Fighters Who Protect Their Record Are Not Like Floyd Mayweather
Hall of Fame Inductee Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. continues to take heat for the current state of boxing, where fighters are accused of protecting their record. To say he is responsible for fighters not looking to take risks is misleading considering the Hall of Fame Inductee did take tough fights throughout his career.
THE PRETTY BOY ERA
Fans tend to forget that there were two versions of Mayweather – Pretty Boy and Money. There was a huge difference between the two personas. Pretty Boy was flashy and an offensive force that racked up several knockouts. In addition, he literally went through a gauntlet of tough fight’s from Genero Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, Zab Judah, Demarcus Corley, and Diego Corrales, to name just five.
Pretty Boy had to fight his way to the top and was trying desperately to land a fight with “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya. Yet, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum kept him away for the company’s top earner and biggest name in the sport.
THE MONEY MAY ERA
It wasn’t until May 2007, when Mayweather fought and defeated De La Hoya, that the defensive specialist known as Money Mayweather was introduced to the world. Even after that fight, he turned around to take on undefeated Ricky Hatton seven months later.
When looking at the Money Mayweather era, he still fought some of the top guys in the sport. He took on champions Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and Marcos Maidana who all were coming off big wins. Lastly, he fought and won the one fight fans spent years calling for against Manny Pacquiao. Through it all, Floyd didn’t protect his record; he used his perfect record as a marketing tool.
So what happened? How did we get here? Mayweather can be blamed for his part in how protege Gervonta “Tank” Davis has been in constant witness protection. However, the over-involvement of the networks, promoters, and the emergence of social media shoulder the majority of the blame.
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