fellow lightweight Vincente Escobido in a fight that surprised a fair number of people. Although the fight was more competitive than many Internet and newspaper reports have said, Katsidis was still too tough and determined for the overwhelmed Escobido. Look, Katsidis fights the same way every fight; to hang with him, you have to match his work rate and intensity for twelve rounds, and land the more telling shots. Escobido didn’t, and he lost. Also on the card, featherweight Chris John finally got the unanimous decision he deserved over Rocky Juarez after that gift draw in February. Not sure how one judge had it 119-109 for John after Juarez, like he always does, came on after his one millionth slow start and had John holding on for dear life in the final minute of the fight. Man, imagine what Rocky could do if he could manage to win an early round or two! We might be saying, “Manny who?”
4. Shobox rules the roost once again
Does anyone remember HBO’s KO Nation show? Yeah, that was HBO’s answer to Showtime’s new Shobox program, both meant to showcase up-and-coming talent facing off against each other. While KO Nation was complete with dancing girls, fireworks, and hip-hop music, Shobox simply focused on putting together great fights. Well, we know how that turned out (KO Nation didn’t last a year), and last Friday’s Shobox continued to remind fight fans why it’s always worth tuning in. Bantamweight Chris Avalos will soon be must-see TV because this guy is never in a bad fight. His fourth-round KO of Giovanni Caro was a real smoker from the first bell, as both fighters traded so much leather, you would have thought they were breaking in their gloves on a new heavybag. Avalos’ final right hand looked like it was going to remove Caro’s head from his shoulders. That fight was followed by heavyweight Tony Grano’s upset KO of Travis Kauffmann, also in round four. Kauffmann hadn’t yet fought any real competition, but he soon had Grano taking a left on Queer Street at the start of round four. Grano then smartly hit him low and spit out his mouthpiece, giving himself valuable time to recover, then pressed the attack on Kauffmann, taking him out after a furious assault. Kauffmann certainly didn’t see it coming, and neither did the audience. But that’s Shobox; they understand that good matchmaking likely makes for a good result, even if the fighters aren’t top-shelf. Here’s hoping the show lasts another ten years, with Nick Charles back and cancer-free.
5. Bad boxing decisions are evidently not good for one’s health
Teddy Atlas famously once said about his heavyweight pupil Michael Moorer that if he ever had a heart attack, he would blame it on having to train the former champion. While that might seem a little farfetched, try telling that to British boxing promoter Frank Maloney, who apparently did have a heart attack during the heavyweight fight between John McDermott and Tyson Fury on Sept. 11. It’s not known when the actual heart attack occurred, but if it was anytime around when clueless referee Terry O’Connor raised Fury’s hand after Fury got his rear end handed to him by McDermott over ten rounds, it would be understandable. It’s another argument completely why British boxing lets the referee decide the fight (which will be discussed in an upcoming Finito), but at least Maloney braved the possible Big One for a classic postfight quote. “He didn’t even have a mask on,” Maloney said of O’Conner. “Dick Turpin (famous English highway robber of the 1700’s) at least wears a mask when he robs you.”
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